[Closed] BikePark Wales' cost increases

Agree completely.  I've noticed the full day uplift is going to £41.50 for the day from July onwards, that's ridiculous.

I do love a day there and we tend to do it once every 3-4 months, but with the prices as they are now, I'll probably save a few quid by taking my own food and drink rather than spending another tenner in the cafe.

Yes, there are plenty of new things coming there and the trails are great, but they're pricing some people out - especially families.

Cost of living Increase, isn't it.

Prices seem top end of fairish to me for a fun day out, plus there's not too much competition in their particular niche of the uplift market.

For me £40 for the uplift ticket plus other cost for the day are just to high but I’m sure it won’t hurt there attendance number

Guess the PAYG thing is more hassle to them than it's worth so they're pushing people more to either do the whole day or pedal up.

Aside from Antur though the set up is the most comprehensive and as the two venues offer very different experiences I'd say BPW is pretty unique (said as someone who is still on the fence about the place).

I think they have a advantage that they can get loads of people from the south days tripping but North Wales is more a weekend away.  Hence they can push the prices.

It makes those of us local ish (hour 20 away) think twice heading up for the old pedal up and token uplift job!  Only able to buy half day pass at £30 on day!  Half a day being 3 hours!  So £10 pedal up fee plus £30 half day uplift makes it an expensive day!  Especially with a rip off shop and shit burger.

They need to spend time time looking at their uplift operation rather than pushing the prices up in an attempt to reduce queues.  Shame I’m sure they will  U turn given the backlash on their facebook page

This has gone down very badly with local riders.

£90 a time now to take my two kids to do one lap, two on a good day.

£40 seems ok when you look at the ridiculous price of most people's bikes now. If you can afford a £4k edoooooro rig then you can afford the uplift.

I can see how the locals might not like it, but at least they are surrounded by mountains. For me, ANY  day in the mountains is going to cost at least £50 in fuel just to get there!

The uplift price I can take. I only get there once a year if I'm lucky and its fun. But the new PAYG price is just bluntly a rip off. £30 for a half day...please! The problem is that you cant just think a week in advance, oh, lets go to BPW on the weekend and do the uplift as it gets booked out 3 months in advance. We are going in June and we booked almost 4 weeks ago and even then there were only 6 spots left on the saturday. The previous two times we have gone we have used PAYG and it was fine - we would have gone day pass if we could have got the dam things!  Time for a chair lift or even some type of rope tow could work I'm sure. I guess its a case of "we can charge want we want and people still come"

It's the pedal pass price increase that has me annoyed most, living half an hour away I used to be up there quite often on afternoons and early mornings when it was £5/6, but £10 means you have to do a full day there to make it remotely justifiable.

There's always the argument that you can have a £4k gnarpoon but that's completely missing that it's a few hundreds of pounds a year to keep going if you're using and looking after it properly. Then petrol etc on top and riding isn't cheap, especially when places try and charge you a tenner to ride there.

£40 seems ok when you look at the ridiculous price of most people’s bikes now. If you can afford a £4k edoooooro rig then you can afford the uplift.

What a load of absolute garbage! Some people decide to spend their money on a bike and not a car.  The cost of their bike has absolutely nothing to do with the price anyone should pay to access BPW.  The prebooked uplift rates have barely changed its the day rates which are now a joke

People pay money to ride down hills how weird!!

Presumably just price rising to meet demand? They always seem busy.

That’s exactly how I see it Northwind.  People will pay so they will charge it.  Just hidden behind uplift queue reduction ‘noise’ truth is they just need to manage what they have more effectively.  I suspect there will be a U turn given the amount of backlash on facebook.

Business in making as much money as possible shocker.

Not been and won’t be rushing at those prices. Makes it an event rather than something to do at the weekend.

I presume the increase is due to the changes coming up at BPW

They are going on grid for electricity and water which cant be cheap, bonus is they are looking into showers for those muddy days

The fire road to the top is being widened in places so there are less passing points which should shave some time off the drive to the top

They are trying out a new uplift vehicle soon and if it works out they will be buying more, those tranny's take a beating going up that road all day every day fully loaded

3 new trails opening soon too

Also the cafe menu is being revamped with a new executive chef

These things cant be cheap, i don't mind paying £40 ish to ride there 3-4 times a year, even with fuel divided between 3 of us (£20 each) its a £60 day out, most normal people are happy to blow that on beer and a takeaway at weekends!

