Maybe another organisation should take over from the City of London Corporation 

• I HAVE lived near Hampstead Heath for a very long time, since the early 1960.

I am now 82 and walk there, if possible, every day. My children grew up playing there, climbing trees, making dens and flying kites (where are the kite-flyers now?).

The Heath is a very precious place for us Londoners and it is ours. It does not belong to the City of London Corporation who took over its management when the GLC was abolished.

The corporation is extremely rich but claims it cannot afford to go on maintaining the Heath without imposing new charges.

We are now charged for swimming in the ponds and I understand there is likely to be a charge to use the toilets. That is quite shocking.

I hear that there are to be more fee-paying activities to help meet costs. What are they going to be?

We have wonderful dedicated rangers, many of whom have worked and cared for it for many years. The wildlife there must be exceptional for such an urban open space.

I am saddened when people just tramp along without even a glance at some of the spectacular ancient trees and the birds living among them.

We all need the freedom for exercise, but some of the boot-camp type exercise groups are not what the Heath is about. They shout and order people about at the weekend. It is very anti-social behaviour.

If the corporation is finding it so hard to continue to maintain the Heath in the way it should be respected, as a semi-rural place in the middle of our city, then maybe they should look to see if another organisation could take over this role.

JANET RICHARDSON
Dunboyne Road, NW3