Lickey Hills: Ambitious plans to transform country park with play area, outdoor gym and wetland
Ambitious proposals to transform part of a popular park on the Birmingham border have been unveiled.
The city council is seeking residents’ views on plans for Lickey Hills Country Park, which would see a ‘fully inclusive’ play area built next to the Visitors Centre.
It said there was potential for other features, such as an outdoor gym area and a double zip-wire.
If the proposals went ahead, the existing play area would be removed and the area turned into a wildlife/wetland area with raised mounds to allow for “future play and outdoor exercise expansion”.
“The existing play area is no longer fit for purpose and its location suffers from regular flooding and poor accessibility,” a public consultation page said.
“A brand new, all-age, fully inclusive play area is being designed to be located next to the Visitor Centre.
“Additional opportunities for play, as well as a new outdoor gym facility, are proposed as part of future phases of work, as and when funding becomes available.”
The council said the detailed design of the play area would be finalised once it had completed the consultation to “understand and assess whether the current proposals are in line with park visitor’s needs and aspirations”.
It said it aimed to start construction by this summer and the new play area could be completed and open to the public in the autumn.
Lickey Hills, close to the border between Birmingham and Worcestershire, is one of three parks managed by the city council where new parking charges could be introduced as the crisis-hit authority fights to balance its books.
The prospect of having to pay for parking at Lickey Hills, Sutton Park in Sutton Coldfield and Sheldon Country Park, close to Birmingham Airport, has been met with backlash from residents and opposition councillors.
On the proposed parking charges, Coun Adrian Delany (Conservative, Rubery and Rednal) said recently: “We’ve been in this situation with the city’s country parks like the Lickey Hills in the past and residents are also clear they don’t want these charges introduced.”
Asked if such charges should be introduced at Lickey Hills, which were given as a gift to the people of Birmingham, council leader John Cotton said: “It’s important we look at all options for raising income.
“I know sometimes these things can be unpopular and create challenges.
“But I think we’ve also got a responsibility to look at every opportunity we have to generate income to bring the budget back into balance.”
Coun Majid Mahmood, the cabinet member for environment at the council, said last year that Birmingham had “fantastic” green spaces across the city, including major parks with “great facilities”.
“But we need to be able to maintain them for the benefit of everyone,” he said in a statement.
External auditors recently highlighted several issues and missteps which contributed to the financial turmoil at the council, including the alleged equal pay liability, inadequate budget setting, poor service management, demand led pressures and the disastrous implementation of a new IT and finance system
Many Labour councillors have also pointed to the impact of funding cuts over the past decade or so and how councils across the country are in distress.
The consultation on the proposals for Lickey Hills Country Park can be found on the city council website.