No plans to charge for Shropshire parkruns, say councils

Telford Town Park and The Quarry in Shrewsbury both welcome hundreds of runners every Saturday for the weekly parkruns, a national scheme which has events the length and breadth of Britain.

This week Stoke Gifford Parish Council announced that is was going to charge parkrun UK to hold its events in Little Stoke Park, near Bristol.

The council said it is unfair to expect non-running residents to pay for the upkeep of pathways.

But both Telford & Wrekin Council and Shrewsbury Town Council say they have no plans to charge.

The Telford parkrun began three years ago and the Saturday event is regularly attended by as many as 350 people.

A junior run is also held on Sundays.

Councillor Liz Clare, Telford & Wrekin Council's cabinet member for Leisure Services and Culture, reassured the country's park runners that there were no plans to charge for parkrun.

"We felt it was important that all the people that use our beautiful park to take part in parkrun weren't worrying that charging for parkrun was going to become the norm," she said.

"Obviously I can't speak for anywhere else but I can definitely say that we have no plans to charge people to take part in our parkrun.

"We are proud of our event and delighted that so many take part and enjoy our park in this way."

Kim Fawke, event director for Telford parkrun, said: "We are thrilled to be given this reassurance. Telford Town Park is a great park is a great venue and it is great that the council support us.

"We work closely with the council."

Shrewsbury parkrun started in September 2013, and since then 5,741 different runners have completed 35,502 runs covering a total distance of 177,510 km.

Mike Cox, outdoor recreation and asset manager for Shrewsbury Town Council, said: "Our agreement with Shrewsbury parkrun is the same as it has always been – as long as the town council does not incur any costs as a direct result of the event then we will not charge for use of The Quarry.

"We have an excellent working relationship with the organisers of the parkrun, which has gone from strength to strength, growing from around 250 initial runners to some 400 regular participants.

"We recognise the health benefits of being able to exercise in a safe and pleasant environment, as well as the positive impact Shrewsbury parkrun has on the local economy as participants often stay in town for a coffee or browse round the shops afterwards.

"Parkrun has been so successful we are also working with the organisers to introduce a junior event in the near future."

Web links:

• parkrun.org.uk/telford

• parkrun.org.uk/shrewsbury

• parkrun.org.uk

A statement on the Shrewsbury parkrun website says: "We have a fantastic working relationship with the town council and we are very lucky to have the Quarry as our venue.

"It is jewel in the crown of Shrewsbury. I hope this news calms any fears there were after the Little Stoke verdict."

Sports minister Tracey Crouch has joined gold medal-winning runners Paula Radcliffe and Kelly Holmes in condemning Stoke Gifford Parish Council.

Ms Crouch, the sports, tourism and heritage minister, tweeted:

The minister, who is on maternity leave, added, "What I always say: good councils recognise value of investment in sport & leisure on other more expensive budgets".

Radcliffe tweeted: