Free Park Runs

http://www.itv.com/news/west/update/2016-01-30/council-proposes-fee-for-park-run/

Council proposes fee for park run

Thousands of people have signed a petition to stop a parish council in South Gloucestershire charging people to run around a local park.

Stoke Gifford Parish Council is proposing those who take part in an organised weekly free run called 'Park Run' in Little Stoke park pay a £1 fee per runner for using the park.

The council says the money would be used to maintain the park and a decision will take place later this year.

 

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Comments

  • Nose NowtNose Nowt ✭✭✭

    More likely that Stoke Gifford would find itself without a Park Run!

  • Hopefully not - the council should be embarrassed by its actions and not wanting to be seen as the only council that's so incompetent that it has to charge people to run - it will back down.



    Hopefully.
  • JoolskaJoolska ✭✭✭

    The vote is this evening.  You'd think they'd realise that allowing an event which improves fitness and builds community networks/friendships was very much in the public interest, but that doesn't mean commonsense will prevail.  They haven't backed down in over 6 months since first suggesting the idea.

  • if they pass it, then it will be the start of a slippery slope I reckon

  • MillsyMillsy ✭✭✭
    parkrun has always said that it will be free forever. So if this council get their way the parkrun will just cease to be in that park. No other event seems to have any similar issues. It's also very bad PR for the council in question.
  • Pretty short sighted from the council. It's possible that a popular parkrun would lead to additional maintenance, but it sounds like they've just identified something they can whack a levy on.

    If they try and force it through I imagine that parkrun will just stop, but it'd be amusing to see them attempt to charge individual runners for using the park. It could create a whole argument about what constitutes walking/jogging/running!

  • literatinliteratin ✭✭✭

    Lots of parkruns are actually funded by local councils, aren't they? I know when they set up a new one near where I used to live some of the start-up costs were provided by the council, and they also provided the toilets (allowing use of council-owned sports facilities). It sounds like just this one council being twats. If you wanted to try and charge parkrunners it might make more sense to do it by having extra parking charges or something; much sneakier.

  • our council was lsow on the uptake.....but when it did eventually start they were great and open up the council offices carpark for runners as well as opening up the council offices so that we can access the toilets.......

    If they want to raise money then charge for car parking and this would apply to all users of the park...dog walkers must did up the grass a bit

     

     and from memory when i did it it was all on tarmac so cant actually do much damage in winter

  • MillsyMillsy ✭✭✭
    Maybe the council are trying to get rid of the parkrun completely. If it was purely financial then they would just have to charge to park. Instead they have come up with a system that parkrun cannot possibly work within.
  • cardiff council tried to stop theirs before they realised just how popular and positive it is.....

  • NickW2NickW2 ✭✭✭

    Sounds crazy really. On the face of it the essence of the problem seems to be that the council want/need to replace the paths and can't really afford to do so, and think/thought that they could get parkrun to cough up. Hopefully common sense prevails.

  • From my understanding the council want to charge parkrun a levy, not individual runners, but inevitably any levy would have to be passed on to runners.  Playing devil's advocate, lots of councils charge professional dog walkers and personal trainers to use their parks, and presumably they just see parkrun as another professional organisation using the facilities.  They see marshals in hi-vis vests, areas taped off and banners with sponsors logos on and think they (the council) should be paid to allow someone to do that. 

    But parkrun won't (and shouldn't) pay for a location, so it's pointless voting for a charge.  If they do, parkrun disappears from their park, and the council get no cash anyway. 

  • JoolskaJoolska ✭✭✭

    I'm pretty sure at Little Stoke they do get money from car parking (as Bristol City Council do at my local parkrun, Ashton Court). I don't know if the council own the cafe in the park, but by all accounts that does quite well out of parkrun, too!

  • AW3AW3 ✭✭✭

    Very true, I can't see that parkrun will pay them a penny, because it will set a precedent for every council across the country to start charging them for use of the parks and could very well sink the whole organisation overnight.

    If the Stoke Gifford Parish Council force the issue, the only outcome that I can see will be that their park would lose its parkrun, the local residents will get disgruntled and the pen-pushers on the parish council will be ousted at the next election/committee meeting. I think they'll see sense before then though...

  • M..o.useM..o.use ✭✭✭

    It's my local parkrun.  It's a nice little route.

