Ministers step into Parkrun row, telling councils to get events started

Ministers have intervened in the row over Parkrun events, telling councils to give them the green light.

In a letter to local authorities, they called for the popular weekly 5km runs to be allowed to resume after only a handful in London were granted permission to return.

The events were set to relaunch on June 5 but have been postponed by organisers until the end of the month at the earliest.

In their letter, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden and Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said such events could now legally go ahead.

“In the interest of public health they should now restart,” they said.

It comes after Olympic hero Lord Coe urged councils to reconsider their position in last Thursday’s Evening Standard.

Parkrun organisers pulled the plug on their return amid concerns about possible overcrowding after just 250 out of 729 nationally were approved to run. In London, just three out of 56 events were given the go-ahead.

Many councils suggested they wished to wait until all restrictions were lifted on June 21 — while some cited issues such as grass damage.

Stressing how “vital” exercise is for physical and mental health as the UK emerges from the pandemic, the Cabinet secretaries wrote: “In the interest of public health they should now restart. We therefore strongly urge local authorities to ensure that they are applying their powers in a consistent and proportionate manner and progressing Parkrun’s applications at pace.”

Parkrun is targeting a return of all events in England on June 26, with a decision being made on June 11.

Nick Pearson, Parkrun’s global chief executive, said the ministers’ intervention was a “huge step forward”.