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The Key Issues - Open Space, Recreation and Sport
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| Open Space, Recreation and Sport Overview |
We need to consider a more focused approach to assessing provision for recreation land and open space, based on the needs of the communities who use them. Categories of open space need to be updated so as to incorporate the needs of older children; link spaces with green corridors, wildlife corridors and areas; recognise the value of civic spaces; make water a more visible part of our open spaces and find a new approach to accessible parks. The contribution of other forms of recreation, such as indoor facilities, and private green space could be taken into account. Additional recreational needs and demands arising from small infill housing schemes could be taken into account, through a fresh approach to developers’ contributions.
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| Newcastle Plan Theme links: |
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| Children and young people |
| - | To be safe and protected from harm both within their families and communities. |
| - | To be fulfilled, enjoying and achieving in all areas of their life and in particular education.
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| - | Protect and improve the City’s natural environment. |
| - | Improve neighbourhoods and make them clean, green and safe. |
| - | Involve communities in green space. |
| - | Protect and improve the City’s natural environment. |
| - | Improve green space environment, quality and design, opportunities, facilities and activities, and Green Space Management. |
| - | A Biodiversity Action Plan will focus on better community involvement, access, environment, design, opportunities, facilities, activities, management and protection. |
| - | Empower communities through raised awareness and environmental education to acquire skills to take ownership in protecting and improving all aspects of their environment. |
| - | Manage, protect and improve the City’s historic landscapes, buildings and monuments. |
| - | Reduce inequalities in Health within Newcastle and between Newcastle and the rest of the country. |
| - | Manage, protect and improve the City’s historic landscapes, buildings and monuments. |
| A Safe Newcastle (Crime and Community Safety) |
| - | Reduce violent crime, and anti-social behaviour. |
| - | Improve community confidence. |
| - | Jobs, schools, training and leisure would be close to homes. |
| - | Develop a cycle network of both on and off road routes in the city. |
| - | Safe routes for pedestrians and cyclists as a network in Newcastle. |
| G1. | The amount and quality of the City’s open space, greenery, and recreation facilities are crucial to its liveability, health, well-being, and prosperity. Facilities range widely from the Town Moor, through organised intensive sports and fitness centres, parks, general green space in the urban area, allotments, to local landscaped and kickabout areas. They also include recreational routes and links between urban green spaces, and out to the countryside.
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| G2. | Existing UDP policies protect and promote improvement to existing open spaces. These have resulted in very little development affecting open space, and much of this has been for recreational purposes. Surplus educational playing fields been converted to public open space as at Redewood Park, Slatyford. Improvement to existing open space is in hand or planned at Leazes Park and Charlotte Square.
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| G3. | The UDP also requires new or improved recreation facilities in major new schemes, for example opening up the Town Wall and ditch at Gallowgate, and retaining office campus parkland Grove Park, Gosforth. Major new recreation space is planned at Newcastle Great Park, and new walkways and cycleways have been created at Newburn Riverside. New civic spaces and squares have been created or are planned, for example at International Centre for Life, Shields Road District Centre, Trinity Gardens, and St James Boulevard.
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| G4. | UDP has therefore provided a good basis for the protection and provision of open space, and the LDF will need to take its achievements forward. Strategic guidance for this purpose is provided nationally in PPG17 Planning for Open Space, Sport and Recreation, and at regional level in RPG1 Sport and Recreation. They advise the identification of existing facilities, and open space standards which respond to local needs, and three tasks can be identified:
- assessing needs, through identifying different kinds of users – local communities and communities of interest;
- audit of the existing amount and quality of open space throughout the City, its accessibility to residents and visitors, and redefine categories;
- and agreeing new standards of provision and how they should be applied.
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| G5. | The Council already has these tasks in hand through two important Council initiatives, both at draft stage: the Parks and Green Space Strategy “Green Spaces…Your Spaces”, which has been subject to wide consultation, and the Playing Pitch Strategy, still at draft stage, which deals with the needs of organised sport. The contribution of these is discussed below.
