Events

Councils banned from charging for weekend fun runs

Councils in England will be banned from charging people to take part in weekend fun runs under rules being proposed by the government.

The events, started in Teddington in 2004, attract thousands of runners across a 5km distance and has spread across the country.

A council in Bristol proposed charging £1 per entrant due to the upkeep of the paths.

The new legislation that is undergoing consultation would make it illegal for local authorities to charge Parkrun or junior Parkrun, which organises 2km runs for children, for the use of a public park.

The consultation says that “local authorities quite legitimately charge for a variety of different events and specific activities that take place in local parks”.

It continues: “However, the government does not consider it appropriate for a local authority to charge a volunteer community seeking to provide a free weekly event for the use of a public park, overturning our long standing convention of free access to parks for their everyday us

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