Permission in UK parks

[+Chibi88]

Hello

 

So I've had a spot in mind to hide my first Geocache in a park not too far away from me for a while. Following the guidelines, I contacted the council for permission. First person I spoke to had never heard of Geocaching and pretty much spoke to me like I was an idiot because, to paraphrase him, people use parks for all sorts of their own violition, they don't usually need permission for it unless it's a big event with loads of people. But, I perservered just incase this person had the wrong idea, and I was told to email their colleague who'll probaly know more about it.

 

That was about a month ago. I've spent the last 3 weeks revising for an exam so it sort of went out of my head, but now my exam's over and I'm free to geoache guilt free once again, I realised I'd not heard from the colleague.

 

So, I guess my question is, how do I continue with this? Am I best waiting for this colleague to get back to me for explicit permission, and has anyone else in the UK had difficulty in getting permission simply because the parks people have never heard of Geocaching? Or am I over thinking this (as I tend to) and is the first guy right?

 

I just don't want to do the wrong thing.

Edited June 8, 2017 by Chibi88

[+wmpastor]

It seems in this case the town official lends further support for the "Frisbee rule," which is that parks are for general public use, and unless the activity is dangerous, illegal, etc., you have implied permission to do it. Some parks will specifically rule out some activities with a sign or posted rules (e.g., no dogs, no skating, no alcohol, etc.).

 

Looks like you're free to place the cache.

[+terratin]

It might be a good idea to look for a local geocaching group. People there might be able to point you towards the right people for permission. I know that the facebook groups for geocaching in Wales and Scotland are very supportive. Not sure though what the best group is for your area.

[Keystone]

Have you reviewed the United Kingdom section of the Regional Geocaching Policies Wiki? The UK has one of the richest landscapes of landowner permission policies, and the UK Community Volunteer Reviewers have done a great job of spelling everything out in the Wiki.

 

If this park is covered by an applicable policy, then your Reviewer will insist on compliance and the lack of knowledge on the part of the person you spoke with is just bad luck. On the other hand, if there is no formal policy, you've built a good case for "I tried harder than most people to do the right thing and attempt to obtain explicit permission." Repeat the statement made by your first contact, described in your initial post, as part of your reviewer note that explains all this.

 

A thoughtful initial reviewer note describing permission (or good faith attempts to obtain permission, without hearing a "no") is one of the keys to swift publication of your new cache submission.

[+valhalla73]

Hello

 

So I've had a spot in mind to hide my first Geocache in a park not too far away from me for a while. Following the guidelines, I contacted the council for permission. First person I spoke to had never heard of Geocaching and pretty much spoke to me like I was an idiot because, to paraphrase him, people use parks for all sorts of their own violition, they don't usually need permission for it unless it's a big event with loads of people. But, I perservered just incase this person had the wrong idea, and I was told to email their colleague who'll probaly know more about it.

 

That was about a month ago. I've spent the last 3 weeks revising for an exam so it sort of went out of my head, but now my exam's over and I'm free to geoache guilt free once again, I realised I'd not heard from the colleague.

 

So, I guess my question is, how do I continue with this? Am I best waiting for this colleague to get back to me for explicit permission, and has anyone else in the UK had difficulty in getting permission simply because the parks people have never heard of Geocaching? Or am I over thinking this (as I tend to) and is the first guy right?

 

I just don't want to do the wrong thing.

 

Hi chibi, I was recently in the same position as yourself.

I looked on the local council website for their greenspaces officer, they are the ones who can help you with cache placement, they are the ones who look after and organise parks, woodland trails, etc...

I have talked to my local greenspace officer about caches and he was more than happy to walk round with me to the places I wanted to place my caches, he was mainly looking for any hazards that could cause problems for the public. he had no problems and I got my caches published

hope this helps.

Edited June 10, 2017 by valhalla73