Water Fountain at The Trough

We apologise that the water fountain has been out of order for several weeks.

We have had a leak in the area and Thames Water needed to leave the water turned off to try and locate the leak. The work has been completed and the Water Fountain is now up and running again.

We apologise for any incovenience this has caused.

Parking on The Triangle

Regular visitors to the Windmill area of the Common will have noticed that the area at the top of Windmill Road, known as the Triangle, has now been designated a no parking area.

There are a number of reasons for this:

• There is an increasing amount of dog fouling on this site and we consider that it has reached unacceptable levels. We have tried to encourage responsible dog owners to use the bins placed nearby, but many of them continue to ignore the mess made by their animals. Dog excrement is a pollutant and is regularly fouling the shoes of the local residents, especially when light levels are low and it cannot be avoided. In addition to this the grass surrounding the paddock is badly contaminated by faeces and urine. Children often pick this grass to feed to the horses in the paddock. This is not good for horse or child. A further reason for this restriction in parking is that the nearby grass plain is an amenity area, with the grass kept short to provide a play site for family groups during the warmer months. The heavy amount of dog fouling on the first 50 metres of this site constitutes a health hazard to young children. The dogs that do not immediately foul on the triangle site will inevitably deposit on the nearby grassland.

• On occasions, and as a result of poor parking, large delivery vehicles and our own tractors and trailers are unable to gain access. Where vehicles are forced to squeeze through, there is a real risk of damage to parked cars. The Conservators have a duty of care to the public. When they are made aware of a problem that involves health and safety issues, they have to take reasonable steps to remedy the problem. In this instance there is no reason for cars to park on the road, as the Windmill Car Park is within 100 metres of The Triangle.

Many people favour parking in that area once the car park is closed. However, the byelaws governing the Commons clearly state that theremay be no parking on the Commons between dusk and dawn.

Horses on Holiday!

The whole of the Stable Yard is currently being re-surfaced. Because of the noise and distress to the horses, the Keepers have taken the decision to send all four of our horses on a Spring holiday whilst the work is being completed.

We hope they will be back on a week or so.

Work at the Ranger's Office

We are currently having the old Stable Block re-built into much-needed extra office space. This is causing some disruption to visitors to the Ranger's Office, particularly as the yard around the office is being re-surfaced. Whilst the re-surfacing work is being carried out, the Information Centre may be closed on some days.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.