Fee for dog-walking firms in parks a 'catastrophe'

St George Park in Bristol will be one of many for which the charges will apply

Dog walkers, outdoor yoga teachers and fitness trainers - who are among small business owners who could be charged to operate in Bristol's parks - say the planned move could be "an absolute catastrophe" for them.

Bristol City Council wants to charge such commercial services at least £450 per park per year from 1 October.

Matt Peters, a professional dog walker from Montpellier, said he faced a £1,400 fee as he used three parks. "We pay for our dog walking licences, our insurances, public liability insurance, we pay our council tax like anybody else. It seems like this is going to be another tax on small business people."

City councillor Stephen Williams said the move was "in a discovery phase".

He added Bristol was "an outlier" compared to other councils and any money made would be reinvested into parks.

From 1 October, anyone offering paid-for services in any of the city's 400 parks will be charged per park, per person, per year.

It also includes those who hold yoga sessions, walking groups and any other paid-for exercise or wellness sessions.

Anyone who takes part in groups such as Parkrun, which are free to join, will not be charged.

Matt Peters says the proposal will cost him more than £1,000

Mr Peters, who walks dogs as a business in parks such as St George Park, told BBC Radio Bristol the move would be an "absolute catastrophe for some of us".

He added the proposal had been "brought in at very short notice, there's been no public consultation about it".

"The end result in this could be that prices go up so far for some users. That it becomes untenable for clients to pay the sort of fees we're going to have to put our prices up to.

"Which, in the long run, means dogs may even be relinquished to rescue centres."

Ailie Tam says the move would mean her classes become financially "unviable"

Ailie Tam, a yoga instructor who uses St George Park and Troopers Hill, said she would have to pay nearly £1,000 which is "more money than I'd make".

"I'm still trying to process all of this," she said. "It doesn't make it viable to run those classes."

Williams, for the council, added: "We simply don't know the range of activities in our parks, what people are charging, what insurance they have in place.

"Once we've got that full picture we'll be able to set our charges accordingly."

He added Bristol was an "exception in not doing" the proposal, stating South Gloucestershire, Bath and North East Somerset, and Somerset councils all charged businesses for using parks.

He said park wardens would be deployed to ensure the charges were paid.