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| ASSESSING NEED: DEFINING COMMUNITIES |
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| G6. | Recreation users can identified through two main types of community: local neighbourhoods, and more widely spread communities of interest, ie, people who take part in a particular sport or recreation. At present, need is assessed by ward boundaries, which are only administrative, and do not clearly reflect actual neighbourhoods. A much better local basis is provided by the Newcastle Neighbourhood Information Service (NNIS) which is based more closely on the views of residents. This approach enables local needs to be much more accurately assessed. A number of neighbourhoods can comprise a district, which will have its own higher order needs such as parks.
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| G7. | Communities of interest may extend widely over the City and beyond. These include organised sport and leisure activities such as football, cricket, rugby, golf and hockey. More specialised sub-regional interests include, for example, water-based sports, horse-riding and clay pigeon shooting. Some facilities are of regional or national significance such as the proposed 50 metre swimming pool and Newcastle Racecourse. Accessibility to users is an important consideration in planning new facilities.
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| Key Issue OS1: Assessing need - defining communities
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| Do you agree that open space, sports and recreation needs should be assessed by:
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- Defining geographical communities through the Newcastle Neighbourhood Information Service?
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- Defining communities of interest at the city, sub-regional and regional level through consultation with specialist stakeholders?
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| AUDIT OF EXISTING OPEN SPACE |
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| G8. | The Council’s Parks and Green Space Strategy “Green Spaces…Your Spaces” and the Playing Pitch Strategy are the main means of assessing existing facilities, and future needs. The consultation draft Parks and Green Space Strategy is intended to guide improvement and care for parks and public spaces, to help meet local aspirations, and translate these into action on the ground including more efficient management. The audit will be published in the near future and will be made widely accessible.
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| G9. | Longer term sporting needs are being assessed by the draft Playing Pitch Strategy, which is not yet at consultation stage. This is based on a population projection of about 265,800 at 2012. It analyses playing pitch availability and the profile of users. Its aim is to predict the supply and demand for playing pitches over ten years, and suggest a programme of measures to ensure that the right balance between financial and physical resources and the demands of potential users. The projections relate to publicly available facilities, and therefore exclude the universities. |
| | Projected needs for major sports to 2012:
Football
The most popular sport faces a shortage of junior and mini soccer pitches. This will reach 25, and one more full size pitch will be required.
Cricket
There are 7 clubs affiliated to the England Wales Cricket Board (EWCB), providing for a total of 34 teams, and 9 separate non-affiliated teams. It is estimated that there will be a need for 2 further cricket pitches or grounds.
Rugby
In 2002 there 43 teams linked to 4 clubs. There are 14 community-accessible pitches, located mainly within the north and east of the City. As with cricket, some university pitches are made available for wider community use. Projected demand for rugby union is for 1 further rugby pitch/ground with community access. Rugby league is limited to one club, Newcastle Knights, and their aspirations suggest 1 further pitch.
Hockey
There are currently 15 community hockey teams, comprising male and female, and senior and junior levels, as well as several mixed sex teams. The Strategy identifies only 2 venues at the sports-based schools of West Gate Community College and Benfield. Over the next few years 3 new artificial turf pitches are planned, which will meet anticipated need |
| G10. | Overall, the Strategy concludes that there is need for some 20.6-28 hectares for 30 new pitches and ancillary facilities across the City. This figure might be reduced by the provision of all-weather multi-purpose facilities, and/or the possibility of public access to more school facilities.
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| G11. | Further work on the quality of provision and latent demand for facilities will be needed to justify further needs arising during the four years from 2012 to end of the LDF period 2016.