More info on the changes here

https://www.bikeparkwales.com/the-next-steps-for-bikepark-wales

Top whining, Bravo.

I imagine they’re just fed up with the people who don’t book but then whinge about waiting longer for a PAYG lift.

As for the cost, hard to imagine anyone spending £30+ a day to ride their £1000+ bikes is going to struggle for that.

£10 a day doesn't seem bad, costs £7 to park at some trail centres!

That's £10 each not per car load though. For a family of 4 the uplift is even further out of reach. I'll make 'em pedal up like last time we were there it's quite a nice climb, though if you are allowed to pedal up the road it would be a lot easier! Anyone know?

Clearly the PAYG pricing has been set to drive off the casual uplifters when they were regularly selling out the pre-booked day passes.

£40 for an occasional uplift I could stomach, but not too often... Maybe once a year.

But a tenner to pedal up? Nah, that's taking the piss a bit, I've pedalled up there more than I've uplifted, I quite like it but at £10 I'll visit less often...

Ultimately I think the market will just about bare the price hikes most weekends London seems to empty out onto the M4 with fist-fulls of cash to lob about in the provinces, sad that it's pricing people with more modest means out of regular visits.

Hopefully more people will look to go riding elsewhere in the area at it will bolster the other centres in South Wales...

I would never have a problem with a business making a profit!  They need to make money to survive and grow.  My issue is the disingenuous nature they have announced hikes.  I pedal up there usually and purchase the ‘prepaid’ cards.  It’s now ridiculous in terms of cost.  Hidden behind ‘to sort queuing issues’ as a regular user the issue is more sound how they operate the uplift!  If they looked more at their current opperarional Efficiency they would reduce queuing significantly, however it’s easier to blame the customer and increase charges. Which is pretty naive!  Still it’s their business and good luck to them, but as a more regular rider there my riding group are all ‘out’ so i guess they have sorted the queuing issue out in that regard.

So £10 pedal up fee plus £30 half day uplift makes it an expensive day!

The half day uplift includes pedal up for the rest of the day.

Lots of improvements going on which inevitably cost money to implement. We were there on Friday and the improvements to the uplift fire road were already making a significant difference in turnaround times.

At least the bridge tolls are going at the end of the year...

£40 seems ok when you look at the ridiculous price of most people’s bikes now. If you can afford a £4k edoooooro rig then you can afford the uplift.

Some people have have £4k bikes, many don't. Alot of people on older and second hand bikes.

The PAYG charge and ride up is the too expensive ones IMO.  I would not want to pay £10 to ride up if I just had a hour before or two free.

I don't want to interrupt all this moaning, but I've just had a thought - what if this charge actually reflects the cost of providing the service?

I was there last week. With the wider road & uplift going over lunch it was the smoothest running day ever! So the improvements are great news for someone like me who goes 3-4 times a year. Plus it sounds like there’ll be the option of last minute uplift tickets, just turn up early and pay £60 for the day rather than booking 3 months in advance!!

Sucks for locals, mind, although it sounds like they don’t actually spend much money there so you can see why they’re not the focus. It doesn’t make it clear whether the season ticket will offer 50% off these new half day passes, that might make it reasonable if you go loads!

I don’t want to interrupt all this moaning, but I’ve just had a thought – what if this charge actually reflects the cost of providing the service?

Don't be coming on here with your rational thought.It's price gouging gone mad I tell thee....they're all driving round in platinum plated Bentleys.How the hell am I going to afford a £300 cassette and upgrade to 2019 Fox 36's at £1000 a pop if I have to pay £6 more?
(Does suck a bit for the locals tbh,which is a shame.Because there's barely anywhere else to ride down there).

You wait until you only have to book a month in advance instead of 3....that'll teach them.

I too think £30 for a half day is taking the mick if a full day only costs a few quid more. The other issue is you cant pre-buy a half day so you could travel there and be turned away as they have all sold out.

Saying that, its a great place and has done so much for the area so I will still go (for the full day) and I guess it will continue to be a success regardless of the ticket price.

I don’t want to interrupt all this moaning, but I’ve just had a thought – what if this charge actually reflects the cost of providing the service?

No-one is saying it isnt/doesn't. That doesn't mean people will think it's fair or appropriate. Only time will tell really on that score, but by the looks of it, a fair few people are being put off by the cost changes. I'm a rare attendee at BPW so it doesn't massively affect me...But by the same count, the new pricing has made me think "Sod it, i'll just go to Afan"... If many people do that, then BPW will find their numbers drop...

