Bristol Live readers have debated how the council will enforce the new charges for fitness classes, with some questioning whether trainers should pay and others saying commercial users must contribute
Clifton Down(Image: Francis Hawkins/SWNS)
Bristol Live readers have been discussing proposals to introduce charges for fitness sessions on the Downs, with much of the debate centring on enforcement methods and whether it’s reasonable to require businesses to pay for using public spaces.
Personal trainers operating on the Downs will shortly be required to pay “eyewateringly expensive” licence fees following an unsuccessful attempt to delay their introduction. Their appeal for reconsideration was rejected despite concerns that people exercising could twist their ankles or be forced to walk home in the dark.
From next month, personal trainers must begin paying for licences to run exercise classes on the Downs. For classes with 19 or fewer participants, the fee will be £900 annually, whilst for classes with 20 or more participants, the fee will be £2,600 annually. They will also be restricted to specific zones.
The Downs committee voted seven to two against postponing the introduction of the licence fees on Monday, 9 March. The committee comprises Bristol City Council councillors and members of the Society of Merchant Venturers, a historic business organisation.
Some readers questioned how the council could enforce the charges. One reader, Dbanderson asks: “How can they force payments? Nobody should pay. What will they do, send a jobsworth up with a notepad? They can’t even get their council tax payments from Bristolians.”
Fluffball adds: “No different to businesses operating from buildings paying business rates. Even coffee carts and food huts pay license fees. Only fair that they should pay for their venue as well, it may well go towards improving availability of facilities on the Downs, such as toilets!”
47morph47 says: “Without the fee payers’ cooperation, this system falls apart. So basically just don’t pay.”
AdvisoryService101 writes: “Businesses that have been using the downs for free need to accept they had a good run; now it’s time to pay. We have enough people in Bristol who expect something for nothing, expect others to cover their costs. We don’t need any more freeloaders.”
SocialistHero comments: “Just ignore it. What are the officers do, chase them?”
Othermeinnit asks: “How does this work? Are they going to charge people who run fitness apps that tell people to go for a walk in the park? What’s to stop the coach from standing on the pavement and shouting at the council tax payers exercising in the park, or running the whole thing on zoom?”
Othermeinnit quetions: “Why should the public pay for exercising on public land that they already pay for? I presume you’ll expect child carers to pay for using parks as well, and probably for pushing prams on pavements.”
In the comments section below, please let us know if you think it is right to charge businesses to use Bristol’s parks.