Last two Sidmouth gardens closed due coronavirus to reopen tomorrow

The two remaining East Devon District Council gardens in Sidmouth, which have been closed since the coronavirus lock down began, will reopen from tomorrow (Wednesday, May 13).

Connaught Gardens and Blackmore Gardens will both reopen tomorrow. Jacob's Ladder in Sidmouth will remain closed, as will all playparks, skate parks and outdoor gyms.

The decision has been reviewed following the Prime Minister's announcement on Sunday where new measures for exercise were introduced. Although the gardens will reopen, the council is reiterating that the strict social distancing measures must be followed by everyone.

Last month, the council reopened the majority of the district's large or easy to access park sites after they were closed due to the lock down measures announced in March. A number of parks remained closed as they were quite small, enclosed and with narrow access ways, poor sight lines or restricted access points.

After an assessment of the sites by the council, the following gardens will reopen from tomorrow. They are:

Manor Gardens, Exmouth

Gunfield Gardens – Exmouth

Queens Drive Space – Exmouth

The Glen – Honiton

Connaught Gardens – Sidmouth

Blackmore Gardens – Sidmouth

Seafield Gardens – Seaton

East Devon's beaches and nature reserves have remained open throughout the lock down.

The council is working through the newly released COVID-19 secure guidance from the government which was received late on Monday (May 11) and is using this information to review the opening of a limited number of public toilets. This decision will be made soon.

Councillor Geoff Jung, East Devon's Portfolio for the Environment, said: "We have carried out rigorous assessments of the gardens and based on the latest Government announcements we believe we can safely re-open them.

"Social distancing signs will be in place and we will remind the public to observe these measures. We thank everyone for complying with the social distance measures so far and ask them to please carry on behaving sensibly."