Birmingham Labour wants to introduce charges for parking at public parks across Birmingham, including Sutton Park, Lickey Hills and Woodgate Valley Country. Having previously introduced charges at Cannon Hill Park which they claimed was a one-off at the time.
We believe that the City’s Parks don’t belong to the Council but to the people of Birmingham, to whom they were gifted! Access to parks, and other green spaces, is vital for both physical and mental health and should remain free to the benefit of all who wish to use them. Despite the fact that charges would prevent less well-off users from being able to access the largest parks in the City the Labour Council is committing capital funding and progressing plans to charge people to park when accessing local parks & green spaces.
Regardless of public feedback, Labour's Council Leader - Cllr Ian Ward - has said in Cabinet that this process is "not a referendum". Sadly, Labour is determined to waste your money on penalising people accessing public green spaces, no matter what. Labour's Cabinet Member for Environment, Cllr Mahmood, said recently in relation to the vigil held at Beacon Hill in Lickey for the late Queen Elizabeth II, "We are always willing to work with groups that wish to use our parks and open spaces...".
We call on the City Council to honour the spirit of this statement and maintain free access for park users to park at public parks.
Support the campaign of residents to keep access to our parks free by signing the petition below. "
