Birmingham Council accused of ‘stitch-up’ over parks consultation

After becoming engulfed by a financial crisis, the Labour-run council recently passed through an unprecedented wave of ‘savings’ and cuts to local services.

One proposal which sparked controversy was to bring in parking charges at Sutton Park, Sheldon Country Park and Lickey Hills Country Park.

Formal public consultations on the plans were launched recently – but the Birmingham Local Conservatives have said they should take place for several more weeks and not end on August 29 as currently planned.

“The council’s own consultation best practice states public consultations should take place over a longer period and not be held during the holiday season,” they said.

Councillor David Pears argued that the consultation process “feels like a stitch-up”.

“Residents aren’t being given proper notice of this consultation and the little communication from the Labour administration with the public has been deliberately obtuse,” he claimed.

“With sufficient notice, this park consultation must be extended to a full 12 weeks.”

He went on to claim there has been “no serious attempt to address the risk of traffic being pushed into residential streets”.

“Residents living near the park are likely to face increased congestion and parking problems, and yet there’s a total lack of clarity about how that will be handled,” he said.

Councillor Majid Mahmood, cabinet member for environment, said the council has been engaging with residents in a number of different ways.

“Following a period of informal consultation, which resulted in amended proposals, the council has opened formal consultations for the proposed parking charge schemes,” he said.

“We have been communicating with residents regularly through a number of channels, including on social media and our email newsletter, to encourage them to take part in the consultations.

“We want to hear the views of as many residents as possible.”

Councillor Mahmood added: “We are also aware of potential impact of displacement parking and will therefore be looking at traffic restrictions in existing hotspot areas and any need for further restrictions following residents’ feedback.”

What has Birmingham City Council said about the proposals?

The proposals have been met with opposition from those who took part in the informal consultation, with a total of 919 respondents (78.4 per cent) in the previous consultation feeling access to Lickey Hills 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).

The council has acknowledged that the introduction of parking charges is “often controversial and unpopular”.

But it continued that the projected income from the 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 previously.

“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.”

A council report also stated there was more support for the revised parking charges, which were lower than the previously consulted ones.

According to the most recent consultation, the principle of charging was agreed to “achieve necessary savings” and “help sustain, protect and maintain 660 parks and green spaces”.

“Introducing charges at [the three parks] will bring Birmingham in line with similar places around the UK to offset the cost of maintaining this destination site,” it said.

It goes on to say the proposed scheme will provide a number of benefits, including the introduction of parking restrictions to manage the impact of displacement parking for residents who live near the parks.

“A separate consultation exercise will be completed around parking restrictions,” it said.

The consultation added that surplus revenue from the charges would be used to:

• Fund investment opportunities to improve the park e.g. renewable energy projects, improvements in biodiversity.

• Provide reinvestment funds for parks infrastructure.

• Make improvements to the park and overall visitor experience e.g. pothole and fence repairs.

Councillor Majid Mahmood, cabinet member for environment, also said previously there would be a grace period of 30 minutes and free parking permits for park volunteers.

The consultation pages, and proposed parking charges, can be found on the Birmingham Be Heard website here.