Trinity Councillor David Pears held a public meeting at Sutton Coldfield Town Hall to discuss the urgent matter of proposed Parking Charges on Sutton Park
On Wednesday, 27th November, Councillor David Pears (Sutton Trinity Ward), joined by Councillor Maureen Cornish (Four Oaks Ward) and Town Councillor Simon Ward (Leader of the Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Council) met with local residents at Sutton Coldfield Town Hall about the ongoing Birmingham City Council consultation on introducing car park charges at a number of parks including Sutton Park.
These parking fees are just one of the many ways that Labour’s mishandling of the city’s finances are hitting Sutton residents, from raised Council Tax to cut bin collections and library closures.
More than 120 residents packed out the hall to hear Cllr David Pears talk about the city council’s plan, the questionable consultation into it (which closes on December 6), and the growing petition he launched which has passed over 1,100 signatures.
Cllr David Pears outlined the huge opposition to the plans, the concerns of park users, businesses and nearby residents who fear their roads will be flooded by motorists avoiding the parking fees.
The City Council has identified 17 places in the park they could install Pay and Display machines, yet will not be spending money to improve the state of the neglected car parks, many of which are scarred by deep potholes and broken surfaces.
Then Cllr Maureen Cornish reported on a Stake Holders’ meeting held on Tuesday, where businesses based in the Park warned of the potential impact of the parking charges.
She said that a recent survey by one business showed that 70% of customers were opposed to these charges, while another 20% of customers said they would not come in at all.
Others warned that the fees could well have an impact on the social isolation issues in the Royal Town, by discouraging older, single people from taking the regular walks they find so beneficial.
Crucially, they warned that the loss of these customers would have a significant impact on their businesses.
Then Cllr Simon Ward emphasized the importance of the park to all aspects of the town, and said there had been a lack of consultation with the Town Council over the plans.
He stressed that no money raised by the parking fees would be ring-fenced for the park but would instead disappear into Birmingham’s budget black hole. This meant that parts of the public consultation – which talked about ‘park improvement’ – were disingenuous.
He also told residents that the Town Council has passed a resolution objecting in the strongest terms to the plans and requesting that Birmingham City Council withdraws them immediately.
To sign the local petition against the parking charges click here: https://www.suttoncoldfieldconservatives.com/campaigns/stop-parking-charges-sutton-park
