Your comments

Yes Mandy, there will be another meeting on Monday July 13th at 7:00pm in the Methodist Church.

I have just returned from the park 6pm, and while i was there i noticed 4 seperate games of cricket taking place,this is not the first i have noticrd this, these were adults, some in cricket whites some not. I suspect these people are members of the cricket league practicing. Are they paying to use the wickets in the week, if not why are they allowed too when my son and his mates were told they could not. Also what started as Saturday and Sunday has now increased to Wednesday evening, how many more days and evenings is the park going to be dominated with criket matches.
Is there a meeting Monday at the Methodist Church.

Last weekend the cricket was rained off but despite the torrential rain my kids were still eager to play football. How lovely it was to be able to play on the west side of the river on a saturday, great level ground as it always has been (even before the cricket took over). How wonderful it would be if we could have a slight reduction which would free up some of that land so we can play there even when it's the cricket season. If you are serious about sport and want the best playing area, then this is the place to go, we have played here for years and years and it's such a shame that at the weekend it's no longer possible. Come on council, lets have a better balance than this, there are many parks users that are serious about sport...not just the cricketers.

I am aware that many residants are objecting to the amount of cricket pitches in Perry Hall Park, not that they don't want cricket there. On my way to work this morning i drove down Holford Drive, there is a large area there which is availabe for hire which would accommodate 6 cricket pitches at least, it is fenced off and not for the general public. Surely this could be a good compremise. the cricketers would have protected pitches and the number of pitches in the park could be reduced.

Anybody can post a comment here, whether they agree with the campaign or not. However, those without a valid email address will not be allowed. If you do not want your email address to appear on the site please check the relevant box when making your comment.

just been over park and it appears the crickters have been playing 20/20 cricket to do this you need to mark out an inner circle just outside the cricket square only trouble is they seemed to have broken branches off the trees for this purpose, i believe that's called vandelism.

I am agreeing with the comment posted by Jayne, on Saturday i watched a small group of children feeding the ducks one child then wandered up the bank to the path/road she suddenly appeared between the parked cars fortunately she was quickly spotted by the other children and taken back down. The cars be parked on the carpark not left to the side of the path/road.

jamies 'i'm alright jack' attitude seems typical of the cricketers who play in this park, i've noticed they dont seem to have much regard for other users.

this sunday cricketers didn't bring as many supporters/family with them as they usually do and that made a difference. also saw that the park keeper was picking up litter all day so that will mean the park wont be in a disgraceful condition in the morning. parking was bad again though and it looks like the bushes are used as a public toilet now.

i regularly use the park, Jamie you say that there is more than enough space for others to use, i agree, however the available land is nsuitable for games to be played on, if you disagree with this point can i suggest that you try to play cricket there and you shall then see what the problem is!

I took 2 young children over the park, entering from Lavendon Rd, I found the route to the play area unsafe, as i got to the car park i had to walk on the grass bank leading down to the river, holding on to the children as the carpark was bursting with cars and their was not safe route through. I then found the pathway/ road had vehicles parked all along it with vehicles trying to get in and out. Due to the parked cars along its route cars were having to reverse back out the park or back to the car park so that vehicles could get in and out. What should have been a pleasant afternoon allowing the children to run around in safety turned into a nightmare, not something i shall be doing again in a hurry.

I am a pensioner and walk my dog over the park every evening at 5pm, of a week-end i have had to wait untill 7pm otherwise i am restricted as to where i walk due to the whole of one side of the river being used by cricketers. On Saturday i arrived in the park at 7pm to find 5 games of cricket still being played, they eventually finished at 8pm. I was led to believe that all games had to finish by 7pm.

Jamie,
by the 'right kind of people' do you mean those that don't leave bag loads of rubbish, openly urinate, cause parking chaos, have exclusive use of some of the park?
If so I have to say that the residents of Perry Barr have been extremely tolerant for many years and haven't made an issue
about the abuse of their park.

The cricketing situation was brought to a head this year.
You have to understand that whilst the pitches were being prepared, the weather wasn't so good, the bog garden was water logged and not usable.
It's natural for people to gravitate towards the best land in the park and to want to play games there. The surface is flat, no pot holes, good drainage, short grass,it's also open and safer for children than other secluded areas.
This year it wasn't possible to play there.

