Birmingham park ‘withdrawn' from auction after backlash over sale plan
Birmingham Council has withdrawn a city park from auction after plans to sell it sparked a petition.
The park in Weston Lane, Tyseley was set to be auctioned off on February 5 as the Labour-run city council continues to sell properties and plots of land amid financial turmoil.
But the plans prompted the Birmingham Liberal Democrats to launch a petition to ‘save’ the park and withdraw it from the auction next month.
Jerry Evans, the Lib Dem candidate for Sparkbrook, wrote on Facebook: “Sparkbrook and Balsall Heath East is one of the wards with the least public open space per citizen in the city.
“It is also one of the wards with the youngest population with strong needs for sport and playspace.
“It is shocking that Labour is trying to sell it off.
‘Labour is letting us down again, selling off our parks to pay for their mismanagement.”
But when approached by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, a council spokesperson revealed that the land which the park sits on has been withdrawn from auction.
The Bold Wolfe website confirmed that the land at Weston Lane was no longer being auctioned off on February 5.
It had previously been described as “an irregular shaped parcel of land which may be suitable for a variety of uses” and had a guide price of at least £1.3m plus fees.
While this park won’t be under the hammer next month, recent figures have revealed that more than 1,000 properties and plots of land have been sold off since September 2023, the month when the council declared itself effectively bankrupt.
The council so far has disposed of more than £250m worth of ‘assets’, with the cash from the sales going towards the cost of equal pay – a major challenge that has plagued the council for many years.
The asset sales, which include homes, shops, car parks, plots of lands and industrial premises, are also going towards meeting previous budget deficits.
Factors such as the equal pay debacle, demand led pressures and the disastrous implementation of a new IT system all contributed to the financial crisis at Birmingham Council.
Labour councillors have also partly blamed funding cuts under the previous Conservative government.
