'Extortionately high' fees for park businesses

Small businesses operating in public parks say the fees they are due to pay from next month are "extortionately high".

A licensing scheme comes into effect in parks across Bristol from April, impacting professional dog walkers, outdoor yoga teachers and instructors running bootcamp-style sessions.

The charges range from £220 for a dog walker who only wants to use one park, up to £2,600 a year for fitness sessions on Clifton Downs with more than 20 people.

Bristol City Council has said the scheme aims to "protect shared spaces" and ensure businesses are operating safely, with any profit it makes from the licenses going towards park maintenance.

Plans to introduce the fees were postponed after a huge backlash when they were announced last year.

The council has since adjusted the prices and introduced discounts for Bristol-based businesses.

Sophie Hunter, who runs a dog walking business, said while the original costs were "ridiculous", the new plan was "way worse".

Hunter regularly walks dogs in groups of six, but the conditions of her license would limit this to four. She has told clients they will have to pay more as a result of the loss in income.

"Dog-walking in Bristol is just going to become unaffordable for people," she said.

"I've been doing this for 10 years and I've always had groups of six. That's what my insurance covers, and that should speak volumes."

Councillor Stephen Williams, chair of the communities committee, has said the primary motivation of the scheme "isn't to make money".

"It's to make sure that everyone who is operating a business activity in Bristol's parks has, where necessary, the proper professional qualifications and insurance," he said.

He added he hoped the scheme would be "largely self-policing" with businesses encouraged to say that they are licensed by the council.

Unlike the rest of the city, professional dog walkers will not have to pay to use the Downs, but there are fees for fitness classes.

John Clayton, who runs fitness sessions on the Downs, believes the £2,600 annual fee he faces is "extortionate" and "higher than anywhere else in the UK".

"What are we getting?" he asked. "Football teams pay a rate each year and they get the goals, changing rooms, pitches, set up.

"We don't ask for anything. It just makes no sense, it's public land."

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