“There are currently no proposals to charge people to pay to use any toilets at Hampstead Heath."

A City of London Corporation spokesperson this week denied a scheme to make visitors pay to use toilets on Hampstead Heath is imminent.

In a line in the "draft divisional plan" presented to the CoLC's Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood and Queen's Park committee, reference was made to exploring a "feasibility study" for introducing contactless charging to access public toilets on the Heath.

The spokesperson said the option had been discussed, but added: “It was agreed this item was low priority and was deferred until at least 2022.”

Marc Hutchinson, chair of the Heath and Hampstead Society, told the Ham&High that, on balance, the society "does not support this proposal for what is a uniquely natural, and now very heavy-visited, open space".

He cited the "all too visible" consequences for hygiene on the Heath during the first lockdown in 2020.