Whilst it might seem on the surface that everything is rosy in the park, this is far from the truth.
If you had been at the ward meeting you would realise that it's a vocal majority and not minority that opposes so many pitches.

We just want a fair balance in the park, no hidden agendas as you seem to believe.
We have great kids in this ward who deserve better!
We have great adults who work hard to improve the park, they deserve better too!

btw you seem to know a lot about the demographics of the area and the west side/ east side use of the park.
Are you local to the area or do you have connections with the council/parks department?

Would you mind sending me your current email address please. I tried to mail you privatel but it was returned.
thanks
Angie

Hi Chris,
Its not just my kids that are being asked not to play on the pitches.
If you speak to the wardens I'm sure they will tell you they have had to speak to 100s of people regarding this.

The situation was particularly bad in the 8 or so week run up to the pitches being used. At the time they were being prepared the rest of the park wasn't suitable for use.

It might seem that there's room for everyone but you're looking at it from a contented cricketers point of view.
We have had to compromise, locals would prefer to play team games on the east side, not on an uneven surface with long grass.

thank you for you suggestion re using some of the pitches. This would be valuable, as would year round footballing facilities.
Would it be possible for you to make this suggestion to the chairman of the cricket league as cricketers have far more influence over the use of the park than we do.
Thanks.

I have just found out about this, I grew up in the area and used to go to the park as a child and during my youth (many years ago) and I am saddened by the situation you are trying to resolve. Regarding the cricketers urinating in public - not only is this offensive but also an offence, quite possibly indecent exposure which is a serious offence? Could somebody photograph the offender(s) in the act for evidence for the police or better still ask the local police station for an officer to attend for one Sunday afternoon, I bet they won't do it then will they? Best of luck with the campaign.

Betty

The Garden Gate fields are down the road so it not far.

And some of the cricketers live local

Chris,
So do you think it is fair that children and others who live close to the park should have to travel to other parks to play when they have one on their doorstep? Why should cricket teams who travel from other areas to the park take priority over local people?

In responce to Angie

I see loads of kids playing on the Square during the week. But if the Wardens are asking your Children to "Clear off" then thats wrong! but i believe that they could put 3-4 on a rota (Every week 4 pitches are ok to use) so that kids could play cricket. Dont forget as well is that the pitches have to be worked on for the weekends games.

Also there are a couple of pitches at the garden gate which they can use... or they could join their local club

Angie

In reply to chris,
You say that some of the cricket was off and there was lots of room, saturday wasn't a typical day in that case! If games had been called off you wouldn't have seen the disruption caused when all of them are on!

Local people wouldn't have known that some games weren't being played. However even if they had known they Still wouldn't have been able to use that 'free space'.

My kids love playing cricket.
They are not allowed onto any of the 13 squares.
Where's the snobbery in that?
If anything the snobbery is on the part of cricketers who don't share facilities, much of which are heavily subsidised by the council anyway.

Local residents just want to be treated fairly.
So there are lots of teams in the league.
Still no reason to put a majority of pitches in one park. This has made a large area out of bounds at all times.

Why are people moaning that people are playing cricket in the fields at weekends. I am a Cricket player, and sometimes i go and watch the games and i believe there is a lot more space for other people. I wish people who not be snobbish towards Cricket, there are loads of teams in the Birmingham Parks League and they need somewhere to play, let them play at Perry Hall... Funny i had a walk in the park on the Sunday the 17th and saw 4 people and it was a decent afternoon, the cricket was off so there was loads of room.

I agree that there should be Toliets in the park.

I recently walked my dog over perryhall playing fields and was gobsmacked at how much of this public park is dominated by cricket pitches and on the weekends it is completely taken over by cricketers. i can understand if perhaps a quarter of the park was set aside for cricket but i would say a good 80% of the park is used up for this sport thus leaving very little space for other park users and the amount of rubbish left after the cricketers have finished is totally unacceptable!

What law is being use to stop the public from using the pitches for themselves?
My guess would be that it is a statute. Statutes are only given the force of law through your CONSENT!
It would be worth looking into Common Law.

I disagree Jon,
In years gone by the whole of the west side was not taken up with cricketers, there used to be plenty of free land where cricket wasn't played.

My children are 13 and 15 and have been playing on this land for many years with their friends.

Perhaps you could let us know how many pitches there have been every year, over the last 10 years?

