What do you think of councils charging to exercise in the park?

Having just had to kit out a mortuary with extra wide fridges and body lifters which can cope with 280kg bodies, i think this is not the time to be putting barriers in the way of keeping fit, and promoting healthy lifestyles.

I think this is a disgrace.  The UK spend a lot of money on marketing to try to get people to exercise more, and ease the burden on the NHS, but this completely goes against that effort.  I love running through Victoria Park at the weekend and seeing lots of other runners, cyclists, people walking, and organised fitness classes to motivate people who find it easier to exercise as part of a group.

Disgrace and pathetic. I would also like to say that the land on this earth does not belong to anybody, not councils, parks and countryside and people that think they own the earth.

That's outrageous! Parks are free, people shouldn't have to pay to run classes there. Anything that gets people exercising should be welcomed. 

280kg!? What are the bodies made of, depleated uranium?

Futhermore we already pay for the parks, it is called council tax.

Disgrace, we've got some amazing parks and it always makes me smile when I see other people out enjoying the space, whether it's running, cycling, a game of footie... This just sounds like councils fat cats wanting to make more and not money

Darned ridiculous. Some of the parkruns have had to make special negotiations with their councils. In Olympic year too, where they are trying to get more people into sport. It's beyond me.

I think the point is that the councils want to charge the people running fitness courses. Presumably any one taking a fitness course or boot camp in the park is paying an instructor. The instructor is running a business on council property, similar to a licenced ice cream van  operating a business from a park, but the fitness instructor running the class is not paying for the privillage of using the park to run his business.  We need to appreciate that nothing in life is free and councils need to make money to run local amenities.It is a shame but a hard fact of economic life.  The class users pay the instructor - the instructor pays the council for the privillage of using their facilities. We all benefit.

Forces Fitness (military fitness) who I train with in Singleton Park in Swansea had to apply to the council for a licence to operate in the park, and they had to do a presentation. I guess they have to cover all the health and safety stuff like risk assessments etc too.

If the council are providing qualified instructors and theres demand for it its a great idea. It gives somebody a job and could encourage more people to excercise and use the park. If councils can raise money in this way they can afford keep parks better maintained making them more pleasant and possibly safer for us .  However I would be opposed to a charge just to use a park to excercise without tuition which is what the initial question implies.  Everyone should be intitled to free access to Britains council owned parks and encouraged to make full use of them.  

Wow! Our taxes usually cover the park maintenance... I wouldn't be happy to have to pay twice.

Public parks are one of the few "discretionary services" that people of every age can use, that those who don't have children can get some direct benefit from (unlike schools) and of course they provide great open space for exercise for anyone who wants to use them.  OF COURSE councils should not charge for general access to parks.