Update on proposals for parking charges at popular Birmingham sites - including Sutton Park

After becoming engulfed by a financial crisis, the council has recently had to put forward an enormous wave of ‘savings’ and cuts to services as well as council tax hikes.

The proposals are far-reaching and unprecedented, impacting bin collections, libraries, street lighting, culture, adult social care day centres, pest control charges for rats and much more.

One particularly controversial proposal was to introduce parking charges at Sutton Park in Sutton Coldfield, Lickey Hills Country Park, on the Worcestershire border, and Sheldon Country Park, close to Birmingham Airport.

These are set to be considered at a cabinet meeting this week on Tuesday, April 13.

Another separate proposal was for the ‘closure or transfer’ of Sheldon Country Park Farm, a former dairy farm which the Labour-run council says has been “superbly restored” and now showcases traditional methods of farming.

According to the authority, the farm has cattle, pigs, goats, geese and ponies.

Asked earlier this year if this is unfair for those who visit Sheldon Country Park, council leader John Cotton said: “I know we’re also looking at options around how we can partner with others around the provision of a number of these facilities, including the farm.

“One of the things I’ve been really keen to change in this council has been its approach to partnership and ensuring we are using every opportunity to work with others.”

But the city council has issued a new update this week, confirming that the park will not close after all.

“Birmingham City Council is currently working on projects to generate new income that will offset the reduction of the budget for the farm,” it said.

“These projects will result in the farm remaining open.”

However, the council did not confirm what these projects will entail.

The separate proposal for the parking charges at the three parks has attracted opposition in recent months.

For Lickey Hills Country Park, 919 respondents of a consultation (78.4 per cent) felt access to the park should remain free.

For Sheldon Country Park, that figure was 120 respondents (65.9 per cent) while for Sutton Park it was 2,741 respondents (68.2 per cent).

Despite backlash, the council is planning to proceed with the proposals, which have been slightly revised following the feedback.

“I know sometimes these things can be unpopular and create challenges,” Councillor Cotton said previously.

“But I think we’ve also got a responsibility to look at every opportunity we have to generate income to bring the budget back into balance.”

A recently published council report added that the projected income from parking charges “still falls short” of the cost of maintaining the three parks in question.

“Therefore it is deemed reasonable to ask park users to contribute financially to the upkeep and maintenance of these parks,” it said.

“Despite the introduction of parking charges, there will still be a requirement for financial support from the council’s general fund to maintain and manage these parks.”

It continued that charges across “destination sites” throughout the UK had become common practice.

“In the vast majority of cases, parking charges for these sites have been in place for several years,” the report said.

“Introducing charges on Birmingham’s sites will be in line with national best practice to offset the cost of maintaining these destination sites.”

On the financial turmoil which has plagued the council, external auditors recently highlighted several issues including the equal pay debacle, inadequate budget setting, poor service management, demand led pressures and the disastrous implementation of a new IT system.

Labour politicians have also pointed to the impact of funding cuts over the past decade or so.