Google data for Portsmouth shows increasing use of parks and open spaces during lockdown

The company is using aggregated, anonymised data from apps such as Google Maps to show the change in activity across the UK, tracking people using their mobile phone.

The reports show the types of places people are visiting, ranging from retail and recreation sites to parks and open spaces. It comes as Britain enters its fourth week in lockdown in a bid to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

In its latest report for Portsmouth, covering February 23 to April 5 and comparing the figures to pre-lockdown data from earlier in the year, it is revealed that trips to parks and public spaces have dropped by 19 per cent. But in its first report covering February 16 to March 29, parks and public spaces usage was down 46 per cent.

Nationwide, the latest reports show that 29 per cent less people are visiting parks – compared to a drop of 52 per cent in Google’s first report.

The number of people in residential areas has remained steady across the lockdown, at 19 per cent in Portsmouth, and 15 per cent nationally.

Feedback from police over the Easter weekend had reported most public spaces free of crowds and that overall they have been ‘delighted’ with Portsmouth residents, according the deputy leader for Portsmouth City Council, Councillor Steve Pitt.

He said: ‘The feedback that I have had from the police is that overall they are delighted with the way Portsmouth is behaving.

‘When they are seeing people in public, they are practising safe social distancing.

‘It's a tiny minority that need to be spoken to - you're always going to get a handful of people like that.’

It is important to ‘be kind’ and not make assumptions when people see others outside, Cllr Pitt said.

He added: ‘People need to bear in mind that everyone gets exercise in a different way - a person in their 60s may go for a walk to get exercise.’

The Google reports protect people's privacy and will not include any personally identifiable information at any point, according to the American company.

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