Installing parking charges to Lickey Hills Country Park would be 'unfair', says Bromsgrove MP
Consultations for the proposed parking charge schemes at Lickey Hills Country Park, Sheldon Country Park and Sutton Park end today (29 August)
Bromsgrove's MP Bradley Thomas is calling for plans to charge people to park at Lickey Hills Country Park to be reconsidered.
The park, which is managed by Birmingham City Council but also sits in the Worcestershire area of Bromsgrove, covers 524 acres and is located 10 miles southwest of central Birmingham.
At the start of August the council launched a consultation for the public to feedback on its proposed parking charge schemes at Lickey Hills Country Park, Sheldon Country Park and Sutton Park which will finish today (29 August).
It follows responses gathered from informal consultations which took place at the end of last year, resulting in amended proposals.
For Lickey Hills, charges would be introduced at £1 per hour for up to four hours and £5 for all day parking, with a season ticket priced at £52.
The proposed chargeable hours would be from 9am-6pm all year around, with the park remaining free to access outside of the chargeable hours.
Introducing these charges at these parks would bring Birmingham in line with similar places around the UK to offset the cost of maintaining these destination sites the council say.
Member of parliament for Bromsgrove from the Conservative party Mr Thomas is worried the cost could impact people living in the area and their usage of the park.
"I think they are unfair and they will discourage people from going and using a much loved nature spot which is used for recreational purposes and mental well-being," he said.
"There's also a real worry locally that these charges will displace parking from the car parking onto roads within my constituency.
"I hope that they do the right thing, I hope they remember the access to the countryside, access to nature, is something that's important and something we wouldn't want to try and discourage by imposing charges."
According to the council, the park roughly attracts around 500,000 visitors per year with approximately a quarter (26%) of visitors coming from Worcestershire and beyond.
At the launch of the consultation, councillor Majid Mahmood who is Birmingham City Council's cabinet member for environment and transport, said: “We have some wonderful parks and green spaces across the city, but we need to be able to maintain them for the benefit of everyone.
"Introducing parking charges at these three major sites will help protect and maintain all our green spaces.
“Whether you use these parks for walking, cycling, exercising or meeting up with people, we want to hear your views on rate of charging and when we you should be charged.
“We are also aware of potential impact of displacement parking and will therefore be looking at traffic restrictions in existing hotspot areas and any need for further restrictions following residents’ feedback.”