Marc Hutchinson, chair of the Heath & Hampstead Society, writes: 

 

With a sense of relief and pleasure we have, in 2022, at last seen a return to normality on our much-loved Hampstead Heath after the pandemic: the landscape has recovered from the 17 million annual visits during lockdown; unrestricted pond and lido swimming is back (with extended hours in fact); the cross-country events have returned; and the sports facilities are fully available.

Our Society hosted its Kite Day on Parliament Hill and its Natural Aspect open-air concert at the Parliament Hill bandstand.

One legacy of the pandemic has been the great increase in dogs on the Heath, but the good news is that commercial dog walkers are now licensed and only allowed in certain areas.

2023 will see a refurbishment of the buildings and facilities at the swimming ponds (with a particular focus on disabled access) and at the athletics track.

We plan to bring back sheep onto the Heath, as we successfully did a few years ago, and we hope the City of London will be able to find a promoter to stage another open-air film week as all enjoyed in 2021.

Off the Heath, the biggest local challenge in 2023 will undoubtedly be the (currently awaited) revised proposals for the development of Murphy’s Yard, the large builder’s yard in Gospel Oak.

2022 saw a planning application for view-blocking skyscrapers below Parliament Hill which provoked such outrage that the application was quickly and completely withdrawn.

But the site does need to be developed and, along with other civic groups, we are in the forefront of community proposals for a reasonably sized and ecologically sound development which must include a real “green corridor” (as initially proposed and then abandoned) from Kentish Town station up to the Heath entrance at Gospel Oak station.

You may be sure the Ham & High will be scrutinising these new proposals the day they are published.

The Heath & Hampstead Society sends to all Hampstead residents its best wishes for Christmas and the New Year.