AS i say, time will tell for them if it's the right or wrong decision.

Motorbike trackdays have gone the same way for me, sure they're only £20 more than they were 2 years ago.. but now a day on track means £200 start price at Silverstone and even though it's not THAT much more, the general principal means i've kicked trackdays into touch rather than pay the extra £20.

So £10 pedal up fee plus £30 half day uplift makes it an expensive day!

The half day uplift includes pedal up for the rest of the day.

That's BPW's argument saying that they priced it as 1/2 day uplift plus pedal pass, ie 20 + 10. But you only need a half day pedal pass if you're on 1/2 day uplift (you don't need any pedal pass for a full day uplift). So based on BPW's own reasoning it should be 20 + 5, and that 1/2 day pedal pass should be optional.

However the point remains that upping the cost of a pedal pass to 10 and removing the PAYG option hits those who might pop in to ride for a couple of hours or maybe a 1/2 day or so. It also impacts those who want a leisurely few uplifts to session trails without racing the uplift busses, similarly those with kids who might only get an uplift or 2 in due to time/speed/endurance.

I'm not convinced by all this talk of making the uplift more efficient to get more runs in. Recently when I have been there it feels like the uplift could be running quicker / more efficiently but they are running it a pace / schedule to throttle the number of runs and hence the amount of wear on the trails per paying customer. Any changes to uplift efficiency will be to get more paying customers on site not more runs per customer IMHO.

The new changes means I can’t take my wife and 2 kids. I’ll do a couple of trips this year and ride all day and I think the day fee is reasonable for the uplift and infrastructure.

I was hoping to take the kids in the summer and I figured we could ride up once, do half a trail and ride back up. Then do a full run to the bottom. That would be a full morning I reckon (kids don’t pay to ride in the park). The plan would then have been to get 4 uplift tickets for £16 after lunch. 1 uplift, ride half then ride back up. Full run down. Not a bad day out for them, plus there is the green and pump track.

That plan would now cost £120. That for me is a shame and they’re putting major obstacles in the way of kids riding there.

We can go to fod and pay £10 for 4 of us to get 1 lift which is their little treat after riding up and down all day. They love their downhills!

I’ll still ride there but I can’t see me going with the kids.

It's a shame for us, my son & i recently discovered the joys of BPW, buying a book of 5 pre paid uplifts to use through the day.

For us the pre paid book took a gamble with the weather out of the equation (i don't wanna book months in advance to ride in heavy rain).

I love a bit of climbing, my son doesn't, & it gave us a great venue to both enjoy the trails.

We'd usually get in 5 runs in our time there, a half day pass will probably cut this to 3 / 4 i guess.

We live 60/75mins away & i'd committed to riding there once a month, but with our combined daily ride fees going from £56 for 5 uplifts each & a days ride pass, to £80 for half a day it's going to stop us going (plus car fuel & food).

As well as the additional costs involved with expanding the venue, i think they have a fair bit to recoup having been hit hard by the snow this year. I'd like to think they could make their services more efficient rather than increase the prices, but they must have looked into this & decided not.

I was never convinced by the concept, but having ridden there i can clearly see the appeal. They have a real good thing going & some super plans to expand. Its clearly a busy venue & with it being booked out months in advance i guess they can raise the prices & still be booked up a long way in advance. Its a shame that they may risk making it too unattainable financially for regular local riders & those with less disposable cash. But they know their market and can afford to price it out of reach for some, knowing they'll still be booked up.

So MTB  is the new golf!

Chipps - could we get a comment from Rowan on the front page explaining the pricing increases?

So MTB  is the new golf!

It's actually the new T6 SWB (204bhp) T32 Sportline (optional 19" rims).

if im paying £40 quid i want picking up from the bottom of 50 shades / roots m / hot stepper!!

E-bikes are the answer.....

Mr Sorrell earlier

Actually I do wonder how many people actually bother to queue at the booth of disorganization and pay for the plain old pedal up passes, maybe I'm a mug but I've always been honest and paid when I've been, but nobody has ever really checked or challenged me to prove that I paid, there's no car parking fee, I do wonder if people there for a half day pedal will just roll up, park and pedal as the focus is always on administering the the uplift...

What is there in place to really to prevent them doing that?

Even if they're caught what can the park staff actually do?

Ask them to leave?

Inform them they're not insured?

Call them freeloaders?

