Richmond Council is planning to stop locking Grove Gardens Park at night from 1 September to allow visitors longer hours for use such as exercise or dog walking.

The park has two 1930s built pavilions, a bowling green and a statue.

Local voluntary group, The Friends of Grove Gardens, is concerned about the park being misused at night.

The statue and the green have previously been damaged, so the group is concerned the council's decision could lead to potential damage to the bowling green, and the risk of theft or damage to the contents on the two pavilions, which belong to the bowling club.

The park has no lights, so the group cannot understand how it would be used for exercise or dog walking after dark.

There will be a trial period of three months for this change and assessment of all feedback will be carried out in December 2024.

A Richmond Council spokesperson said: "We want as many people as possible to enjoy their local parks at a time which is convenient for them.

"At present we see residents who want to walk their dogs or take some exercise being restricted from using some parks before 7.30am and even 9am on Sunday, and we see people who are enjoying a pleasant evening walk asked to leave some parks at 8pm on fine Summer evenings."

"Therefore, we are conducting this short trial to see if the current locking regime works; it could be that some parks remain locked but with altered opening and closing patterns, similarly it could be that some parks can be left unlocked, as happens in the vast majority of our parks and open spaces, with no damaging effects. Of course, throughout the trial we want to hear from residents about their experiences."