Birmingham City Council’s Labour Cabinet approved on Friday 16 January their decision to impose car parking charges at Sutton Park, Lickey Hills and Sheldon Country Park, following the publication of last year’s consultation results.
The consultation results included in the Cabinet decision showed that 92.5% (1,099 objections) of responses opposed charges at Lickey Hills, 94.1% (5,184 objections) opposed charges at Sutton Park, and 92.1% (383 objections) opposed charges at Sheldon Country Park.
The Labour Council has now decided to proceed with borrowing money to implement the parking charges scheme in these parks, at a cost of almost £1 million (£981,700).
Birmingham Local Conservatives, who announced before Christmas that they will scrap the charges if they take control of the Council in May 2026, have slammed the Labour-run administration for pressing ahead with the decision despite the overwhelming number of objections.
Cllr Robert Alden (Con, Erdington), Leader of the Opposition and Birmingham Local Conservatives, said:
“We urge the City Council to halt any further spending on these charges. Local Conservatives will be scrapping parking charges in these parks if we win control of Birmingham City Council in May 2026. Therefore, the Council must not waste this £1 million between now and May on a scheme that we will stop.”
Cllr David Pears (Con, Sutton Trinity) commented:
“Charges will inevitably cause displaced parking issues on roads outside the park, as well as making it harder for residents on low incomes. Access to parks is important for residents’ physical and mental well-being, yet people who live further from the park than walking distance will be denied free access to these places.”
Cllr Adrian Delaney (Con, Rubery & Rednal) said:
“The consultation responses for Lickey Hills and all the parks could not be clearer. More than 9 in 10 residents oppose these charges; they must be stopped.”
Cllr Richard Parkin (Con, Sutton Reddicap) added:
“BCC has shamefully neglected our parks for years, running them into the ground and starving them of the investment they desperately need.”
Cllr Simon Ward (Con, Four Oaks), Leader of Sutton Coldfield Town Council, added:
“Sutton Park is not just any park; it is 2,400 acres that we are most famous for. It is the issue that residents care about most. Its long-term decline under Birmingham Labour has been little short of scandalous.”
