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Failed attempt to pause ‘eyewateringly expensive’ fees for Downs personal trainers
Personal trainers on the Downs will soon have to pay “eyewateringly expensive” licence fees after a failed attempt to pause their roll-out.
Their plea for a rethink fell on deaf ears despite warnings that people exercising could twist their ankles or be forced to walk home in the dark.
From April, the fee for classes with 19 or fewer people will be £900 a year, while for classes with 20 or more people, the fee will be £2,600 a year. Exercise classes will also be confined to certain zones.
The Downs Committee – made up of Bristol City Council councillors and members of the Society of Merchant Venturers – voted by seven to two against pausing the introduction of the licence fees.
At the meeting on Monday, Meg Thomas, 77, who said she was potentially “the oldest bootcamper”, said: “I wish more older people could go.
“I can afford the fee but other old people can’t and that’s the reason they don’t go.
“Quite honestly, I think the community value of making it affordable to residents who are presumably already paying a community charge should be taken into account.”
Personal trainer Rob Perry added: “The prices are eyewateringly high, destructive to local small businesses and ultimately there is no alternative but for the local people to pay this.
“They’re already paying council tax, they want to come and use a local green space that is near to their home and they now have to pay extra to do so.”
Perry said the £2,600 fee was almost a quarter of his yearly takings before tax.
The licence fee income will help pay to maintain the Downs, including potential new security patrols to clamp down on anti-social behaviour.
Clifton Bootcamp is just one of the businesses that uses the Downs for regular classes – photo: Clifton Bootcamp
No forecasts have been carried out to estimate how much income the licence fees will be generated.
Bootcamp classes will be confined to a few areas on the Downs and not allowed to operate outside of these.
However, it is unclear whether the council will enforce these zones and other people could use them too.
This has led to personal trainers complaining that they were paying to use areas that they might not be able to actually hold classes on.
Personal trainers also complained that some of the areas were waterlogged and not flat, leading to concerns that people could twist their ankles.
Some areas are not lit up with streetlights, making class attendees feel less safe walking to and from classes in the dark.
It also remains unclear how the council will enforce classes run by personal trainers who have not paid for a licence.
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Read more: Calls to stop Merchant Venturers from managing the Downs
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Merchant Venturers master, Jonathan Baker, said: “The cafe that operates on the Downs contributes around £25,000 a year; the ice cream operator contributes to being on the Downs to the tune of about £40,000 a year; the Bristol Downs League and student leagues pay circa £50,000 a year.
“The figure we arrived at for charging came from the amount we charge each football team. Bearing in mind they play less often and on a smaller area, we felt that was a good benchmark on which to operate.
“We are not stopping people from using the Downs. We are asking people to contribute to a community upkeep of a community asset.
“There seems to be a little misconception that the money does not go back to the Downs.
“The Downs runs at a loss every year, something that for many years we have tried to correct.
“We are doing our best but it’s very difficult. We will review any contract after 12 months of the first year and maybe after that.”
Baker added that the Downs Committee was following the lead of the council, which is planning to roll out licences for other parks elsewhere in Bristol.
These fees were initially smaller but were still criticised by the Greens, Labour and Conservatives. They have since been reduced further, after a backlash from small business owners like professional dog walkers.
Green councillor Guy Poultney said: “What the committee did was to take the figures that the council was proposing for its own parks, more than double them, and impose them – while the council’s response was to refuse to implement those charges and reduce them.”
Poultney suggested that the committee pause the licence fees until they carry out a business case and equalities impact assessment, and estimate how much income will be made.
But he was voted down by a majority of the other members so the licence fees will be introduced in April. The committee initially voted to approve the licence fees in September in a closed meeting.
Main photo: Clifton Running Club
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