An emergency public meeting has been called over bankrupt Birmingham City Council’s shocking plans to introduce car parking charges in Sutton Park – and a petition has been launched against the proposals.

Arranged by Councillor David Pears, the meeting, will be in the Bedford Suite of Sutton Town Hall on 27 November at 7pm. The meeting has been called after the city council launched an entirely unconvincing online consultation survey into their plans, which have enraged local people.

The survey, which only runs until 6 December, asks for residents’ views on parking charges between 9am to 6pm, over 365 days a year, what improvements they would like to see, what they think would be a reasonable parking charge and if they would consider buying a parking ‘season ticket’. Crucially, it does not ask residents if they think there actually should be charges for parking in the park –clearly that decision has already been made.

Andrew said:

“It's not surprising that local people are so unhappy - residents in Sutton Coldfield already pay enough in rates to expect to use open green spaces without charge.

“And, of course, parking charges wouldn’t just hit local people in the pocket. They would also encourage more on-street parking, causing misery for residents living near the Park.

“What’s more, the money raised by parking charges would not be ring-fenced to be spent in the Park – instead it will disappear into the black hole in the city’s finances, which even the unions say is entirely a problem of Birmingham’s own making.

“The Park desperately needs funding. The last time any real money was spent in Sutton Park was in 2011, when Councillor David Pears got £250k from a Conservative Controlled Birmingham Council. Since 2012, when Labour came into control, the park has been neglected.

“We are still pursuing our dream of a new Trust to run Sutton Park – made up of the city council, Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Council, and a national charity. This would have the ability to apply for much-needed grants and funding. However, plans to introduce car parking fees are not helpful as we work to bring people together to secure the future of the Park.

“So, if you care about the future of the park, I urge you to attend the meeting on November 27th.

“I also urge you to sign the local petition against the parking charges here:

https://www.suttoncoldfieldconservatives.com/campaigns/stop-parking-charges-sutton-park

“And fill in the Birmingham  City Council’s consultation survey here: https://www.birminghambeheard.org.uk/bcc/proposed-parking-charges-at-sutton-park/consultation/intro/ ”