Is there one rule for locals and another for family and friends of the cricket league, on Sunday i observed two cricket pitches being used by what i persumed were family and friends of the cricketers, they were not wearing cricket whites, were aged from 5yrs - 50yrs and had no umpire. The wardens were in the park but did not approach them.
I also witnessed members of the cricket teams urinating publicly in the park.

I am a 15yr old girl and was over the park on Sunday afternoon, i was digusted to see grown men who were from the cricket teams publicly urinating in the park, they did not hide themselves in the bushes or behind a tree, and 1 man was even stooping in the long grass but still in full view of everyone. Only myself and my friends were disgusted by this, for the cricketers it appeared to be the norm. I left the park in disgust. I am a member of a marching band who rehearse on fields with no toilet facilities, but one of our members brings along her porto loo. I think the cricket league need to be told that this is not acceptable behaviour and until toilet facilities are made available then cricket should not be played there at all.

i think its far too many and in the winter they will be deserted as cricket is a summer sport. 4 is about right for a park or playing field.

Jon,
I'm sure many of us would be interested to know if you are happy about there being 13 cricket pitches in the park, regardless of how long (or short a time) they may have been there.

I have a problem with this word "back". The west side of the park was never not cricket pitches. Therefore it is not a case of giving it "back".

If most of the parks in brum have less than three cricket pitches and John Hunt wants to give the locals the meadow and airfield why
not put three pitches on the meadow and airfield and give the majority of the park back to the locals. Sorted!

I only found out about this when I saw the petition in Marcos.

Absolutely gobsmacked... yes, ok it is technically "Playing fields" and not a "park", but surely they can't stop kids (and us bigger kids...) using the land the other 95% of the time? If they really want to protect the squares from use, then cover them with something like they do in other places (I know they do in Birkenhead Park)

...for the record I'm a Scout leader at Perry Hall church, and the park has a Scouting history behind it.

Jon,
I am puzzled by your comment about "personal attacks on Ray Hassall".
Neither Angie nor I have said anything which could be seen as an attack. In fact, we have only spoken the truth.
When I was trying to find out who was responsible for allowing cricket pitches in the playing fields I emailed Ray and asked him if he was the person. He replied that he was. I have the email and will forward it to you if you would like to see it.
As for what is being said "not winning friends and influencing people" we have no desire to do either.
We are 'ordinary' members of the community wanting what is best for the area, not people with hidden agendas.


It would be interesting to hear your own views on the 13 pitches in the playing fields. Are you happy with this amount?

Can I say I'm really disappointed by these personal attacks on Ray Hassall that are being launched.

As I said some time ago Ray has personally blocked the bids to get cricket pitches back on to the east side - as they were in 2004. The arrangements on the west side long predate his appointment as cabinet member - by decades!! And in fact the cricketers lost a pitch there in 2004 following the riverside enhancement project - SMURF. Some of what is being said is not winning friends and influencing people!
Similarly we need to be quite clear that restrictions only apply to the cricket SQUARES, which the cricketers pay for maintenance, not to the bulk of the westside fields.

Hi Jon,
Obviously it would be great to have an area for others to play team games on but I'm concerned that doing this would be costly and deplete community chest funds. Wouldn't it be far better to have fewer pitches and to make some of the land on the west side available to all. The land here is already up to scratch so wouldn't need any money spending on it.

Starting this campaign has opened a whole can of worms and it seems that a majority of local people feel very strongly over losing so much of the park to cricket. I think that Ray Hassall must have underestimated the impact of allowing so many pitches in one park. It's an issue that needs addressing.

I don't want to appear ungrateful re the kids having an area to play, as I've said that would be great for them and they do need somewhere.......but there will still be a lot of local anger and resentment over the loss of the park during the summer months.

thanks for your comments Jamie,
I'm beginning to wonder if it was the council who instigated the no playing on the
fields rule, I've spoken to some cricketers, who like you, say they havne't asked for this.

All we know is that for months while the pitches were being prepared our wardens were told
not to let anyone on them. The wardens who do a great job in the park were having to spend
their time asking people not to go on the area, thus preventing them from doing the valuable work that they would normally carry out.

It's probably hard for cricketers who visit the park and enjoy playing their game to realise the full impact that
having 13 pitches in one place, has on the local community. In order to ease conjestion it would
be far better to spread these pitches out amongst other parks.

