To: Bristol City Council

Keep Bristol parks and open spaces free for all

In an attempt to save money Bristol City Council are planning to introduce a charge for members of the public that utilise their parks and open spaces to operate a business, such as fitness instructors and professional dog walkers.

We want Bristol parks and open spaces to be free for all who use them.

Why is this important?

Many fitness instructors and dog professionals are small businesses that do not employ anyone. We do what we do because we love it, not to make big profits. We offer services that are of great value to the public and the local authority. We believe Bristol City Council should be supporting self employed people running small businesses, not making money from us.

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Updates

2018-11-30 08:20:42 +0000

1,000 signatures reached

2018-05-16 17:56:26 +0100

500 signatures reached

2018-05-16 09:11:21 +0100

"The proposal (agreed by Cabinet on 1st May) is to charge 10% of the gross income from the activity as the site fee for using the green spaces. E.g. a once-a-week bootcamp class charging £5 for 12 attendees would have an annual fee of £288 (£2,880 income from the parks activity); a dog walker walking 30 dogs a day, £5 a dog, 5 days a week would have an annual fee of £3,600 (£36,000 income from the parks activity); [based on 48 weeks a year operation]; a balloon operator taking 12 people, £100 each would have a fee per flight of £120 (based on income of £1200 per flight). It should be noted that professional dog walk companies will be approached to secure agreements, so that domestic dog walkers will not be disturbed."

2018-05-15 17:36:17 +0100

100 signatures reached

2018-05-15 16:31:43 +0100

50 signatures reached

2018-05-15 16:04:49 +0100

25 signatures reached

2018-05-15 15:48:59 +0100

10 signatures reached