Good point Mahalo... get more bikes available for hire.  If I could rock up after work and have a powered pedal up that would be interesting.  Likely be £100 per pedal up mind off current pricing structure 🙂

I see that there as many experts in the business of running bike parks here as there are experts in the business of running a bike shop.

With so much expertise, I'm surprised there isn't a thriving bike park round every corner.

Just a thought: maybe the people who run BPW actually understand the economics better than the average punter on both the supply side (what they need to charge) and the demand side (what people will pay, in sufficient numbers)?

Crazy thought, I know.

As the uplifts getting booked out months in advance seems to be a big bone of contention, why don't they just stagger the release of passes and make some available closer to the day (but still beyond the useful weather forecast window) to placate the disorganised element of their customer base?

And yeah £30 for three hours of uplift seems a bit rich, and a bit insensitive if it's primarily targeted at the local South Wales-based riders - who'll likely be on lower incomes than the full day pass customers driving over from Surrey in their Audis. You could even say it was a regressive pricing system in that regard.

a new executive chef

And obviously that means getting a load of slates to serve the burgers on, and the cost of foraging pea shoots, wild garlic and mushrooms from around the site. None of that shit comes cheap.

The local proles simply don't understand the kind of standards that the modern mountain-biker demands.

And obviously that means getting a load of slates to serve the burgers on, and the cost of foraging pea shoots, wild garlic and mushrooms from around the site. None of that shit comes cheap.

Or just the job title for somebody who can deliver good quality food, variety and at speed for the right price.

With no more EU funding (thanks Brexit) on the horizon it has to start paying for itself (and future expansion).And they ain't cheap to run.

On the plus side.Revolution is still only £33 (but you'll need to bring your big boy pants) and Antur is £34.50.

It's steep for a half day but if they continue to make money then surely they're happy, it's a business after all

I've only been there once and if I go again it's a long trip so the fuel cost would be more than the ticket anyway.

I'm 30mins away so used to go there quite a bit, few pedal ups then end with a couple of uplifts. I can handle the pass going to £10 but the half day system is awful idea.

What are the future expansion plans for BPW?

I know they've opened several new trails over the last year but I seem to remember hearing that they might carry the park over to the Mountain Ash side at some point...

I remember being trucked up there sat on hay bales in the back of Dumper trucks probably ~15 years ago now at Dragons... There must be some scope to operate a second carpark/cafe/uplift and set of trails from the next valley over IIRC both are FCW operated forrests....

Then they could become a two executive Chef business...

It seems like they're trying to control numbers on site, which is entirely understandable, but there must be a better way of doing that.

Maybe better social media/smartphone app that would still enable you to PAYG but, would also tell you when they're up to capacity & then only able to PAYG by booking back in?

Another idea - extra evening sessions in the lighter months, allowing locals to pop in after work and get 2.5 hours uplift for £15.

Satisfying local demand and creating an additional revenue stream at the same time.

Personally, the number of times one of "us" have not managed to get booked on the uplift, and come along anyway to go on the pay as you go has been useful, and no-one is going to travel on the off chance they can get a half day ticket so that's a step backwards to me.

Yeah the ad-hoc riders must be a bit of a pain for them to manage, Im sure the pre-booked uplift riders are where its at for them.

I don't have an issue with the price increases generally, they are planning a large expansion and improvements, so they need to be paid for, and its not like they are struggling to fill the slots at the moment! they clearly dont really want the come along for a couple of runs lot anymore.

I hope this actually pushed a few more to the other uplift options around and has a effect of benefiting them.

The sheer audacity! As John Lydgate said " You can please some of the people all of the time......"

I've taken my son there a few times - he loves it. We'd still only go 2-3 times a year, and it'd cost me £80 a time, which is pretty crazy, but I'd still pay it for the joy I get from riding with my kid. Looks like we still have to book months in advance, which is a shame. Cost of BPW is balanced by the Merthyr cinema being so cheap for our evening entertainment 🙂

They're not exactly short of cash.

https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/06919030

What are the future expansion plans for BPW?

An uplift driver told us 20 new trails in the next 2 / 3 years utilizing the other side of the hill, plus the current widening of the road to allow two way traffic.

With no more EU funding (thanks Brexit) on the horizon it has to start paying for itself

Beat me to it. It's Brexit, innit 😜

But as said earlier, going "on grid" and the upgrade of the road plus busses may be part of it. Though would have thought they must be making a fair amount of profit given the success of the place and the numbers. 8 busses at times I think, 200ish? people there a day on busy days, both uplift and ride up. A fair size take of money. Though okay, running costs may be fairly high for all those drivers, busses, fuel, rent on the land, building, equipment, staff, etc.

