Parish scraps fitness instructor charges for its parks

Monday 12 February 2018

Hire charges for fitness instructors to hold exercise classes in the parks and gardens in St. Helier have been dropped, after the Parish listened to concerns raised.

St. Helier charged £50 each time an instructor wanted to hold a class in one of the Parish's open green spaces, or they charged for various licences at discounted rates of £100 for three months, £175 for six months or £300 for an annual fitness licence. Instructors also have to pay a £200 refundable deposit to cover any damage.

The news that the charges are to be dropped follows a Bailiwick Express report which highlighted that fitness instructors cannot hold outdoor classes during the warmer months as they are just too expensive. 

Personal trainer and Kettlecise instructor, Adele Prince, told Express: “£50 for an hour’s class in a park that isn’t being used – it’s insane.”

“The States really need to do something on the health problems and obesity in Jersey and this would help. Prevention is always better than cure,” added Adele.

Founder of Kalimukti yoga studio, Calli De La Haye, said: “I would very much like to make more Kalimukti classes available outdoors, but it’s simply too expensive for an option that is so unreliable as we have to make sure we have a studio slot as a back-up plan.

“Summer classes can be quite hit and miss so another issue is paying for a licence to then have no people show up, plus paying the teacher... we can easily end up making a loss!”

Pictured: Cali was only able to hold charity yoga session in the parks due to the hire charges. 

The Parish has now decided to drop the charges for keep-fit classes unless it is a commercial event attracting a large number of people paying to attend.

Tony Andrews from St. Helier Parks Department said: “We hope this will encourage more individuals to enjoy the open spaces and parks administered by St Helier.

“The Parks are provided for all to enjoy; therefore, a particular group cannot guarantee that they will be able to use a particular park or area in a park as someone else may be there, we would ask groups to contact us so we can diarise their event and help advise if there are any clashes, we will also ask our park keepers to monitor the events and feedback to our team on any issues we may be able to advise on.”

Mr Andrews said the charges were dropped: “…after we listened to the concerns raised and felt that there was a good argument to support the review the charges.”

The news has been welcomed by Calli saying: This is fantastic news as it means we can run yoga classes in the parks and gardens when the glorious summer weather arrives and people can enjoy time outside whilst exercising and improving their well-being. 

“After a whole day at the office, what a great feeling to relax in the park doing yoga instead of being indoors and out of the sun for even longer! This also means we can run lunchtime sessions for a much needed yoga fix outside in the park amongst nature!

Adele has also labelled the news as “fantastic” and adds: “I will now definitely be doing more charity Circuit and Kettlebell classes on People's Park.”