The Richmond Council Parks Team is developing Friendly Parks for All, which aims to ensure that ‘Everyone should have fair access to good quality parks’ by improving opportunities for everyone in the borough to enjoy and benefit from the natural environment.
There are currently three Friendly Parks – Barnes Green, Ham Village Green and Heathfield Recreation Ground. All have had work to ensure that they are safe for people with limited mobility and fully accessible, there are plenty of resting places and all exit/entrances are marked to help with orientation. More Friendly Parks will be added.
The project aims to encourage everyone to explore Richmond’s parks and open spaces for leisure, learning and for the benefit of health and wellbeing. It also seeks to increase the number and diversity of people inspired by and enjoying parks; to work with partners to help improve the quality of everyone’s experience of parks, and to gain a better understanding of barriers, issues and priorities to help improve engagement in parks.
In addition to the Friendly Parks programme the project runs monthly Wellbeing Walks that explore the borough parks and a new monthly Accessible Wellbeing Walk designed for wheelchair users or those with limited mobility. This 90-minute walk begins at the Exchange in Twickenham. To register or for more information about both walks please contact parks@richmond.gov.uk
Carers who are registered with Richmond Carers Centre are invited to a quarterly free carers’ walks by the river Crane, led by Frances Bennett of FORCE (Friends of the River Crane Environment). Meet at 10am, 15th July at Richmond Carers Centre.
