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Villa victory parade road closures anger residents

Sophie Wallacein Birmingham
News imageJoseph Butler Four grey cars on a street in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter, all of them have a grey and black Penalty Charge Notice on their windscreens.Joseph Butler
Some residents in the Jewellery Quarter woke on Thursday to find their vehicles had received Penalty Charge Notices and others were towed

Residents in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter have described short-notice parking restrictions ahead of Aston Villa's victory parade as "a slap in the face".

Thursday's parade took place less than 24 hours after the team won the Europa League with a 3-0 thrashing of German side Freiberg.

However, with several roads closed along the Villa parade route, some residents said they woke up on Thursday to find Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) on their cars, or in some cases their vehicles towed.

Birmingham City Council has since said PCNs would be waived for residents with permits parking in designated bays and that it would review how short-notice changes were communicated in future.

Joseph Butler said he and 14 other residents had received a PCN with little to no warning.

He said the closures felt like "straight punishment for parking in a designated bay with a valid permit".

Physiotherapist Millicent McLoughlin said she had a similar experience, arriving home at about 20:00 BST on Wednesday with little warning of what lay ahead.

She said she paid £300 a year for her parking permit and said she felt frustrated at receiving a PCN.

"I would've been understanding and would have planned ahead to find alternative parking, but to do such a thing overnight with no warning is just shocking," she said.

News imageJoseph Butler Grey cars on a street in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter, all the cars have Penalty Charge Notices on the windscreen. A row of orange, white and black traffic cones marks where parking restrictions were imposed.Joseph Butler
In addition to the PCNs, traffic cones were also installed along streets where parking restrictions were in effect

Councillor Shuranjeet Singh, who represents the Soho & Jewellery Quarter ward, called on the council to improve planning and communication ahead of future events.

In a statement, he said the restrictions took people by surprise, adding "it would be helpful to have better planning around traffic enforcement and more notice with events like this".

Aston Villa blamed Friday training, the team's last Premier League match of the season at the weekend and Saturday's Birmingham Pride Parade for the quick turnaround.

Birmingham City Council has since said any PCNs issued to resident permit holders parked within their permitted bays would be cancelled.

A council spokesperson said the local authority was also actively reviewing how short-notice changes were communicated in the future.

They said they understood the "frustration expressed by residents in the Jewellery Quarter" and appreciated "the concerns raised".

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