A proposed fee increase by the Sutherland Shire Council has left personal trainers and fitness business owners outraged.

Currently, trainers pay a yearly permit fee to use public parks for group fitness sessions. However, the council is considering a staggering 1600% increase.

“This reeks of a council cash grab,” Chris O’Keefe told listeners on 2GB Drive.

“What impact does people doing burpees in the park for an hour have on council-run local parks? Zero is the answer.”

Simone, a personal trainer and owner of Energy Fitness, has been using Gymea Bay Oval in the Sutherland Shire for outdoor boot camps. The council’s justification for the hike is to ensure fees better reflect the impact of commercial activities on community assets. However, many argue that the impact is negligible, and the fee increase is a cash grab.

“If they had just doubled our fee to $500, there’d be no complaints”, local trainer Simone told O’Keefe.

See a statement from the Sutherland Shire Council below:
Sutherland Shire Council recently conducted a comprehensive review of the use of public open space by commercial sport and fitness trainers aimed at ensuring this policy better reflects community sentiment around managing the impact these activities can have on surrounding residents, protecting public infrastructure and addressing public risk. This review was then placed on public exhibition with members of the public invited to have their say via Council’s ‘Join the Conversation’ platform. Submissions have closed on this policy, but more information on this issue can still be sourced here.

Independently, Council also conducted a review of the fees charged to commercial operators using these spaces with a view to ensuring these fees better reflect the impact that such activities have on our community assets. This review was conducted to ensure a consistent approach to the way Council levies fees for the commercial use of other community assets.

While all licensing fees charges to commercial sport and fitness trainers would increase should the recommendations of the committee be adopted, these fees would be tiered so as not to place undue financial impost on charity groups or small operators who use Council facilities.

Charges would range from an annual fee of $450 for charity groups conducting coaching or fitness activities on Council maintained open spaces, $1,250 for medium sized groups, through to an annual fee of $4,500 payable by large operators conducting classes for groups of up to 18 in one session.

This proposed fee structure has been benchmarked fees charged by other metropolitan NSW councils, and provides a more equitable way of ensuring those who use community assets for commercial gain make a meaningful contribution towards their upkeep.

Council is keenly focused on ensuring that we provide quality, well-maintained sports facilities and open spaces for the enjoyment of all members of our community, and these changes – if adopted – are aimed at ensuring the highest impact commercial users of these facilities also play their role in supporting the maintenance of these community assets.