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Original poster

Confused about what constitutes Local Area.

38 replies

likeamillpond · 08/01/2021 10:54

Apologies if this has been done to death.

I live 2 miles from my nearest park
Its in the same town.

Under the lockdown rules can I drive there?
Or walk?
How local is local?
Under 5 miles? 2? 1?

I just want somewhere green to walk around if possible, but I'm not prepared to break any rules.

OP posts:
ginsparkles · 08/01/2021 10:55

This is from the government website

If you do leave home for a permitted reason, you should always stay local - unless it is necessary to go further, for example to go to work. Stay local means stay in the village, town, or part of the city where you live.

Bigtom · 08/01/2021 10:59

This is just guidance by the way, there is nothing in the legislation limiting you to exercising in your local area. So you definitely wouldn’t be breaking the law.

annevonkleve · 08/01/2021 10:59

Some areas of Germany have said you have to stay within 15km of your home, which sounds reasonable to me.

2 miles away is definitely ok - you could walk, cycle or drive there, depending on your preference.

What the government is trying to stop is people in Reading deciding to go to West Wittering, or those in Liverpool going to Snowdonia or those in Bristol going to Salcombe.

NotGenerationAlpha · 08/01/2021 11:02

That is as vague as anything. We have a discussion thread in our local area Facebook about this. My post town includes area about 30-45 min drive. Similar to my local council. I can get to two other ‘regions’ that are neither my town or village or council, both within 5 min or so drive. My two local hospitals are in these two cities and they are about 15 min drive. There is a poster currently on the road side to ask us to stay local and study at the university in one of the cities not in my town.

From the discussion thread, everyone’s idea of local is slightly different. Some are saying walking distance, others our suburban ‘region’, others by post town or council boundaries, and others include the two cities because it’s where we would drive to get essentials.

DdraigGoch · 08/01/2021 11:08

2 miles to the nearest park would be fine (I personally wouldn't drive, on environmental grounds but that's up to you. The 'stay local' guidance is aimed at the idiots who are driving hundreds of miles across the UK to climb a mountain.

Original poster
likeamillpond · 08/01/2021 11:13

@ginsparkles

This is from the government website

If you do leave home for a permitted reason, you should always stay local - unless it is necessary to go further, for example to go to work. Stay local means stay in the village, town, or part of the city where you live.

It's the 'stay in your village OR Town that's confusing

Lots of towns have small villages within them I
I live in a suburb. The park is in the main town.
I think it would be much clearer if they said when it comes to excercise, to try and stay within 3 miles of where you live.

OP posts:
FlibbertyGiblets · 08/01/2021 11:29

My rule of thumb this time is stay within your council boundary. That seems logical and reasonable for exercise purposes? What say you?

ginsparkles · 08/01/2021 11:36

I don't think it is. I consider for me that I stay in my village wherever possible. If I lived in a town, I would stay there. City, you stay in the bit of the city you live in.

Personally I won't be heading off to the nearby town or surrounding villages for exercise.

NotGenerationAlpha · 08/01/2021 11:36

@FlibbertyGiblets that is not logical as per my post. It's the same as what @likeamillpond says.

My council boundary is very large. This is normal in most rural council. The council town is 34min away in current traffic (google maps), via a M and an A road. My post town is different from my council town. The two largest cities are not in either of my council or post town. The hosptials are in the two cities. We can cycle into the suburban areas in these cities, about 10min if you are fast cyclists. About 5 min in the car.

We don't live in a village. We are in a suburban area on the edge of larger cities.

HecouldLickEm · 08/01/2021 11:41

I agree I think a radius would have been more helpful, but as P P said thats guidance not law.

The whole point it to stop you and someone else meeting, so for instance I step out my front door in a busy town to exercise I will have to physically pass more people than if I get in my car and drive 3 miles to somewhere I know will be totally social distanced and easy to walk without fear of passing it on.

This is why we need common sense.

FlibbertyGiblets · 08/01/2021 11:42

Aha I see. Thank you for explaining, it is really interesting in a weird way.

SvenandSven · 08/01/2021 11:43

@FlibbertyGiblets

My rule of thumb this time is stay within your council boundary. That seems logical and reasonable for exercise purposes? What say you?
By council area does not always keep it to a small local area. My council area (Dorset) is almost the whole county as almost all local councils merged to make one council. Although I know that wouldn't be the case for most people. It also makes looking at official statistics for the pandemic harder as so many areas counted under one set of numbers.
AshGirl · 08/01/2021 11:44

@FlibbertyGiblets

My rule of thumb this time is stay within your council boundary. That seems logical and reasonable for exercise purposes? What say you?
I thought this too but I am on the boundary of my local authority and very close to parks and open spaces in the neighbouring authority.

