As of today (Friday 20th March) we do not believe that the Government intends to restrict members of the public from accessing outside spaces – including allotments. We encourage all of our members to respect the ‘social distancing’ advice from the Chief Medical Officer – i.e. to keep your distance from others (two metres) where practical and treat any publicly accessible surfaces as potential sources of infection.
A few members have asked about the possibility of the COVID 19 virus being transmitted via the padlocks on the TPM gates. Estimates vary regarding how long the virus can survive outside of the human body but it is likely to be in the order of hours. The padlocks and gates should be treated with the same degree of caution as any other public surface (e.g. the adjacent pedestrian crossing button). Members may want to consider using gloves when handling the padlock (opening it using a clear plastic bag as a glove also works).
Cllr Colin Cooke has donated some hand sanitising gel for use by the Twenty Pound Meadow gates. The Committee is also looking into how feasible it would be to provide soap and water adjacent to the gate for hand-sanitising purposes. If they do, we suggest members bring their own small hand towel for their individual use.