Each month, we email a bulletin to everyone who has signed up on this site. Below is the edition that we sent in August 2025. If you like it, please sign up on our Get Involved section – you will be showing your support for our work and you will receive our free monthly bulletins a month before they appear here.
IN THIS ISSUE… +++ Why you should download What3Words +++ The very last rundown of incidents the police have been called to +++ ‘Spitting’ probe concludes +++
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WHAT THREE WORDS…
Would you know where Killcat Corner is? There are many obscure names still used for locations in Richmond Park, as well as more familiar ones such as Broomfield Hill or Sawyer’s Hill, and the officers who patrol the park have become familiar with them all over many years. But with the imminent disbanding of the police unit, it is less likely that the coppers who replace them will have this useful local knowledge, which could cause confusion when members of the public report incidents to them.
This is why Sgt Pete Sturgess, who remains in charge of policing Richmond Park until November at the latest, is encouraging everyone to download What3Words. As the app uses your mobile phone to provide a unique three-word address for your current location, you don’t need to worry about trying to identify the exact spot, which is especially useful in an emergency.
You can get What3Words for free here. For a reminder of the best way to submit a report to the police for any reason, see our FAQ page, under the heading, “What should I do if I am involved in a road traffic incident in the park?”
And in case you were wondering, Killcat Corner is on Priory Lane (the road between Roehampton and Robin Hood gates) near the bridge over Beverley Brook. But judging by The Royal Parks’ map, it doesn’t appear to be an actual corner. Mystery partially solved!
…AND WHAT THREE WARDS?
So farewell, then, the Safer Parks Police Panel – and hello to another panel, with the same people on it, minus the police.
We attended the final SPPP meeting three weeks ago, where it was decided that RPC and all the other stakeholder groups present would continue to meet every three months, just as we did before, to discuss the park’s safety issues. Our thanks to park manager Paul Richards, who delivers his report at every meeting, for allowing the panel to keep using Holly Lodge.
But local officers who are replacing the park’s police unit, which will be disbanded by November due to funding cuts, won’t be compelled to attend. This means we will not have easily accessible information on road incidents in the park, in the form of the police’s quarterly report, nor will we be able to set some of the police’s objectives, as we have in the past, to target the minority of drivers who make the park less welcoming for cycling.
To carry on engaging with the police, the panel plans to attend at least one of its Safer Neighbourhood Groups as well as TRP’s stakeholder meetings, the latter of which we already attend.
Responsibility for policing the park will be shared between three wards: South Richmond, East Sheen and Ham, Petersham And Richmond Riverside. We are told that Holly Lodge, which is the current base for the park’s unit, could still be used as a police facility post-disbanding, which would mean there would be a visible police presence in the park. But there are still question marks over how effective this new form of policing will be, especially with regards to the roads which we all enjoy cycling on. Nevertheless, we will fully engage with police from the three wards, just as we have done over the years with the park’s unit.
THE FINAL RUNDOWN
Time for a look at the very last police report to the SPPP which, as usual, details all the incidents on the park’s roads that officers have attended during the past quarter. Our thanks to Sgt Pete for compiling this information over the years. (Note that, due to the police unit’s staffing decreasing in the run-up to disbandment, the usual figures for traffic offences and breaches of park regulations have not been collected.)
There was a failed attempt to steal a bike from its owner on Friday, April 4. The PC who dealt with the incident said the suspect threatened to stab the cyclist, but there was no weapon visible. Prior to this, they had also chased after a pedestrian. (The police report does not provide a location for either incident.)
A bike was stolen on Tuesday, April 29. The thief had sawn through the lock. No location is given in the police report. There was another bike stolen, on Monday, June 9, from the Isabella Plantation. It was not locked. The bike had been rented out by the Parkcycle hire shop, and all of its bicycles have now been registered on the police database to deter thieves.
A pedestrian running on the ballet school road on Sunday, April 27 turned sharply, hitting an oncoming cyclist. The pedestrian sustained a deep cut to the back of their head, bruises on their body, and a jolt to their jaw. The cyclist had cuts and grazes.
On Saturday, May 3, a cyclist heading towards Kingston Gate collided with a woman crossing Queen’s Road. The woman and another pedestrian were halfway across when the latter saw the cyclist. They raised their arm to indicate that the woman should stop, but she carried on walking – and the cyclist also continued, thinking she was stopping. The cyclist, whose view was obscured by the other person, hit the victim. Injuries to the woman, who required stitches, include cuts to the back of the head and left arm, and a grazed elbow.
There was another incident on Queen’s Road. On Thursday, 22 May, a driver failed to see a cyclist and hit the rear wheel of their bike, leaving the rider with fractures to their ribs, elbow and knee, as well as pain in their left ankle.
On Saturday, May 24, a cyclist on an electric bike swerved across the grass to avoid a deer on the Sawyer’s Hill footpath and tried to join the road but hit an anthill and came off. Their injuries included a broken pelvis, four broken ribs, a broken leg and bruises.
IN THE DARK
There was another collision in the park, but this one did not appear in the report to the panel as there were no officers in the park at the time and the police were not called to attend the scene.
It took place on the evening of Tuesday, June 10, on Dark Hill, and the only details we have come from an acquaintance of a subscriber who stopped to help. They saw a male cyclist, aged 50 to 60, who had blood on his face from a crash, and a child aged five to eight who was also injured. Two people were already dealing with the cyclist and on the phone to emergency services. The rider who stopped wrote: “I checked for breathing and blood. Asked them not to move him as blood on the face, head impact likely, not moving so potential spine injury and concussion as he was not with it. Did another lap and ambulance had the spine board out for him.”
While concerning, this is just a single account of the scene, and we do not yet know how the crash occurred. Sgt Pete Sturgess is currently on leave, and we will ask him to make further enquiries when he returns.
‘SPITTING’ PROBE OVER
London Dynamo has concluded its investigation into the allegation that one of its members spat at an oncoming cyclist on Priory Lane in June after “taking up more than three-quarters of the road” as they overtook another rider.
Chair Andy Taylor said in a statement: “In the absence of evidence or witness accounts, we are unable to verify this specific incident or take further action against any individual at this time. We do understand the distress such an encounter could cause, and we appreciate the complainant's wish to raise the issue with us directly as well as through the appropriate authorities. We will continue to cooperate fully with any investigation, should any new evidence present itself.”
Andy, who met the complainant, is keen to improve rider behaviour and is receptive to our input. We will be meeting with him and other members of the club’s committee in the coming weeks.
SEE YOU NEXT MONTH...
As ever, thank you for allowing us to pop into your inbox, and let us know what you think about anything related to cycling in Richmond Park – we reply personally to every email you send us. If you enjoyed this bulletin, please share it with your cycling friends – and if they like what they read, encourage them to sign up to our mailing list too. The more subscribers we have, the bigger our voice.
All the best,
Richmond Park Cyclists