Fees for personal trainers on Downs discussed in secret after public kicked out

Anybody whose business involves using the Downs could soon be charged an undisclosed figure for an annual licence to use the area. Parks licences were proposed earlier this month by Bristol City Council covering parks across the city. This would involve charging businesses a £450 licence fee every year, for activities like professional dog walking, yoga or bootcamps.

But fees for the Downs would be different. After a huge backlash, council bosses swiftly put the proposals on pause pending further talks with affected businesses. However the licences could still go ahead for the Downs, and potentially at a more expensive price per licence. Although the details of this are confidential.

Campaigners tried to ask the Downs committee, formed of councillors and members of the Society of Merchant Venturers, about the proposed licences during a public meeting on Monday, September 15. Instead of getting a response, they were told to leave the meeting.

Conservative Councillor Henry Michallat, the lord mayor and chair of the Downs committee, said: “The items we’re discussing in the closed session contain sensitive information and confidential information. Openness and involvement are something that this committee takes very seriously — but we have to have the ability to discuss sensitive information.

“Some of it is private correspondence, legal information and commercially sensitive information. We want to be as open and transparent as possible. But obviously there’s sensitive information that we need to discuss in private.”

The Downs are a popular exercise spot for people running, playing football, taking bootcamp classes and even playing Quidditch. Some exercise classes however can attract large groups as big as 60 people, prompting complaints from the Downs Advisory Panel. Two years ago the panel suggested that personal trainers should be charged up to £1,000 a year for a licence.

Maureen Norman, a local resident, said: “What is the intention of the Downs committee regarding the suggested charges for exercise classes and dog walkers? The Downs are supposed to belong to the people of Bristol and there should not be charges for this. After all, the van dwellers are causing more problems than exercise classes.”

The proposal to charge licences to use the parks stretches back to 2018. The former Labour cabinet signed off plans exploring the licences, but ultimately dropped them as they said fees “were a bad idea”. Then earlier this month, the council announced that the plan had been revived. This sparked immediate opposition and over 4,000 petitioners were against the idea.

While the responsibility for parks lies with the public health and communities policy committee, led by Liberal Democrat Cllr Stephen Williams, the U-turn was announced by the Greens. They said the fees were “inappropriate” and “go against many of the values the city and we as a party hold as important”.