Picked up on an informative and important article from the good writers at Bikeradar. In essence, it looks like Forestry England's new National Pricing Strategy takes what was a minimal license fee for businesses operating on their land to a 20% revenue cut. An exponential rise.
Like this?
Inevitably as this is a massive chunk of cost to absorb or pass on to customers, this could put businesses into jeopardy.
Seems counterintuitive that something that encourages folks into a) nature, b) a healthy way of life (mental and physical) c) is often a gateway for new riders or young riders into the sport d) and something that supports local economies is coming under such a sledgehammer of financial pressure. This is more acute especially when the cost of living crisis already puts so much pressure on where households choose to spend their cash.
I assume businesses like cafes, Go Ape, bike hire, and shops are different models or will this impact them? Where do photographers who photograph nature or sports sit in this puzzle? What will this mean for Wales, Scotland, and /or Northern Ireland? Are you an MTB coach or guiding business? How is business these days? How can the MTB community help? Forestry England would you like to comment? You promote your forests for Mountain biking a lot, I assume without mountain biker traffic your business would struggle? All, let us know your thoughts.
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