Corby country parks to shut gates due to rise in town's Covid cases

East Carlton - the gates were closed at the start of lockdown one

Corby residents will be unable to park on site to visit two parks in the area after the council agreed to close them for health and safety reasons.

Gates allowing vehicular access into East Carlton Country Park and Weldon Woodland Park in Stamford Road, Weldon will be shut from this evening (Tuesday).

Both parks are very popular with dog walkers, families with young children and walkers.

In a message on the East Carlton Park Park Facebook page a statement announced the latest development citing the safety of the staff for the closure.

The message said: "Access to vehicles into East Carlton Country Park and Weldon Woodland Park will be closed from this evening.

"The Council has agreed to close completely for the safety of staff and residents thus encourage everyone to observe social distancing as guided by the government."

Previously, the cafe and toilets in East Carlton Park had been opened but they were closed on Saturday (January 9) afternoon.

In the summer the park re-opened with social-distancing measures in place

A previous post said: "With the rising cases in Corby we have made the decision to close the cafe and toilets with immediate effect.

"The park and play area will remain open but this will be reviewed on a daily basis.

"Please use your local park so that you can be nearer to your home during this pandemic.

"We are putting these measures in place not only to protect you but to protect our staff too."

A spokesman for Corby Council said: "Positive Covid-19 cases in Corby have trebled since Christmas and cases in the over 60s have risen by over 100% in the last week. This is putting extreme pressure on our hospitals and we must act now to help stop the virus spreading further.

"We have therefore made the decision to temporarily shut vehicular access to our parks. This is to discourage people from travelling to these areas in their vehicles during lockdown rather than using green spaces closer to home. This decision will be regularly reviewed.

"We need to be doing everything we can to reduce the extremely high level of Covid-19 cases in Corby currently and to keep our communities and staff safe. So please 'Let’s stand together by standing apart."