MEMBERS of The Lickey Hills Society have issued a rallying call to help save the country park’s ranger base from potential closure.
Following central government’s plan to cut £590million worth of funding since 2010, Birmingham City Council has proposed to reduce the Parks Department budget by 20 per cent in 2017/18.
The change will see the number of ranger bases cut from six to two, one in the north and one in the south, which means the ranger base at Lickey Hills Country Park could close.
With more than 500,000 visitors each year, the society has stressed the importance of the park ranger service at the country park and has invited residents to complete an online survey by Wednesday (January 18) showing their support for the service.
The park ranger service works with a number of organisations and schools that visit the country park and is also responsible for such tasks as site maintenance, risk assessments, lost children, dealing with enquiries and keeping the visitor centres open.
Baden Carlson, Hon. Secretary at The Lickey Hills Society, said: “We hope the Lickey Hills Country Park will be one of the two ranger bases to be saved.
“It is a multi-role service that maintain the parks and has a great influence on the health, both mental and physical, of the public which is crucial to the well-being of society.
“The demise of the ranger service will impact on people’s lives and the schools that use the country park, the loss will be far greater than money saved in the cuts.”
As a result of the Government cuts, Coun Ian Ward, Deputy Leader of Birmingham City Council, said it was now at the point where there was no other option but to ‘propose significant reductions to our frontline services’.
He added: “In terms of parks and grounds maintenance, there would still be £9million spent annually on services under the proposal out to public consultation.
“This will include approximately £3million on grass cutting in parks and on the highway, £3million on ensuring our parks are safe for visitors to use and further £3million on play areas, trees, shrubs, flower beds and management.
“We note the concerns raised by organisations with an interest in parks and our open spaces and would urge everyone to have their say through the official consultation process.”
Visit www.birmingham.gov.uk/BrumBudget17 to take part in the survey by Wednesday (January 18).