Obviously it would also be great if other areas were improved in the park. I know the meadow
was recently rejected by the cricket league as a place to put more pitches as the ground
wasn't suitbable...

I would just like to say something about jamie's comment, you say that it is only the summer months where the pitches are used however it is also the summer months that the local community would like to use the park, next you say that it is frustrating to pay and play on a ruined pitch, we understand this , but its also frustrating for us as we pay council tax to maintain them and we cant use them at all.

(in reply to Jon)

Your plan to bring the meadow and airfield
up to scratch and designating it a "community
playing field" is good, but it does not deal with
the problem of the 13 pitches on the other side
of the river. Also, by calling those areas "community playing fields" you could be seen as saying that the remainder of the playing fields are NOT for the community! This is very much against what we believe. We want the playing fields to be returned to the community, with a greatly reducednumber of pitches.

I have already outlined our objections to the
13 pitches in my
reply to Jamie F's comment, so there is no need
for me to repeat them here.

Further to Jamie F's comment,
While it is good to read that the cricket league do not want to deprive other users from using the site, that is effectively what they are doing.

(I am presuming here that all the teams using the pitches belong to the same league, perhaps someone could let me know if this is not the case)

As a group, we are not against cricket being played in the park. It makes sense that pitches are kept in good order for teams which have paid the Council to use them. But it does not make sense for there to be thirteen pitches!

Jamie says that during the summer months cricket is played at the weekends starting around 1pm on one side of the park, and the rest of the park is empty.

There are reasons for the park not being well-used by members of the public who are not involved in cricket.

The west side of the river, where all the pitches are, is virtually a 'no-go' area due to abuse from many of the cricketers who object to dogs being walked along the path by the river. We have had many reports of dog-owners being shouted at by cricketers and their families just for walking the dogs on the path.

There is also the problem on men urinating openly in public. I know there are no toilets in the park, but surely this is unacceptable? If you were out for a walk with your children would you really want them to see this sort of behaviour from adults? If the proposed toilet block near the compound (Perry Avenue entrance) goes ahead, are these men really going to walk all the way over to use them? The portable toilets which have been used in the past were often vandalised and tipped over, spilling chemicals onto the grass.

On Monday mornings the amount of rubbish left behind by cricketers and their families has to be seen to be believed. This is a problem which local users of the playing fields have complained about for years.

Visitors who come to the playing fields by car will have great difficulty parking because all the available car-parking space is taken up by cricketers.

As I said, we are not against cricket being played, but we want the number of pitches reduced to a more reasonable number. It might also be a good idea for the pitches not to be in the 'bowl' (the area just over the bridges) as this is where members of the local community like to walk.

We're going to have to tease out quite a few issues here. My understanding is that restrictions on the west side only apply to the fine mown squares, not to the bulk of the field as Jamie F says.

Secondly I'd like views on how the meadow and the airfield can be brought up to scratch for public use. I've been floating the idea of getting some work done on the meadow and designating it a "community playing field" so there's no chance it "accidentally" gets let out for formal cricket. Any thoughts? If you like the idea we'd have to get some costings and a community chest bid put together. Reply here or on our blog!

Hi

I play for a team that plays in the league that plays on Saturday. Its been around for over 100 years. As a team member i can only tell you how frustrating it is to have to pay and play on a pitch that has already been used - i am not talking about a pitch used by little kids, more where a full game has already been played on by adults. As far as i am aware, the league has not asked anybody to stop kids from playing on the pitches during the week, and in fact i think local schools do use the facility - i think the objection from the league is to adults playing organised football or cricket on the square. Obviously, there are no problems with football being played on the outfield.

I think its time that everybody drew a breath - i don't believe the cricket league want to deprive any other users from using this site, and it is only during the summer months that cricket is played at the weekends, starting around 1pm, on one side of the park - the rest of the park is empty. If the flying area side is overgrown, then its up to the city to spend some money and cut the grass - and at one time i think there were pitches on this side as well, and so if they were good for cricket the area should be good for other sports.

Just my two cents.

Following on from what Luca wrote, I have added a photo to the 'Our Aim' page.

i was just reading that the cricketers are not allowed to have pitches on the "air field" is this because of the terrible condition that the land is in? on sunday we went for a game of football and the only free land was the air field and the meadow however we were unable to play here due to the holes in the ground, i have also injured my ankle, why dont the public get to use the only good land in the park?

