Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick says he has ordered councils to keep all public parks open during the coronavirus lockdown.
It comes after several councils closed parks for a day or longer in a bid to curb the spread of Covid-19 following a high number of visitors on sunny and warm days in recent weeks.
At the daily briefing at No10 on Saturday, Mr Jenrick said: "There have been examples of some parks around the country closing, this cannot be right. "While the virus does not discriminate we know that the lockdown is much harder for people who don’t have a lot of living space, for people who don’t have a garden and for those who don’t have anywhere for their children to run around.