£17k paid out in car parking fines at Sandwell Valley
More than £17,000 has been paid in parking fines since charges were controversially introduced at a Black Country park last year.
Hundreds of drivers who tried to get away without paying or overstayed at Sandwell Valley Country Park were slapped with charges.
Parking fees were brought in at the West Bromwich site for the first time last November in an attempt by council bosses to raise for money for maintenance of the park.
But the move was unpopular with many visitors, who complained they had never had to pay before.
Drivers have to pay from 40p for an hour up to £2 for more than four hours. Those who don’t pay face fines of £50.
Penalties can be dished out for not paying or displaying a ticket, not parking correctly in bays or pulling up when the park is closed.
It means around 300 drivers - more than one a day on average - have been hit with fines.
Council leader Steve Eling has defended the decision to charge drivers and said: "We have to maintain our car parks and it is a reasonable set of charges.
"Most people are paying these without complaint and we have a small number of people who clearly haven't.
"When you consider what you have to pay in some places, including country parks, prices there are low, and we have season tickets which people can buy rather than paying every time.
"People want facilities like this to continue to be maintained to a top-quality level and we have to look at how we can do that."
Despite the decision to bring in charges, families have continued to flock to the popular attraction. More than £50,000 has been paid into the parking machines since they were installed.
Parking charges came in as bosses argued they could no longer afford to pay for the upkeep of Sandwell Valley, including maintenance of the car parks, due to budget cuts.
Charges were brought in at car parks across the site, at Lodge Hill Road, Swan Pool and Forge Mill Farm Visitor Centre daily between 9am and 6pm.
Blue badge holders can still park for free. A 12-month parking pass is available for £40.
It comes after it was revealed Sandwell Council needs to save another £16 million by 2020 - on top of nearly £50 million of cuts since 2015.