    If the charge is levied, the parkrun will stop. 

    The runners don't have a negative effect on the grass, they have a summer and winter route to prevent that issue arising.

    The car park is currently free.  (Ashton Court car park used to be free but now isn't.)

     

     

  • KenbroKenbro ✭✭✭

    Whatever the parish council decide to do its bad publicity for them. Although parkrun is free for runners many locations must do well out of parking charges. I reckon the council must make £60,000+ a year from parkrunners at my usual run. An additional levy would certainly stop me from going regularly. 

  • It's hard not to simply assume that the sort of people that you find on parish councils were doing the sort of thing that people that you find on parish councils do. A little ill-informed kneejerkism goes a long way.

    I suspect that they will rue the day, the bad publicity and resultant piss-takery might get a little overwhelming. Prats.

    Meanwhile, parkrun will trundle on. It's actively supported by many councils, as an incredibly cost-effective way to tick a box regarding health and grassroots sport in the local area. Any wibbling on about a "slippery slope" would seem, currently, rather silly. If one has to move due to a bunch of small-minded permed cretins, then c'est la vie.

  • so they voted to charge......so in fact they have voted to stop the parkrun taking place as the parkrun organisers cannot give in to this kind of tactic..

    so the locals and the families will miss out on a great opportunity to get fit and to volunteer for the good of others.....

    it loses out on parkrun tourism as well.I for one have travelled and ran it...

    very shortsighted......

  • That is sad news. I hope we hear of rapid backpedaling and neither the loss of a run or the council being paid.
  • MillsyMillsy ✭✭✭
    Very sad news and very shortsighted. I can see a lot of bad publicity coming their way.
  • M..o.useM..o.use ✭✭✭

    They hadn't voted to charge by 7.15pm as that's when the meeting was due to start.  I think you heard a rumour, Seren.  The vote was taken at 8pm.  Although the true result was the same.  5 voted to charge, 4 against, 2 abstained (according to local newspaper or 6 to 4 according to BBC).

    A real shame.

  • SorequadsSorequads ✭✭✭

    Moronic. What are they thinking? Why don't they just charge a £ or 2 for parking? Some people will always drive and that would easily cover it. The original complaint was partly about the car park damage so that would make sense and seem fair. Such bad publicity for years council and unbelievably short sighted. 

  • Yes, a rubbish decision. All those people who could be using the cafe or spending their money in other local facilities. And aren't councils responsible for public health? You'd think they'd be glad to have an outfit like Parkrun in their area. It just makes me wonder if some of the people on that council just don't want runners taking over their park on a Saturday morning.
  • because they felt car parking would affect all users.......they just seemed to target the parkrunners  image

  • M..o.useM..o.use ✭✭✭

    Skylarker, Seren, that's my feeling too.  There's a thumping great big sign just inside the park (I want to say it's a Sport England sign but I'm not sure) which outlines a run route and espouses the use of the park for running.  Bristol City Council sponsored/supported couch to 5k run groups regularly do their debut event at this parkrun.

    The local paper attended the event and provided a commentary here:

    http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Live-Little-Stoke-Parkrun-decision-world-charge/story-29097719-detail/story.html

  • M.ister WM.ister W ✭✭✭

    Let's hope the 5 find themselves out on their fat arses at the next election.

  • I think they'll be rather surprised at the publicity and press interest coming their way.....  

    Lets hope that democracy can do its stuff.

    lets be honest.... its all prep for an Ironman on my 100th birthday
  • JoolskaJoolska ✭✭✭

    It's a really sad day for local parkrunning.  Need to see what the event director and core team want to happen.  I hope they are at least allowed to put on a few more events so that the LS parkrun community can say goodbye.

  • VDOT52VDOT52 ✭✭✭
    Surely the regulars can do their own version of parkrun without demonstrating a continuing affiliation with parkrun until this stupid idea fizzles out? People can run in the park as long as they are not doing a 'parkrun' so that seems like a workable temporary get around.

    It reminds me of the running club/uka bloke from up north who wrote a scathing attack on parkrun in the early days and said it wouldn't last. He was a twunt as well.
  • M..o.useM..o.use ✭✭✭

    There's a groundswell of interest in doing just that vdot52, a flashmob run coincidentally starting at 9am on a Saturday morning.

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