ParkRun to be charged a fee for using the park.

[StuffEverywhere]

Little Stoke Council votes for ParkRun to pay a maintenance charge.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-36041059

I can't believe it.

I run at a local ParkRun and volunteer for a junior ParkRun and think that these events bring the best out of people. They make people healthier and happier, and they make parks lively and full of energy on a Saturday morning. Councils should support them, not the other way around!

bit mean, Urbanfox. There is such a thing as not-for-profit companies, aren't the same as a for-profit enterprise.

Oxfam or Red Cross manage a much bigger budget. They have paid employees, and get all sorts of tax-payer funded subsidies because of the social benefits they provide.

Oxfam is a Charity, Parkrun is NOT. Parkrun (Global) is an incorporated business with paid directors and staff.

Stoke Gifford is a small Parish Council which recently had to pay out £55,000 of public money resurfacing the car park and because 300 runners are using the park & facilities each week it's going to cost another £60,000 to resurface the paths.

They are looking at an annual increase in people using the park of around 15,000 and numbers are swelling. So who should pay, the parishioners of Stoke Gifford or company that uses it, Parkrun?

Have you got the info on the directors being paid urban, I'd be interested to have a look at that.

I don't have figures on the amounts of their salaries, just going on the Independent article from christmas.

Each 'event' has to pay a one off fee to Parkrun of £3000 (sound like a franchise to anyone?)
Parkrun employs 20 paid staff across the UK
In the US the city/council charges Parkrun $30,000 to be allowed to use a park.
After America Parkrun is expanding into China, does anyone really think the owner won't end up a multi-millionaire?

There is a cost to the Parkrun as an organisation. It costs £3million to run for the first 10 years. There are bibs for all the volunteers, an enormous website updated weekly, electronic chips for the finishers, megaphones, and God knows what I've forgotten. That's why it needs sponsors, as it is not charging participants.

America parkrun has about 200 runners maximum across the country as far as I can see,. I hope they can get their numbers up by a fair few thousand.

I think he deserves to end up a multimillionaire! Unfortunately for him, he won't be on the back of parkrun. Maybe he should think of a new venture to make some money.

Still don't think they shouldn't have to pay to use venues same as any other commercial organisation....

OK... they can't charge for parking as the county council does not allow the local council to do so... car park cannot have any fee levied on it.

Parkrun does make money, it has to as it gives so much to each 'club' to give away for free. No one involved in the individual runs is paid, but they do get all the gubbins for free. The sponsorship pays for the online presence, organisation, barcodes (not the bracelets) etc etc etc.

It works! It is one of the mist succesful health initiatives going.

Then... pavements and parks are paid for by your council tax and central gov funding plus other sponsorships.

The problem with this is that the council have tried to levy a few charges that they just don't have the right to. Had they been a bit less bullish they would have been able to discuss the issues and the runners would have been able to offer up something... our local one also clears the paths, sweeps off surface water, reports possible issues and generally treats the track as an extension of their own homes... they take pride and care in it. One easily measurable knock on effect of that has been lowered anti social behaviour in the quiet areas of the park where kids congregate and smoke, chat, play music.

Amazon doesn't make a profit either, does anyone think that makes them a not for profit business?

Why dont the locals get together, separate from Parkrun, and become a Stoke Gifford running club. I have loads of them near me out on the streets.

It is unfair when several hundred people descend on a small area and dont contribute to the maintenance of the facilities. £1 seems pretty fair.

Would be interesting to see how most people felt if council tax was increased to pay for the increased park maintenance in their area. Or is a runner tripped over a pothole and sued the council who couldn't afford the maintenance.

Parkrun needs money form sponsors to pay for signs, barcode and blippers etc. AFAIK parkrun pay for the set up costs from money from sponsors. The local team don't contribute anything but time and bodies on the ground.

The sponsors even subsidise the milestone t-shirts. DS's was only £2.

urban... wtf?

Amazon and a few thousand people who run, volunteer to organise runs for others, yeah! I can see the resemblance

Jeremy that's what tends to happen. A local running club will sort out a Parkrun to widen participation. And they don't pay anything, get a lot of subsidised stuff that amounts to the nuts and bolts of getting time up on a free to access website with your free to access bar code (wristbands an optional paid for extra) and advertising via T shirts etc - all subsidised by that nasty money making company that offers all the freebies, subsidies and self funding opportunities.

It may be free but many who run each week could afford to pay something and might be happy to. Why don't they ask for a donation, maybe a suggested amount of £1, entirely voluntary. I haven't been able to run for a while but if I started again I'd be happy to put a donation in a box each week. I support the principle that it should stay free but a voluntary donation might work.

megletthesecond, actually parkrun says it costs £6000 per event and that they pay half. So it still costs local group £3000. I find it hard to believe a few bibs and signs cost that much.

Oh and Parkruns are usually locals or people from nearby. Its not really a sightseeing thing. You might get the occasional join up, our local run had a birthday recently and other local runs joined in - birthday cake and all.

The route passes my house, as do the running club training routes. If anyone has the right to be pissed off it me, night after night of bloody runners. But do you know what, it really doesn't have any negative impact on me or the routes they run!

That's to set up the whole thing... Here in the UK we operate as an independent not-for-profit organisation supported by commercial and various other supporters. To survive financially we also look for local organisations to contribute towards the establishment of events in their area. We currently seek to achieve a £3,000 (including VAT) start-up fee when establishing an event. This is always a one-off cost and we commit to supporting every event indefinitely from then on.

Agree with urban tbh .

Park run is all very nicely orchestrated to provide a veneer for its real purpose .

Sinister. The real purpose being becoming millionaires I presume.

I would be very interested to know how many of these runners live in Stoke Gifford and how many drive to the park emitting how much CO2?

How many of these runners will be the first to complain if the parish council close the local swimming pool to pay for increased park maintenance?

How many of these runners would run even if parkrun didn't exist?

Why is parkrun subsidising fitbits rather than contributing to the facilities it uses?

Would anyone mind if a hospital said sorry we can't see you today but don't worry you can have 10% off an iphone?

"I set up hillsborough parkrun in Sheffield. It costs £6000 to start one. Parkrun pay half."

It's not even a very nice park.

The other thread

I am bemused. Yes, Parkrun has a dozen paid directors to run an organisation who's objective is to organise free for all forever 5km runs. They could indeed have capitalised on popularity, charged fees, sold membership lists, floated the company based on its potential to create something that could be worth millions one day, but they haven't!!!!!! They run the company and take a salary, based on a turnover quoted above of a couple of hundred thousand and the costs involved to manage 150 weekly events with over 1,500,000 members, these salaries can only be modest.

I was reading today about BP CEO £14,000,000 salary, the Parkrun directors are not bad guys!!!

Yes, someone needs to pay for the parks but Parkrun have admirable goals and deserve support.

60% of the runners are local according to something I read on the other thread.

23,000 previously inactive people joined Parkrun last year.

Running outside uses less energy CO2 than the millions who drive to the gym every week or swim in heated swimming pools.

Who is to say what the motivations are for the director of any company.

The facts are that a private company is trying to build up a global empire, no matter how egalitarian the goal, on the backs of taxpayers and volunteers. We have a right and a duty to say NO, you use it you pay for it. Taxpayers do not have to subsidise private enterprise.