Sutton Park, West Midlands
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (March 2016) |
Sutton Park | |
---|---|
Location | Birmingham, England |
Coordinates | 52°33′42″N 1°51′14″W / 52.56174°N 1.85392°W |
Area | 971.25 hectares (2,400.0 acres) |
Operated by | Birmingham City Council |
Website | www |
Sutton Park is a large urban park located in
History
Royal Forest
The park was established as a
Wyndley Pool
Wyndley Pool is the oldest in the Park, perhaps dating from the 12th century or even earlier. The house of the Royal Steward sat on the bluff overlooking Wyndley Pool. Keeper's Pool and Bracebridge Pool date from the 15th century. Powell's Pool, Longmoor Pool, and Blackroot date from the 18th century, and were created to run
Railway station
A railway line, the
Sutton Miniature Railway
The Sutton Miniature Railway ran near to the present-day Wyndley Leisure Centre, from circa 1905 until the 1960s, when it was dismantled and the equipment put into store. The stock and engine shed are now at the Vintage Trains Depot at Tyseley, Birmingham.
Wartime camps
During
Scouting
In 1957, the 50th anniversary of
Radio 1 Roadshow
On Sunday 30 August 1992, 100,000 fans attended the
Lido
There was a rare 1887 lido, for open-air all-weather swimming, at Keepers Pool but the lido closed in 2003 after arson, and was burned down entirely in 2004. The Lido area has now been purposely reverted to woodland and wetland.
Sports
The park is popular for a number of sports. These include mountain biking, with the "Skeleton Hill" being popular with downhill bikers. Secondly sailing and canoeing, which take place mainly on Powell's Pool and finally kayaking and canoeing club on Blackroot Pool with Royal Sutton Coldfield Canoe Club.
Runners and walkers also make the most of the park and its extensive pathways and trails.
A number of running events are staged in the park. These include:
- Seven Pools Run (March) [7]
- Midland Counties men's 12-stage and women's 6-stage relays (March)
- ERRA National men's 12-stage and women's 6-stage relays (April)
- National Masters (BMAF) Open Road Relays (May)
- Royal Mail 5k / 10k Fun Run (May)
- Hill West 10k (May)
- Great Midlands Fun Run (June)
- Race for Life (June)
- City of Birmingham 10k / 5k Fun Run (September)
- Midland Counties men's 6-stage and women's 4-stage relays (September)
- Birmingham Insurance Institute 5k / 10k Fun Run (September)
- Teach First's Run 10k + kids' 2k (September)
- ERRA National men's 6-stage and women's 4-stage relays (October)
There is a free 5 km parkrun event in the park at 9:00am every Saturday, starting at Banners Gate.[8]
The City of Birmingham triathlon event in held in July with the open water swim stage taking place in Powell's Pool.
Sutton Park has played host the triathlon events for the
Be Military Fit hold fitness classes up to six days a week in the park close to the Boldmere Gate.
There are countless cycling routes throughout the park for all different capabilities. Gopro videos of different routes can be found on YouTube. There is an 18-hole golf course near to the Streetly Gate entrance to the park.
There is a section of grass sectioned off for the usage of model aeroplanes and helicopters. This is between Boldmere Gate and the Jamboree Stone and can be accessed at most times by car from Boldmere Gate.
Sutton Park has also been used for motor rallying, and was a popular spectator stage on the
Also there are many watersports in the park, including fishing, rowing and sailing on the park's Powell's Pool, where the Sutton Sailing Club(SSC) sails regularly throughout the year. They sail on Wednesday evenings and Sunday afternoons throughout the summer and on Sunday mornings during the winter. The Sailing club is situated near the Boldmere gate. Bishop Vesey Grammar School row on Powell's Pool.
Wildlife
Nightjars formerly bred in the park; the last recorded being in 1957,[9] the year of the Scout Jamboree. Since then, there have only been two sightings, in 1974[9] and 2005.[10] Both red grouse and black grouse were in the park until 1868 and 1897 respectively.[9]
Hydrology
Two streams rise in the park,
Current status
In 1997,
The park is currently managed by Birmingham City Council; but in July 2004 it was announced that control would be devolved to the local councillors for Sutton Coldfield.
The roads have reverted to their previous 'heavily restricted' status. There is still considerable car traffic into and out of the park, mainly of families with children, dog walkers, kite/model aeroplane fliers and other recreational use. However, cross-park 'through traffic' is now completely blocked by sturdy gates across the main link roads, similar to the existing gates at all road entrances and exits, that open and close with dusk and dawn. This measure has significantly reduced the use of the park as a rush-hour short-cut (notably between Boldmere and Streetly), with some noticeable impact on congestion of local routes around the Park. The benefit of traffic restriction is improvement in the enjoyability of the park; with cleaner air, safer roads for walkers and cyclists, and much reduced visual and noise pollution, plus reduced wear and tear on the poorly maintained, decaying road surfaces.
Road speed limits through the park have been reduced twice, from 30 mph to 20 mph in the 1980s, and to 5 mph in 2004. Also, on the pedestrianised areas (areas that used to be roads for cars, but are now closed to vehicles, except for emergency/ranger traffic), many speed bumps have been removed.
The commercial funfair for small children beside Powell's Pool continues to operate, attracting significant business. It offers rides such as a daisy-chained
There is a
There are now a larger number of police officers in the park, especially at the main gate, Town Gate. This has helped to stop vandalism and arson attacks on the park, however, some incidents still happen.
In December 2007, the National Cycle Network won £50-million in a public vote. The effect on Sutton Park will be to build the Plants Brook route that will create a free off-road bicycle path from east Erdington to Sutton Park.
In February 2008, a City Council feasibility study examined the possibility of once again running passenger trains through the park.
In September 2012, an outbreak of E. coli O157 was confirmed by the Health Protection Agency. Seven people were infected during the months of July and August. The park remained open but Birmingham City Council advised children under 10 to avoid visiting Sutton Park and for visitors to avoid contact with animals and wash hands thoroughly.[12] Due to the outbreak, the autumn Midlands Counties and English National Road Relays running events in 2012 were cancelled.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, outdoor exercise was encouraged as people struggled with the physical effects of lockdown and restrictions. Sutton Park remained busy even as the Wyndley Leisure Centre facilities were shut.
References
- ^ Introduction To Sutton Park Birmingham City Council
- ^ Bodnar, Stefan (December 2001). Sutton Park Management Plan 2002–2007. Birmingham City Council. p. 3.
- ^ W. Midgley, A Short History of the Town and Chase of Sutton Coldfield 1904:6ff.
- ^ Midgley 1904:1.
- ^ "BBC Radio 1 England – 30 August 1992 – BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
- ^ "Radio Rewind – Radio 1 Shows – Roadshow; the later years". www.radiorewind.co.uk. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
- ^ "7 Pools Run". Retrieved 7 September 2018.
- ^ "Sutton Park parkrun - Weekly Free 5km Timed Run". Retrieved 7 September 2018.
- ^ ISBN 0-9507881-2-0.
- ^ "County Lists 2008". West Midland Bird Club. 1 January 2011. Archived from the original on 1 December 2011. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
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: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Wikidata Q116952061.
- ^ "Birmingham Post politics news plus reports council and Government issues affecting Birmingham, the Black Country and the West Midlands". Birminghampost.net. Retrieved 31 October 2016.[permanent dead link]