Antur Stiniog have also gone up, from £27 to £31 midweek and from £30 to £35 for the weekend

Ski lift passes in Europe seem much better value, I believe at £20 a day ?

£200 start price at Silverstone

Only £200, that's bloody cheap compared to the car day costs!

its all layed out on the HMRC tax return 

Ski lift passes in Europe seem much better value, I believe at £20 a day ?

Surprised at the prices out there recently having been used to the sharp increase in North American prices, especially Vail Resort run places (Park City especially since it merged with Canyons and doubled the price).

Top ski resorts in Europe are £40+ per day.

If they're marketing themselves as a top biking venue then the prices are going to match - quality costs.

It's not an uncommon tactic for companies to set their pricing to attract the customers they want.  If you want riders there for a full day rather than half a day then set the prices so that a half day is almost the same price as a full day.  You might lose some half day riders but a significant chunk of them will become full day riders (but probably less often) which also gives you more chance to sell them other stuff in the cafe / shop.

Seems an illogical change. Considering they say they keep the blues smooth enough fro 20" wheels, how much value will a family with young kids get from a full or half day pass, as children that small won't manage more than a few runs before they get wobbly?

Good luck to them, I won’t be there much anymore, I quite often work that way and can squeeze in a few hours if I’m passing.

A couple of pedal ups and  catch the odd uplift, then home. Not really worth it with the new prices.

It wont stop me going for full days but casual visits on the way past would need excellent weather and a whole afternoon.

Im more bothered about my favourite trails closing down - 50 shades, route manoeuvres and hot Stepper all going (I think). I love it there but if they go it wont be worth the trip anymore.

I certainly wont be paying £10 to ride anymore anyhow

I wonder if they can legally boot you out - I haven't checked on the OS - are there any public rights of way across that land?

50 shades, route manoeuvres and hot Stepper all going (I think). I love it there but if they go it wont be worth the trip anymore.

Surely 'new tracks' has got to be better than re-riding 'old faves'!

Actually, my maths in my previous post was incorrect.

Heres the text from the BPW website:

A couple of weeks back we announced some of the exciting plans that we have for the future of the park, all of which are designed to provide an even better experience here at BPW. In this announcement we mentioned that we’d be trying out a new ticketing system for the uplift.

As many of you will be aware there are currently two ways to use the uplift at BPW, pre booked priority passes and the PAYG multi ride card system. The aim of the multi ride card was to add some flexibility and allow riders to turn up on the day and get a few runs on the uplift as it can be difficult to pre-book a day pass during busy months. Initially the system worked well but more recently a growing number of PAYG customers have not been experiencing the great service that we strive to deliver.

We have been analysing the uplift for over a year and worked through multiple different scenarios with the aim of providing a ticketing system that works for as many of our customers as possible.  The outcome is that as of the 1^st of May we will be removing the multi ride card from service….Before you panic please continue reading and we’ll explain exactly what this means and how we believe it’s a good thing for everyone!

We are aware that not everyone is able to, or wants to pre book their uplift pass in advance and that not everyone has a full day to spare to ride. With this in mind we will be introducing morning and afternoon half day passes that can only be purchased at reception on the day, there will be no online booking option for these passes. The number of half day tickets will be limited which allows us to have ultimate control of how many riders are using the uplift on a given day and avoid the long PAYG queues that have happened in the past on some very busy days.  Half day pass holders will stand in the same priority queue as pre booked day pass riders so no more annoying long waits to try and fill empty spaces on a bus.

We believe we’ve come up with a system that means every customer who has paid to use the uplift will get great service and a maximum number of runs on the hill.  We’ve tried to accommodate all user groups in our decision and feel this system suits the greatest number of riders.  Couple this with our newly widened road and our soon to be announced secret vehicle and we know we will be offering a better service than ever before.

Below are a few answers to questions that will no doubt be frequently asked to help everyone understand the new ticketing system

What does this mean for my old multi ride card with runs still on it?

Multi ride cards will be valid until the 31^st of July 2018 and can be exchanged or discounted toward a half day pass or pedal pass beyond that date.

What about season pass holders?

Season pass holders will receive a £5 discount on the half day uplift pass.

What about priority and non-priority queuing?

The two queues will be condensed into one single queue of day pass holders and half day pass holders.    Until July 31^st any remaining PAYG cards out in the “wild” will remain in the secondary queue, after that date the non-priority queue will no longer exist.

