Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions with Birmingham City Council on (a) pollution and (b) decreasing biodiversity in Sutton Park.

Sutton Park is both a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a National Nature Reserve.

Natural England (NE) has an ongoing constructive dialogue with Birmingham City Council (BCC), which manages the park, about its management of the park’s important biodiversity. This follows a decline in the condition of the park’s woodland and heathland habitats detected as part of NE’s SSSI monitoring programme.

NE and the Forestry Commission (FC) are advising BCC on improving the management of those habitats. NE is also exploring with BCC opportunities for managing the increased recreational pressure on the park, while also supporting growth of housing in the vicinity of the park.

NE is also engaged with Severn Trent Water on how sewage infrastructure failures can be avoided and any impacts addressed on the wetland and open water areas in Sutton Park. This work forms part of the water company’s five-year Asset Management Programmes agreed with Ofwat.

Actions to improve the site are set out in the West Midlands Combined Authority Local Nature Recovery Strategy. NE will be working with the responsible authority, FC and the Environment Agency to support delivery of those actions.