The Farmhouse Family Fun Day in Streetly led to widespread travel disruption over the weekend of July 18 and 19, with motorists and bus passengers facing lengthy delays. The event, held on Erdington Road, attracted large crowds but resulted in cars being abandoned on grass verges and roundabouts, blocking roads and causing chaos for local traffic.
Journey times soar as buses delayed
A passenger on the National Express West Midlands 937 bus from Birmingham to Walsall reported that a journey normally taking 20 minutes stretched to over two hours. The passenger, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “I was travelling from Kingstanding to Walsall on the bus from 2.30pm and didn’t get home till 4.06pm and it’s a 20-minute drive. The people were parking wherever they wanted.”
National Express West Midlands confirmed that several services were affected, with adjustments made to three routes. A spokeswoman for the company said: “Traffic associated with an event on Erdington Road affected several of our services on Sunday, July. This resulted in adjustments to three services and severe delays for many customers.” Buses experienced delays of more than 90 minutes.
Parking chaos and safety concerns
Visitors parked haphazardly on grass verges and partially on roads, exacerbating congestion. Despite the presence of four police officers, drivers ignored instructions. The passenger added: “There were four police there I believe to help with the traffic but idiot drivers were not listening. The event had some people in orange jackets to deal with the parking, only on the field not up the road and roundabouts. The people who organised it didn’t think of the mayhem it would cause. They need to do a ticket-only next time for the capacity.”
One attendee, Hanna Samirx, who is pregnant and had young children in her car, posted on Instagram that it took her two hours to leave the car park. She said: “Took almost two hours because only one way in and out. And there were seven queues created to leave and one exit so the cars were merging and absolutely chaos with the security shouting at each other when we got to the front. My sis in law waited one hour to try and get in and was told no space even though there was plenty of parking in the field. In future I think the security needs to spread and direct cars or maybe cones in place to exit or create more ways to come in and leave. That was a big downfall especially with two young restless kids in the car and I’m in my 9th month of pregnancy!”
Organisers respond to criticism
The Farmhouse Coventry, which organised the event, indicated it was their first in Streetly. They stated that Saturday ran smoothly, but increased interest led to larger crowds on Sunday. An earlier 7pm finish on Sunday resulted in a mass exodus, unlike the more staggered departure on Saturday. A formal response from the organisers was requested but not yet provided.
The event featured a horse show, supercar display, stalls, a kids fun zone, funfair rides, bouncy castle, soft play, and a food court. Despite the attractions, the traffic management shortcomings have drawn significant criticism from residents and visitors.
