Woman raises concerns over lack of social distancing in Hemel Hempstead

Kim Archer was in the town centre last week and claims she witnessed crowds of people at the market in The Marlowes, The Pavilion cricket pitch and Gadebridge Park.

She said: "I have been utterly horrified recently in observing people in the town since the relaxation of the lockdown restrictions.

"Last week I was in the town centre and there were crowds of people at the market and I did not see any evidence of people following social distancing. I had to zig zag across town to keep myself self distanced from the crowds.

"It is extremely worrying, I went out today (Thursday) and it was busy.

"I saw queues outside the shops that are open, but with the distance between them the queues are long and going out into the centre of town and it is difficult to walk through the town centre and keep a safe distance away from people.

"The Pavilion cricket pitch was full of people at the weekend, not social distancing and there was more than two households in groups.

"There was also groups playing football, with no self distancing involved.

"I used to go to Gadebridge in the evenings for a walk but that is now full of large group gatherings, in particular youths huddled on skateboards in the skate park, which it looks like has been broken to get into.

"I'm not sure how the police are going to handle it, but something needs to be done.

"I'm afraid there will be a second spike here if people carry on like this, they definitely were not one person from two households, there were big groups.

"These areas need to be policed, I understand the police have a lot to do but something needs to be done before we see a second peak here."

Mrs Archer has not reported the gatherings to the police.

She has wrote a letter to Mike Penning MP for Hemel Hempstead raising her concerns.

A spokesperson for Hertfordshire Police said: "We are not able to enforce social distancing, as that is government guidance not regulations.

"People need to take individual responsibility for following the guidance.

"If officers are out on patrol, they will engage with members of the public who are not perceived to be following the Government regulations, ask questions to establish individual circumstances, and will then explain the regulations and encourage those breaking the rules to go home.

"We will only enforce as a last resort. Officers will be focusing on those activities which are now not lawful such as gathering in large groups, or which are not listed as a reasonable excuse for being outside – such as going on holiday.

"Officers have been carrying out additional patrols across the county in parks and recreation grounds to ensure that the regulations are being adhered to.

"We take all reports of COVID-19 breaches seriously and are committed to engaging, explaining and encouraging our communities to adhere to the Government restrictions.

"Our experience so far is that this approach is working well, and that the majority of people understand the gravity of the situation.

"We want the public to exercise common sense. We will not be able to dispatch officers for minor infringements of these rules.

"Clearly mass gatherings of people is not a minor infringement and we would want to know about that so we can deal with it. All reports will be treated proportionately."

Gary Saunders, owner of Hemel Hempstead market, said: "As retail starts to re-open, who will be responsible for managing public spaces, it could be down to the local authority to manage it, we will see over the next few weeks."

Sir Mike Penning, the MP for Hemel Hempstead, said: "I am very proud with the efforts made by the vast majority (and it really is a big majority) of Dacorum residents who have taken the lockdown very seriously during this pandemic.

"As we begin to come out of lockdown, I would like to reiterate the Government’s position that we need to do this gradually.

"This is how we can best show our gratitude to our incredible NHS workers and other key-workers and respect those who are vulnerable to the disease.

If you can continue to work from home, then do so, and if you have to go out then keep to the social distancing guidelines wherever possible.

"Large groups are still not permitted and if you see such a group, you should make the police aware.

“As we begin to ease the lockdown, I praise the efforts of all staff at schools and businesses who have been working hard to ensure that when they re-open, they can do so safely and follow the social distancing policies where possible.

"We must do all we can to prevent a second wave of Covid-19.”

From today (Monday), there are a limited number of things you will be able to do in England that you could not do before:

- spend time outdoors, including private gardens and other outdoor spaces, in groups of up to six people from different households, following social distancing guidelines

- visit car showrooms and outdoor markets

- in line with the arrangements made by your school, send your child to school or nursery if they are in early years, reception, year 1 or year 6, if you could not before

- if you are an elite athlete as defined by this guidance, train and compete using the specified gyms, pools and sports facilities you need - which will, in the coming weeks, we hope enable others to watch live sport on TV

At all times, you should continue to adhere to strict social distancing guidelines when you are outside your home, particularly ensuring you are two metres away from anyone outside your household.

You cannot:

- visit friends and family inside their homes

- stay overnight away from your own home, except for in a limited set of circumstances, such as for work purposes

- exercise in an indoor sports court, gym or leisure centre, or go swimming in a public pool

- use an outdoor gym or playground

- gather outdoors in a group of more than six (excluding members of your own household).