The Greens say it ‘goes against the values of the city’
The lake at St George Park, Bristol(Image: Sophie Grubb/Bristol Live)
A controversial plan that would have seen people charged for using Bristol’s open spaces has been paused just days after its proposal.
The move would have charged professionals such as dog walkers and fitness instructors hundreds of pounds to use parks across the city. As part of new licensing requirements being introduced next month, anyone offering paid-for services in parks and green spaces managed by Bristol City Council would need to pay for a licence.
It included people running exercise classes such as boot camps, yoga and walking groups, who faced needing to apply for a licence in order to operate in Bristol’s parks from Wednesday, October 1.
The aim of this scheme was to help keep people safe, protect parks, and support fair access to Bristol’s shared spaces. But now only days after the proposal, the ruling Greens have ‘paused’ the plan.
Bristol Greens say they believe that the fees associated with the parks licensing scheme as currently proposed are inappropriate and go against many of the values the city. It comes after widespread backlash, with thousands signing a petition urging a “more reasonable” fee and one woman claiming she would face a bill of more than £20,000 a year.
A statement from the Green councillor group said: “We are glad that following discussions with the Chair of the Public Health and Communities Committee, the scheme will be paused while the council gets a clearer understanding of the businesses operating in our parks and the impact the proposed fees will have.
“We encourage all business owners to put in licensing applications so the council can do this effectively.” All parks run by the local authority will come under the new scheme, however Clifton and Durdham Downs may have a different pricing structure to the council’s scheme.
These specific requirements and prices will be announced in due course. Licensing fees start at £450 per year for a single park (excluding The Downs) and £900 for those requiring a licence to cover multiple parks.
Dog walking licences are issued per individual walker and are valid for one park or green space only. For the 2025/26 year the licence for dog walking costs £450. One walker is allowed a maximum of six dogs at any one time.