Anger as £3 parking fee imposed on two city parks

CAR park charges of up to £3 per day are to be introduced at two of Birmingham’s largest parks to help raise £400,000 for cash-strapped Birmingham City Council.

The charges are set to be launched in Sutton Park and Edgbaston’s Cannon Hill Park during the spring – and could be extended to five more parks. The controversial move is aimed at raising up to £400,000 a year profit for the cash-strapped council’s parks service.

At Cannon Hill Park, the charges could be run jointly with the Midlands Arts Centre and the profits shared. A £50 season ticket will also be considered for regular park users.

But opponents in Sutton Coldfield are warning it will displace parking onto nearby residential streets.

Councillor David Pears (Con, Sutton Trinity) said: “We already charge on Sundays in the summer and get cars blocking roads. We will get this seven days a week, all year round. What the council should be looking at instead is making more of commercial opportunities in the park, working more with the restaurants like the Bistro and perhaps host more profit-making events, as well as the charity or community ones.

“They could set up a Sutton Park Trust to run it, which would be able to draw on more funding sources than just Birmingham City Council.”

The charges could raise £1.6 million over four years, to be reinvested in parks. If successful, it will be rolled out to Rectory Park, Perry Park, Edgbaston Reservoir, Victoria Common and Lickey Hills next year.