My husband and I have just come back from walking our dog in Perry Hall Park and we were told about the campaign to stop the park being taken over by cricket pitches. I don't see a problem with having 3 or 4 pitches, but to virtually take over the park and stop children playing there seems to me to be way over the top. Surely this is a 'public' park and by definition this includes adults and children.
I also have a problem with the amount of litter left after these cricket matches. Given the number of litter bins dotted around the area, I cannot see any reason why the circketers should not clean up after themselves. It shows a total lack of respect for the beautiful park which they are comandeering every Saturday and Sunday.
Whilst I am on my high horse I would also like to complain most strongly about some of these crickets urinating in full view of me and my husband. I would be most interested to know if there is a bye-law against urinating in pulbic places? Perhaps it's just as well that the children are cleared off so they don't have to witness this!

News of your fight has reached us down under in New Zealand. As a Brummie brought up in that area and with many happy memories of playing there as a kid, I cannot believe how a select few can have such power over the majority. We should embrace the fact that our kids want to be outside playing - not stuck infront of playstations all day! We are lucky over here in NZ that we have a lot of open space unlike the UK. Parks and playing fields are crucial for your community. To deny residents their RIGHT to enjoy them is unbelievable!! Keep up the fight - power to the people!!

Well said Mandy! When I first saw this story on the Sunday Mercury website I wrote to Cllr. Hassall to see what it would mean to our playing fields. He replied that the money was for employing Park Rangers and that he wanted to see children play and enjoy the parks. Shame there isn't room in our park for children to play, but I don't suppose any of the £3m. would have been coming to our park anyway.

I was shocked to see on the front page of the FORWARD paper, NOW GO AND PLAY OUTSIDE! £3.3million has been given to Birmingham City Council so that they can get children back into the parks and playing, in the form of (paid)playleaders showing them how too. I am happy for my children to go to the park and they do not require playleaders, they need a their local park to allow them to play and not to be stopped because of cricket pitches.

playing fields as in a place where people can play on the fields . without interfering with others who may want to use it for other forms of sport /exercise or leisurely entertainment. where can i go now

just wanted to add something about the post below.
was talking to Lee yesterday about what had happened to her son and it emerged that it was actually cricketers that were shouting at her son and telling him to leave. I wouldn't like anyone to think it was the wardens who I'm sure everyone will agree are always very profesional.

I was shocked a few months ago when my 12 year old son came back from the park earlier than expected. He said he went over the bridge and along the river to the right with his friends on their bikes.l He heard shouting and swearing, then realised they were shouting at him to clear off and told they was not allowed to ride there.

I used to use the park on a regular basis. I am appaled at this situation that has arised in recent weeks. My friend and I (also 13 who has uploaded a comment) were turned away when we went to use the park last week. I will be attending the meeting to also show my support with my friend.

I am a 13 year old girl and I am disgusted that so much land is being put to waste.It could be put to much more use than it is now. Only a few people are benefitting from the park,when it should be all the community gaining use from the land. When i went down to the park last week to play a game of rounders with my friends, we got turned away. I would much rather have been benefitting from the nice fresh air that day instead of been sat infront of the computer which i ended up doing.It isn't fair to all of the community and something needs to be done about it.

Surely local people, of all ages, should take precedence over those who come in and take over twice a week.I use the park every day to walk my dogs. Unfortunately I'm there too early to annoy the cricketers!!

Does anyone know the number of pitches that have been in use every year for the last 10 years? I know cricket has been played there for a long time but it seems that in recent years it has taken over. It would be valuable to see when this increase began and by how much each year. I wonder where we can get this information from? I've written to our councillors and hopefully they can provide some figures.
Also it would be great if we could have the goal posts by Cherry Orchard put back up? Now that they've been removed the cricketers play here as well. This is yet another good piece of land that has been lost to them.

Whether we call the park "park" or "playing fields" the fact remains that there are too many cricket pitches. I think we would all like to see the number reduced so that the park/playing fields once again become accessible to the local community.

You need to research some history if you want to find out how long cricket has had so many pitches - but the use of the name "playing fields" indicates that from the start, 100 yrs ago, the council envisaged it as playing fields not a park. So I suspect quite a long time. As I say when I was elected in 2003 the cricketers were using the east-side because of the Smurf project and it took a battle to get them off the airfield.