I wonder if they will bring in a 5 mile limit, unless you need to go further for essential shopping (very possible if you live rurally)

LastTrainEast · 08/01/2021 11:46

The main point would be. If you break down can you walk back without involving someone else?

Also if you'll be getting close to people who are also not local you''ll be doing your bit to spread it further. Especially useful if your area has cases of a variant.

Dadnotamum72 · 08/01/2021 11:47

@Bigtom

This is just guidance by the way, there is nothing in the legislation limiting you to exercising in your local area. So you definitely wouldn’t be breaking the law.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-55560814
sofiaaaaaa · 08/01/2021 11:49

I think you just use common sense ie go to your nearest

The police do not have resources to check each individual is within the radius of their individual addresses

Underhisi · 08/01/2021 11:58

People need to be sensible. Don't drive hundreds of miles. Don't drive for an hour to somewhere you know there will be loads of people. Don't go to beauty spots and picnic but a short sit down for a snack is fine. Don't wander around villages that you don't live in. Don't park in stupid places and block roads.

annevonkleve · 08/01/2021 12:04

Derbyshire police clearly don't have enough to do: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-55560814

And where is the case law that says a takeaway coffee is a picnic?

BarbaraofSeville · 08/01/2021 12:10

@Underhisi

People need to be sensible. Don't drive hundreds of miles. Don't drive for an hour to somewhere you know there will be loads of people. Don't go to beauty spots and picnic but a short sit down for a snack is fine. Don't wander around villages that you don't live in. Don't park in stupid places and block roads.
^^ This. Plus I'd add, if you go somewhere and it is very busy, be prepared to go somewhere else.

The main point would be. If you break down can you walk back without involving someone else

People keep posting this and it doesn't make any sense. Are you expecting people to just abandon their car until lockdown is over?

Breakdown patrols will be working anyway and people will be using them when they are going to work, the supermarket etc, so what difference does it make if you need them because you're on a trip to exercise?

Some people need to go to safer area to accommodate children or mobility difficulties. They wouldn't be able to walk a few miles home if the car broke down, even if the driver could.

Underhisi · 08/01/2021 12:11

That is ridiculous. The NT park nearest to us is still doing takeaway snacks. Are the police going to fine everyone who buys something.
No law broken there.

Dongdingdong · 08/01/2021 12:15

I live in London. What is the part of the city in which I live? Is it the immediate area, the borough or the region (e.g. NW?)

NastyBlouse · 08/01/2021 12:19

There's a concept in law of the reasonable person. So when the law need to define something that's fundamentally undefinable, it considers what a reasonable person would do, or what an ordinary person would find reasonable. (Sounds vague, I know. Just goes to show that the law isn't always a precise and quantifiable thing.)

'Local' can't be defined legally in absolute terms, which is why the wording uses 'should' (guidance) instead of 'must' (law).

This is because 'local area' differs for everyone; what's local in the Scottish Highlands or rural Cumbria is going to be different to what's local in Tower Hamlets or Toxteth.

What they're saying is use common sense, and remain within an area that a reasonable person would consider to be local.

annevonkleve · 08/01/2021 12:26

There's a concept in law of the reasonable person

Yes but the only person who can actually decide whether something is reasonable is the courts. Not police officers without enough to do. Rather than swarming around a beauty spot, they might want to stop groups going into supermarkets instead. Also a young girl has gone missing in Derbyshire, it would be nice if they looked for her.

This is because 'local area' differs for everyone; what's local in the Scottish Highlands or rural Cumbria is going to be different to what's local in Tower Hamlets or Toxteth I agree with this.

Lottie4 · 08/01/2021 12:27

I live in a large village, which luckily has all the basic facilities. Our local park wouldn't be worth going to, but I can walk into the countryside. If it's somewhere you would comfortably walk I'd say two miles would be reasonable unless you live in a hotspot (you can check on NHS postcode checker and unfortunately we are at the moment).

re: staying in your boundary, we're on the edge of ours with our nearest town, park, hospital closest. A lot more work in the nearest town rather than the town in our borough.

annevonkleve · 08/01/2021 12:27

I also wish people would stop going on about breaking down too. if you do break down you call someone out and you let them do their stuff while you stand by the side of the road. You don't stand by them and cough in their face.

If you break down it's not the risk of covid, it's the risk of freezing to death by the side of the road that would concern me currently!