A LEAKED letter has revealed that the National Trust planned to introduce admissions charges for a free Fermanagh 5k run.
Two weeks ago it was revealed that the Enniskillen parkrun was to move from its Trust owned home of two years - Castle Coole, leaving event directors "devastated".
The National Trust insisted the decision was 'mutual' and due to the long-term conservation impact at the estate. It denied runners had been asked to pay an admission charge.
However a letter sent on May 30 to a director of Enniskillen parkrun by Fermanagh National Trust manager Jim Chestnutt provides evidence that a request was made to charge participants.
It reveals a meeting was held between Trust and parkrun representatives on May 29 and Mr Chestnutt announced his intention to offer Parkrun at Castle Coole a "renewed licence subject to the property's normal admission policy effective from 1 July".
He said in the letter that since Parkrun started at Castle Coole two years ago the Trust had put their normal admission policy "into abeyance" to allow National Trust membership to grow, but had been left 'disappointed' just 20 per cent of runners had become fully fledged members.
"It is disappointing that up to 80 per cent of participants are not members, and therefore the majority of participants are not contributing directly to the care of Castle Coole, whilst other visitors and especially members of the local community are expected to adhere to our normal admission policy," he wrote.
Mr Chestnutt said it was "unfair" that runners could use facilities for free.
"Despite your efforts and ours the majority of parkrun participants have not demonstrated their support for the work that the Trust, as a charity is investing to present the property to the standard which it currently enjoys," Mr Chestnutt wrote.
In response to the letter being made public a National Trust spokesman said:
“The Fermanagh team engaged with local park runners in May, and also earlier in the year, to seek a solution to the increasing challenges of this event. In the months since that time the discussions moved on significantly , so it would not be representative of the process to look at one letter in isolation.
“After this period we consulted much further with parkrun at a regional and national level. The National Trust agree and support the ethos that parkrun is free to all and charges were never introduced. We also jointly agreed that the growing impact of the run could not be sustained. As a result of that lengthy process we made a joint decision to seek a new venue, and we wish parkrun every success in their new venue.”
The Enniskillen parkrun will move to the nearby Lakeland Forum leisure centre from September 3 on a temporary basis as organisers search for a new home.
An online petition from parkrunners calling for the National Trust to restore their permanent home has received over 700 signatures.