There is a direct link to Jon's blogspot on our Links page. You can add a comment too.

Jon - if the extension of the cricket pitches is as a result of a request from the cricketers, public opinion would suggest that this request be limited to only a few pitches. 13 is far too many, there must be other parks in Birmingham which could help bear the burden.

Jon - We do indeed have a petition going around (see top of pages of this website) and will present it at the meeting on 11th May.

It's great that the extension of pitches will be fought. But I can't understand why they were allowed to have so many in the first place. KIDS can not use the park on Sunday as it's taken over by ADULTS. Why have the goal posts by cherry orchard been removed as well? The cricketer's play here now, unofficially I know but all the same it means kids can't play football there. This amount of cricket pitches in one park should never have been allowed, especially when it doesn't even serve the community in which it's in. During the summer months kids are left with ONE GOAL on a field with over grown grass. They are left with another field full of goose mess and potholes. We have to strike a balance here and make sure the park is for everyone and not just for cricketers.

We've now put a comment on this on our blog: perrybarr.org. It would help if you collected a written petition that we could present to the council.
regards

Hi all
Thanks for your concern for this lovely park. Can I just make it clear this extension of the cricket pitches is a request from the cricketers, not an agreed plan? I've been fighting this for several years that the cricket pitches need to stay one side of the river and successfully had them moved back after the river works completed. On Monday night my colleague Ray Hassall who is cabinet member confirmed that he would on no account agree to the cricketers taking over the "air field" area which is now mainly used for football.

On Sunday i was walking my dog over the park as i do twice a day and have done for nearly 2yrs. I was on the pathway and so was my dog. I was asked by a group of crickerters to put my dog on his lead I asked why and they replied because we are playing cricket, i replied this is a public area you can play cricket i can walk my dog.
I am also disgusted by the amount i mess that i then have to encounter on a Monday morning; food, cans, rubbish, etc I spoke with the park warden about the mess and he told me it takes him 2days and 30 black bags to clear up the rubbish left by the cricketers.

The Ward meeting will be on Monday May 11th at 7.00 in the Methodist Church in Rocky Lane. Please try to come and support us.
You don't have to speak if you don't want to, but just by being there it will show the strength of local feeling.
Please give Angie or me your petitions by May 10th so we can present them at the meeting.

I thought one side of the river was a park for people and the other side for playing games. Have the council moved the goal posts for this too, in light of the reinstatement of another pitch by the bike track. When will it end? There are loads of kids in this area WHO ALSO WANT TO PLAY SPORT but it seems that their needs are ignored as far as this ward is concerned.

Local residents are once again being pushed out of using our local amenities. I have been using this park for over 30 years, and whilst it is good to see the park being used more in the summer, it has now got so that the cricket people totally take over the park during summer months. The car park is full to bursting, cars park all over the roadway, the noise from some of music being played at deafening levels, and the litter after the weekend is dreadful. I struggle to find anywhere to walk. Please sign the petition!

I am a seventeen year old student and going to the park to play sport is the only relief from stress i get so without space to play sport i dont know what i would do in order to relief stress.

its wrong what has happened, i am 18 and i like sport and i believe the public have there own rights to play at that park.

i am a 12 year old boy who goes down the park most weeks and if they put more cricket pitches in i will have nowere to play.

When I grew up in Perry Barr in the late 70s and 80s, It used to be called "Perry Hall Playing Fields".

Birmingham Council, time to put the 'L' back in playing.

Give the kids some good happy memories of this beautiful place.

Also what do you do with the money raised? How much is put back into the park?

Come on sort it out.

i think it is disgraceful that the public can no longer use the majority of the park. i've beem playing there with my friends sice i was a young child and i am very upset to see the place i spend alot of my time is no longer available for me to use.

just got back from the park, thanks for telling me about website.
A pitch was empty I tried to play cricket with my teenage sons and some friends and we were told to move. we always play here, why suddenly we can't anymore. Is it now private land and only cricket leagues can use it. If its not private I pay my council tax and should be able to play a game of cricket in a public park. I will take no notice and carry on using the cricket pitches anyway. what can they do?

i agree i think that the fields are for everyone to use not just cricketers

A total of 15 cricket games, a danger to one and all if general public are to allowed to use the Playing fields . There must be some compromise ?

