Park’s bid to borrow £180k to cover impact of lockdown
BRADGATE Park wants to borrow £180,000 from councils to cover the impact of the coronavirus lockdown.
The park’s income has been hit by a loss of parking income and money taken by its cafe over the past five weeks.
It has now asked Leicestershire County council and Leicester City Council to lend it £90,000 each.
Chairman of the Bradgate Park Trust, Councillor Nick Rushton said: “The place relies on people, cars and cafes to make money and there are no people, cars and cafes at the moment.
“But there are still some visitors, who are not coming by car, and the public rights of way remain open.
“So we still have costs.
“I have rangers maintaining the place, I have security, and I have a director who are all still working.
“It’s a Site of Special Scientific Interest so it needs care and maintenance.
“We are asking for a loan to help us cover some of the costs.”
He added: “The trust is a registered charity so we will be applying for some of the support the Government made available to charities.
“But that isn’t coming through at the moment so in the short term we are looking for a loan that will be paid back.”
The county council’s cabinet will discuss the loan today but Coun Rushton, who is the council leader, will declare an interest and not take part in the debate.
City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said he was sympathetic to making the loan.
He said: “Bradgate Park is one of our shared treasures and I would be keen to support it.
“Parking charges now makes up the majority of its income and it has no parking at the moment.”
Rangers have implored people to stop driving to the park during lockdown but say that some trespassers have been breaking into the historic ruins of Lady Jane Grey’s home and have had to be ejected. Charnwood police has said it has been patrolling the park, near Newtown Linford, to keep an eye out for people breaching the movement restrictions. has