A CONSULTATION has been launched announcing Birmingham City Council’s intentions to bring forward parking charges at Lickey Hills Country Park.
The city council is seeking feedback on proposals to charge for parking at a total three of its parks – Sheldon Country Park, Lickey Hills Country Park, and Sutton Park.
Feedback at this stage will take the form of an initial three-week informal consultation, prior to a formal consultation taking place.
The council’s budget for 2024/25, which included the parking enforcements, was passed at a full meeting on Wednesday, March 5.
Parking charges could be implemented from as early as 2025, following the consultation process.
Conservative City councillor for Rubery and Rednal, Adrian Delany, said: “We’ve been in this situation with the City’s country parks like the Lickey Hills in the past, and residents are also clear that they don’t want these charges introduced.
“This is a cynical attempt by panicked Labour politicians to extort money from Birmingham’s residents in order to use public assets which were left to the people of Birmingham.
“Given the locations of these parks, most of the people who are reliant on cars to get there are those driving from less affluent areas further away.
“These charges deny them the opportunity to access green space that is badly lacking within walking distance of where they live.”
The Labour Administration is currently looking to reduce costs and raise finance to balance its budget, currently forecast to run at a £216M deficit in ‘24/25.
The council is also working to settle its equal pay liability of £760M and the £100M overspend on its disastrous rollout of a new finance and hr system, Oracle.
When the Standard reported on the parking charges proposals earlier this year, leader of the council, Labour councillor John Cotton cited the rising demands for services and the detrimental effect of years of austerity perpetuated by the Conservative government, as reasons for the financial difficulties.
The informal consultation begins today and will run until December 6. and the separate questionnaires can be found on our Be Heard pages for Sheldon Country Park, Lickey Hills Country Park and Sutton Park.
Visit https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/news/article/1499/views_sought_on_parking_charges_for_three_birmingham_parks for more information.
