Google data shows park visits continue to soar as lockdown measures eased

The search engine firm is using aggregated, anonymised data from apps such as Google Maps to show the change in activity across the UK.

Its reports show the types of places people are visiting, ranging from retail and recreation sites to parks and open spaces.

The latest data – which charts the six weeks up to May 25 – shows that visits to open spaces have soared by 195 per cent compared to movements registered in February.

In the previous report that covered the six weeks before May 16, footfall to parks had increased by 54 per cent compared to the February baseline.

The new figures stand in contrast to those recorded at the start of lockdown, when visits to open air sites across the city plummeted – with a 46 per cent decline.

It comes as large crowds have gathered across Portsmouth and Fareham this week, with reports of hundreds of people on recreation grounds across Fareham last night and residents ‘shocked’ by crowds on Southsea Common on Tuesday.

One Southsea resident, who asked not to be named, said: ‘It's got worse in the last week. It's dreadful out there - it's so busy across the city. Everyone has gone crazy with the nice weather.'

Authorities across the city have called on people to stick to social distancing measures and not squander the work to curtail the spread of the coronavirus.

Speaking to The News, Gerald Vernon Jackson said: ‘Don’t let all that hard work go to waste.

‘Please stay home or at least stay apart from other people and keep you, your parents, and your grandparents safe.’

The city has been placed 299th out of 313 council areas in England for the number of new cases between May 9 and May 23.

The latest Google report shows people have continued to avoid shopping centres and food outlets, which have seen 68 per cent less traffic in the last six weeks, and workplaces were 54 per cent quieter than usual.

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