I have been using the park since 1963 and i think it is a disgrace that CHILDREN, dog walkers, cyclists, walkers,footballers, kite flying etc are now been threatened with the police if they go on the cricket pitches which now represent a large section of the park. The park is a public park for everyone to use and enjoy and nobody should have the monopoly of it and prevent local residants from using it. A football team has to pay rent for the use of the football pitches but they do not prevent others for using them. Given todays growing obesity problem i would have thought Birmingham City Council Council would have been encouraging the use of the parks not excluding people.

A week ago me and my mates went down to the park to play football and suddenly the grounds keeper come up to us and told us to move on because of the fact he said it is now becoming property of the cricket association and they are changing it in to a private park some of my mates got realy angry at the fact they spent money to get there and were going to be picked up by perents but because we were told to go they had to walk home because there perents were stell in work what then but them in dager because it was getting dark so i am angry with the council for letting this go a head.

Will it be safe for people who just want to have a walk in the park and enjoy the fresh air, to be ducking and weaving all the time because a sixer is heading their way now that the Council want to make more cricket pitches, it's incredable. What happens to the cricket squares in the winter do they get protected from the footballing league who play there?

If the council have the money to add a further two cricket pitches in the park, does this mean that they will be also spending some money on the pathways within the park. These are worn and full of potholes.
The parking is inadequate for the 13 cricket pitches provided, cars attending matches week on week are damaging the roadway. Also, parking on a Saturday and a Sunday when the cricket is being played is impossible. It is often dangerous, blocking footpaths and making access for wheel chair users and mothers with buggies extremely difficult. Also emergency vehicles would be unable to gain access to the park due to roadways being blocked by parked cars and this could cause a serious issue should an individual be injured.
The park is provided for all local residence to keep fit, play games and increase the well being of the community. It appears that the cricket associates wish to exclude the majority of people that want to use the park.
It is my understanding that the council will prevent children and young people using the pitches when matches have not been organised and paid for. This deprives our local community from using what should be a free community resource.

It all boils down to money once again, the local council is not interested in providing any recreational areas for the children as it costs them MONEY, we have very little money spent in the playing fields
nothing compared with Handsworth Park and I understand that they have cut the budget this years once again and I suppose it is easy pickings for them as the cricket league pay quite a substantial fee for the use of the cricket pitches. We have to make a stand on this otherwise there will be a big take over and I for one will do my utmost to do all I can even if it means lying across the cricket pitches on a Sunday. I understand that when Perry Hall was sold to the council in 1924 there was a proviso that the grounds was used for the community to use it as a playing fields for football and cricket as the late owners Gough-Calthorpe was a sporting man and I'm sure he will turn in his grave to know that the children are forbidden to use the playing areas.

i would look into paths trails and right of ways on public grounds or any grounds for that matter.

if you find you have right of way. there would be nothing stopping you walking along a path at anytime.

what are the council playing at? would they rather kids hang around on street corners? Fully support what you're doing...lets hope the park will be for everyone to use and that this discrimination against youngsers stops.

Any public park is for all the local community to use, and should be available for residents and visitors. Its not on, to make certain areas available only for cricket.

I have lived in the area for a long time and I think it is disgusting how Birmingham City Council is treating the young people who want to play cricket. The playing fields have always been for the use of ALL the community, not a select few. I will be writing to the local councillors, my MP, and the others on the list. I will also take a petition with me when I go to the playing fields.

i think its disgracefull how the crickiters can take over the park by the click of there fingers and im suprised by how the council dont care about childhood obesity. im a 13 year old boy who loves sport and uses it to keep fit .without that park i will end up staying indoors bored sensless.

Was shocked when my family were told we couldn't play here! I'm disgusted with the council as there wasn't anywhere else to play ball games. We won't be visiting again!! I really hope you manage to get the amount of cricket squares reduced, it's getting ridiculous now!

My 3 boys have been playing in the park for many years and were very upset when they were told they couldn't play cricket in the squares recently. The council is trying to promote cricket for youngsters, but where are they expected to play? Not in our local park, for sure!!

Agree with your views that it's not fair to turn the majority of park area for the benefit of one sport only. And by the sound of it, it's not even that the children can play cricket on the land put aside during play times. Public parks are for public use. They are funded by public money for the majority to enjoy as and when they want to.

love my community park, would love to use it to play cricket and share it with others. I'm upset that I can't do it freely anymore.