Northants County Council reopens car parks at country parks and expects ‘long queues’

Car parks at county parks across Northamptonshire have today officially reopened by the county council.

The announcement comes after the council released a statement last week saying they ‘hoped’ to have the five parks open to drivers by the bank holiday weekend.With the expected warm weather and the looming long weekend, the authority says drivers are ‘likely to experience long queues’.

Prior to the reopening Brixworth, Barnwell, Irchester, Sywell and Fermyn Woods were only accessible by foot.

But after the updated Government guidelines, which say people can travel as far as they like to exercise, the council has made the decision to reopen car parks at the beauty spots.

Cllr Sandra Naden-Horley, county council cabinet member for corporate and community services said: “We understand that members of the public are keen to get outdoors again and we have been busy devising a strategy to make it safe for people to visit our country parks.

“We are likely to experience long queues in the first weekend of re-opening and visitors will be expected to abide by social distancing guidance, taking extra care around their own hygiene and respecting the safety of others.

“Keeping visitors, staff and local communities safe as lockdown restrictions evolve is our top priority, and this means we need to continue social distancing, avoid creating hotspots, and discourage gatherings in line with central government guidance.”

Public toilets, play areas and cafes will be closed for the foreseeable future and those who do visit country parks are asked to observe social distancing measures.

Dog walkers must also keep their dogs on a lead where other people are present, in order to ensure two metre distances are maintained.

Normal parking charges are in operation at the country parks and the money raised will go back into maintaining the sites.

Season tickets can also be displayed for up to two months after the expiry date and season ticket holders are discouraged from trying to amend the ticket themselves, as this will invalidate the ticket.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper when you do your weekly shop.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.

Thank you