Reasons to be cheerful?

So, the new project team at Birmingham City Council has unveiled a new plan for reinstating Perry Park to fix the mess left behind after the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Expectations among local communities have been paradoxically both high…

(it’s well over 600 days since the Games concluded, with much of the park unusable for a couple of years beforehand while work was undertaken in preparation for the Games, and until now residents had been fobbed off with claims that reinstatement works were “underway”, so the new plans needed to show that the new project team has listened to what local communities need from their park)

…and also low…

(it’s well over 600 days since the Games concluded, and local people’s faith has worn very thin)

…so what were our immediate reactions?

We’d been cautiously optimistic, having met some of the new project team, who spent over two hours walking around Perry Park with us to ensure they had a good understanding of the issues and the potential options available.

Contrast that with the previous team’s broken promises, attempts to push forward bizarre plans for beach volleyball pitches, and dismissive attitude towards the communities surrounding the park - the new team had already made a good start.

But in the time since the Games, costs have increased and the available budget has got tighter - and the Council having to accommodate European Championship athletics in 2026 while still trying to meet the needs of local people - so the pressure was on.

Our immediate reactions are that the new project team have done a remarkable job in the circumstances, with the current plans offering sensible, practical solutions for the short term, and recognising that more will need to be done after 2026.

In the west of the park:

The unsightly plastic fences, mostly covered with graffiti, will be removed.

The vast number of Heras fence panels will be removed, once the fenced-off areas have finally been cleared of Games debris.

The promise to keep a footpath inside the park, at the foot of the canal embankment down to Perry Reservoir, will be honoured.

These were all key requirements, and show that the new team has been listening.

There may be scope to add outdoor gym equipment in the corner of the park, offering something for local residents as well as those people who park outside the gymnastics centre with nothing to do while they wait for their children.

And the plan is to improve landscaping at this entrance to the park, improving wildlife habitat (bearing in mind how much was lost to make way for artificial training areas).

In the east of the park:

Here it’s more nuanced, mainly because of the demands of hosting the European Championship athletics in 2026.

The key thing is that a children’s play area will be restored, close to its previous location, where it serves the nearby estate. We’ve seen examples of other play areas designed by the new team and it’s clear they take pride in providing excellent facilities.

Less favourably, the enormous tarmac vehicle park (the “transport mall”) which dominates the open space on this side, has to stay until 2026 - but the new team has given thought to how to mitigate its impact until it can be revisited in a couple of years’ time.

The plans show significant landscaping around the harsh tarmac surfaces, to screen it as much as possible from local residences, and to break up the appearance of an airport runway.

They also show imaginative ways to make use of the tarmac area for the next couple of years, marking out spaces for games, for example.

In an ideal world, local people would like to see the tarmac reduced or even removed as the Council’s planning permission requires, but it’s inevitably going to stay until 2026, at which point it will need to be looked at again to see how its detrimental impact on the park can be reduced.

Vehicle access to the park will finally be secured, as it’s been essentially open to anyone who feels like lifting a fence panel out of the way since the Games security was removed.

And our neighbours at Walsall Road Allotments will finally have their signage replaced, which was for some reason removed for the Games and apparently lost.

In the middle of the park:

The neglected copse next to where the stadium builders based themselves will receive much-needed attention.

Most of the paths will be softened, and wetland planting added alongside the brook.

The plans show a proper footpath will be established all around Perry Reservoir, where the ground conditions have deteriorated massively over the past few years when only half of the circular route was accessible due to Games work and operation (and post-Games neglect).

It’s a shame that the brief issued to the new project team didn’t stretch as far as improving the area between the two streams, which used to include a bowling green, but has become an unattractive semi-wilderness, trashed by the imposition of a flood retention bund, where dangerous ruts still lurk underfoot laid down by construction vehicles.

Similarly, there’s nothing in the proposed plans to enhance what’s arguably the main entrance to Perry Park from Aldridge Road.

But…

…it’s crystal clear that the new project team, which is made up of parks experts, has listened, read feedback from local communities - especially the 68-page report we submitted to the Council following our petition and extensive community survey work - and come up with a plan that goes as far as possible to restore and enhance Perry Park for the benefit of everyone, while leaving open opportunities for further refinement in a couple of years’ time.

And with a sensible, practical, and positive plan on the table, it also provides our group, the Friends of Perry Park, with clarity on how we can seek to help the Council to enhance the areas where its current budget can’t quite reach.

Cautious optimism? Expectations remain very high, but yes, we have been given reasons to be cheerful.