If I buy a half day pass can I pedal for the other half of the day?

Yes of course, half day uplift passes include a full day pedal pass

What times are the morning and afternoon sessions?

Summer:  Morning - 9.30 to 12.30  Afternoon - 1.30 to 4.30

Winter: Morning - 9 to 12 Afternoon - 1 to 4

How much will half day passes cost?

£28 weekdays

£30 weekends

Remember, this includes your full day pedal pass!

The new system will take effect on May 1^st and we will be closely monitoring the uplift, we are confident this will result in a faster service and more runs on the trails for more riders.

Happy trails!

The BikePark Wales team.

So, for my son & i, instead of £56 for a full days pedaling & 5 uplifts each, it'll be £60 for 1/2 a day & as many uplifts as we can squeeze in. For us, our only issue will be the limited amount of 1/2 day passes only available on the day, its a long way to go to not be able to buy a ticket.

Don't forget - it is a trial, feedback could progress the system.

Their FB comments don't seem to support the change.

The future:
https://www.bikeparkwales.com/the-next-steps-for-bikepark-wales

Sounds good 🙂

Surely ‘new tracks’ has got to be better than re-riding ‘old faves’!

Depends if they are as good as those three I guess 🙂

I much preferred the trails on that side of the hill and that is clearly where the work is taking place.

50 shades and route manoeuvres have a more natural sort of old school downhill track feel about them - steep Rooty and full on. The others felt a bit more generic and bike-parky for my tastes (although still a lot of fun).

I hope they are suitably replaced!

Both here and the facebook comments does seem like the issue is to a vocal minority. Bad for the locals wanting a casual few runs in the afternoon; and those with incredibly complex routes of combination ride up and uplift.

However from memory of people when I've been, there are very few people riding up and/or queuing in the day pass queue. The vast majority (95% at a completely empirical guess) are there on full day passes. If they know that an extra 30 people won't (can't) show up with a ticket strip on a sunny day that's 30 more day passes they can put up for sale every day (not just the sunny weekends) as they know what the buses can handle.

Is there any actual evidence that the drivers are throttling the runs? I've never done fewer than 10, best is 12 on a mechanical free day with staggered lunch breaks.

Only issues I've seen is they sometimes appear a little lethargic, but I put that down to them doing a repetitive, low paid job, while I'm pumped full of adrenaline. Oh, and the idiots that cant put their bikes on the trailer properly.

50 shades, route manoeuvres and hot Stepper all going (I think). I love it there but if they go it wont be worth the trip anymore.

Surely ‘new tracks’ has got to be better than re-riding ‘old faves’!

they are just closed while the National Grid do their work aren't they?

https://www.bikeparkwales.com/uplift-ticketing-trial-cancelled

Interesting, company responds to customer feedback, it'll never catch on...

Trial has been cancelled according to Facebook

**EDIT** Too Slow

It's problem is, it has no competition.

Is there any actual evidence that the drivers are throttling the runs?

I assume we'll see the owners driving their 911 Turbo's to the coast and razzing round on their SunSeekers what with all the extra money they'll be making!

(or perhaps not....)

Still putting in the price increases though, £10 to pedal up is a joke.

I see that there as many experts in the business of running bike parks here as there are experts in the business of running a bike shop.

Genuine LOL

Still putting in the price increases though, £10 to pedal up is a joke.

It's harsh, but Aston Hill is £7 for non-members. As a former committee member I know where all that cash went, and the Hill got about £1 of it while the CTC were involved (not sure how much it is now).

The Committee is volunteer-run but the FC still charge for land the insurance eats up loads. Surface to Air cost thousands in materials and equipment rental, even if the skilled labour was 'free'; S2A is used year-round and a huge MTB asset to the region.

Because it's an FC site all the materials have to be PH-sensitive and weather-proof, which isn't cheap. Tools don't buy themselves. The Portaloo doesn't  rent itself, empty itself or replace itself. The parking machine didn't install itself and doesn't rent or empty itself. Running a 'small' bike park with very limited facilities ain't cheap, and Aston Hill isn't a business with wages and other overheads.

I emailed them to say Great work for listening. It's all well and good us giving them crap for the changes, but if they then fix it.... It's nice to be nice and say "well done".

Fair play to them for listening to feedback, I don't think £10 is too bad really especially considering the investment. I also come over the Bridge and with the tolls going will balance out the cost.