Local Authority fees

[Red Adder]

What experiences are club's having with access charges from local councils.

Traditionally SuffOC has had free access to local parks and some larger country parks but recently the local councils all seem to be imposing fees for their 'declared' use. They call it an "Admin fee" and also use it to try and impose a H&S regime. Typically they £ 50 for a club training evening at which 20-30 attend, or £ 70 and upwards for a CATI, and have even asked for £2 per head including children at another location

It seems excessive especially when a park is full of joggers, and 2/3 pub football teams doing fairly formal training. It does seem if you declare your prescence you get stung, but if you say nothing you pay nothing.

[graeme]

Write to your councillor. (Better still, hand out proforma letters at your event when you're charging people). This is one of the few things they really can change.

[seabird]

We've certainly had a problem with one of the parks in Leeds to the point where we have not used what was a frequently used area for several years now, as the charges being demanded for even the smallest lcoal event were exorbitant.

Perversely I am aware of cross country races that have occurred within the same park without access (or entry) charges over the same period. But do running clubs go to the trouble of seeking permissions?

The problem seemed to be more the initiative of the particular Park Management than Council policy, as we don't have the same problem with other Leeds owned areas, most of which positively welcome us. Indeed when the problem first emerged elected representatives managed to get the decision to charge overturned, but it returned the following year and has remained unresolved since.

Essentially it ended up taking up too much of the volunteer Permissions Officer's time, so we choose to ignore the area, which is a shame as we have staged 2 BSOCs and the 1st JK Sprint there. Which of course may be part of the reason for the problem; once you pay access fees for a large event, park managment may feel that you can pay the same for all events, however small in scale and impact.

The park in question is now asking us to update the POC and and supply updated maps for it. Our Permissions Officer is re-entering discussion with them on the basis of seeking a "you scratch our back we'll scratch yours" agreement.

[geomorph]

We've certainly had a problem with one of the parks in Leeds to the point where we have not used what was a frequently used area for several years now, as the charges being demanded for even the smallest lcoal event were exorbitant.

Essentially it ended up taking up too much of the volunteer Permissions Officer's time, so we choose to ignore the area, which is a shame as we have staged 2 BSOCs and the 1st JK Sprint there. Which of course may be part of the reason for the problem; once you pay access fees for a large event, park managment may feel that you can pay the same for all events, however small in scale and impact.

The park in question is now asking us to update the POC and and supply updated maps for it. Our Permissions Officer is re-entering discussion with them on the basis of seeking a "you scratch our back we'll scratch yours" agreement.

Yes its hard to get them to see that in many circumstances the meet is informal and the money changing hands is just for the map with no club profit intended.

Approach the local councillor, but also the professional manager at the top of the leisure/recreation tree in the council, and try Seabird's approach re POC and combine with a formal usage agreement that ensures H&S liabilities are recognised as covered under club's management. POC's go a long way towards meeting provision targets and so can lead to win-win without money changing hands

What is silly about these levels of charges is that it actually costs more for the Park to administer than you are paying them, and in return you then boycott them for the larger events.