Decision on proposal to leave Birmingham park gates unlocked overnight
Birmingham City Council has made a decision on its ‘savings’ proposal to leave the gates to several parks across the city open overnight.
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Last year, the cash-strapped council said a review of the existing ‘gate locking/unlocking service’ for 34 parks across the city was currently taking place.
The Labour-run local authority said at the time that one particular proposal being looked at is to leave the gates to these parks unlocked overnight.
This prospect sparked concern back in September from volunteers and local politicians, with Moseley councillor Izzy Knowles (Liberal Democrats) saying she feared that such a move could lead to crime and antisocial behaviour issues.
She added that this could put an “unnecessary burden” on council and police resources if it came to pass.
“Leaving Cannon Hill Park open risks Queens Ride being used as a nighttime racetrack between Pershore Road and Edgbaston Road,” she also warned.
Cllr Majid Mahmood, the council’s cabinet member for transport and environment, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service last year that the ‘gate locking/unlocking service’ was completed by a third party security contractor.
“As part of the service review, we are exploring alternative options to this current delivery model,” he said in September. “As there is no in-house provision to complete this service, one proposal considered is leaving the gates to the 34 parks open overnight.
“Following a trial at a small number of parks in the summer, we will now carry out a site by site assessment to detail the impact of stopping gate locking in the 34 parks.”
Months later, Coun Mahmood has now confirmed this week that the proposal to leave the gates unlocked will not be proceeding following responses from volunteers and park-goers.
“Following the trial and subsequent feedback from stakeholders, volunteers and service users, we decided to resume gate-locking for the sites in question,” he said on Tuesday, January 21.
The Labour-run city council declared itself effectively bankrupt in September 2023 by issuing a section 114 notice, before signing off an unprecedented wave of cuts and a huge hike in council tax.
It was facing Birmingham-specific issues, such as an equal pay fiasco and the disastrous implementation of a new IT and finance system, as well as the rising demand for services and funding cuts.
