Ministers will also examine whether the plans should be extended to other organisers of fun runnings, and to different consumers of parks such as professional bird-dog walkers and personal trainers.
The consultation mentions: “Local authorities quite legitimately charge for a variety of different events and specific activities that take place in local parks …
“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, overruling our long standing convention of free access to parks for their everyday use.”
Parkrun, a not-for-profit company which organises free, weekly, timed runs around the world, began life in 2004 with an event in Teddington, south-west London.
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