Car parking charges to bring much-needed investment
The introduction of parking charges at Cannon Hill Park will help pay for improvements to the site’s car park following budget cuts.
Charges will take effect from 6 October, when motorists will be charged £2 for up to four hours and £3 for up to 16.5 hours. Coaches will pay a flat rate of £15 for up to 16.5 hours.
Charges will apply all day, every day, and have been benchmarked against schemes run by other local authorities. The charges will be reviewed on an annual basis.
Signage has already gone up around the site to advise motorists of the forthcoming charges, while the ticket machines have also been installed ready for the ‘go live’ date.
Councillor Lisa Trickett, Cabinet Member for Clean Streets, Recycling and Environment at Birmingham City Council, said: “Cannon Hill Park is one of our city’s most popular and well-used parks, but cuts to our parks budget as part of wider, much-publicised funding reductions mean we need to find the money for essential works such as surface improvements, CCTV and lighting.
“While we recognise that some people will have concerns about the introduction of charges for something that was previously free, these very reasonable charges will enable us to invest in these much-needed improvements to the parking facilities at Cannon Hill Park.
“The park is also home to the Birmingham Midlands Arts Centre (MAC), a crown jewel of our cultural sector, which has been hit heavily by funding reductions, so this is a way the council can work with them to generate income for both parties and benefit the citizens of Birmingham at the same time.”
The implementation of car parking charges at Cannon Hill Park is part of an overall strategy to introduce charges across city council parks. Any further charges will be subject to the usual consultation and approval process.
Further information can be found in the original cabinet member on our committee papers website.
