Parkrun to stay free at UK's best park
Telford Town Park is the best in the UK – and has a hugely successful Parkrun that will remain free of charge.
The 450 acre park was voted the best by the general public in the Fields In Trust Awards, which celebrates the contributions and achievement of partner parks.
Telford Town Park had already been shortlisted in the top three parks in the country via a Keep Britain tidy campaign after the Park achieved Green Flag status earlier in 2015
It’s hugely successful Parkrun takes place on Saturdays and the Junior run on Sundays. The Saturday event is regularly attended by as many as 350 people.
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Today 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.
The reassurance came after a parish council elsewhere in the country voted to charges Parkrun to use its park as a contribution to the park’s upkeep.
Councillor Clare said: “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.
“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.”
Telford Town Park is one of the country’s largest urban parks. It is owned by Telford & Wrekin Council and was nominated for the award by a member of the Friends of Telford Town Park, a group which started in 2003 to help give the park extra care and attention.
Friends of Telford Town Park nominated it because of the range of attractions including new features like the water play, high ropes course and adventure golf, the sensory garden, a fantastic mix of biodiversity and nature reserve as well as the more formal gardens.
Events planned in the park in the next few months include the Carnival of Giants on July 16, the Telfood Feastival on July 30-31, T Picnic on September 3 and the West Midlands Kite Festival on September 4.
An aerial video of Telford Town Park’s Parkrun can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSW4ehLxXoM&sns=em
The Telford Town Park Arena is protected by Fields In Trust as a Queen Elizabeth II Field and is the focal point for a variety of community and business events, as well as being available for hire.
Fields In Trust is the only UK wide charity which protects and improves outdoor space for people to enjoy.