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| OPEN SPACE CATEGORIES AND STANDARDS - Open space categories |
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| G12. | The categories and standards in the UDP are derived from National Playing Fields Association (NPFA) standards. The PPG17 companion guide ‘Assessing needs and opportunities’ shows how open space needs should be assessed via district wide audits. Nine categories are suggested:
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| Category | Primary purpose |
| Parks and gardens | Accessible, high quality opportunities for formal recreation and community events |
| Natural and semi-natural green spaces, including urban woodland | Wildlife conservation, biodiversity and environmental education and awareness |
| Green corridors | Walking, cycling or horse riding, whether for leisure purposes or travel, and opportunities for wildlife movement |
| Outdoor sports facilities | Sports, such as pitch sports, tennis, bowls, athletics, countryside and water sports |
| Amenity green space | Opportunities for informal activities close to home or work, or enhancing the appearance of residential or other areas |
| Provision for children and young people | Areas primarily for play and social interaction for children and young people, such as equipped play areas, ball courts, skateboard areas and teenage shelters |
| Allotments, community gardens and urban farms | Opportunities for those who wish to do so to grow their own produce, as part of the long term promotion of sustainability, health and social inclusion |
| Cemeteries, disused church-yards and other burial grounds | Quiet contemplation as well as burial, often linked to wildlife conservation and biodiversity |
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| Civic and market squares and other hard surfaced areas designed for pedestrians | Providing a setting for civic buildings and community events |
| G13. | The draft Parks & Green Space Strategy is adopting these new categories, as they are clear and relevant, particularly in respect of:
- parks and gardens, since the existing rather high 6ha threshold does not reflect some valuable local facilities, for example Gosforth Central Park, and the potential for other smaller parks;
- allotments and the Council’s draft Allotment Strategy;
- natural and semi-natural green spaces, which reflect current informal recreational needs and environmental awareness;
- green corridors, which can create continuity and coherence, and link together urban and rural facilities; and
- civic spaces, particularly relevant to the city centre, and district centres such as Shields Road, which has a new civic square.
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| G14. | Civic spaces would be a new designation, reflecting the growth of outdoor activities such as pavement cafes, and street entertainment and arts, mainly within the City Centre but also possibly more locally. Examples might be:
- Grey’s Monument area
- Blue Carpet
- Shields Road Square
- East Quayside, opposite Baltic Square
- Time Square at the International Centre for Life
- Proposed spaces in mixed use developments at St James Boulevard and Trinity Gardens
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| G15. | The draft Parks & Green Space Strategy also draws attention to other important issues closely (but not exclusively) linked with green space, such as: historic landscapes including parks and gardens; Hadrian’s Wall World Heritage Site; the Newcastle Biodiversity Action Plan; and making water more visible through the PURE Ouseburn project. An important aspect is improving the links and corridors between urban green space and the countryside, which is entirely Green Belt, and considered in that part of the report.
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| G16. | The current quantitative standards in the UDP, like the categories, are also derived directly from the National Playing Fields Association (NPFA). Revised PPG17 advises the development of local standards. These need not necessarily be the same throughout the council’s area: local standards could be set in order to reflect the needs of people living or working in that area.
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| G17. | Standards need to be split into two broad categories: a) green space and informal recreation based on the draft Parks and Green Space Strategy, and b) outdoor sports and recreation, based on the draft Playing Pitch Strategy. These two categories are often found side by side, particularly on larger spaces; for example tennis courts, bowling greens and playing pitches are often located in larger parks, and should ideally be accessible through green corridors.
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| G18. | The draft Parks and Green Space Strategy suggests standards based principally on accessibility, so that local needs can be more clearly assessed. Further factors are the age profile, such as types of housing and density, and the numbers of older people and children. This potential new approach to standards is as follows, base on the Tyne & Wear Open Space Hierarchy:
Suggested new open space standards:
Amenity green space
Access to a good quality local green space of at least 0.1 hectare, within 300 metres of home or workplace, without having to cross a main road. (Approximately 5 minutes walk).
Parks and gardens
Access to a good quality green space of at least 2 hectares, ideally as a local park of 6 hectares. This should be within 1 kilometre of home and ideally within 0.5 kilometres of higher density residential areas (Approximately 10-15 minutes walk and with safe convenient crossing points over any main roads).
Allotments
Allotments with a minimum provision of 1.2 hectares per 1000 population, within 1 kilometre of home.
Green corridors
Access to an off road walking and cycling route within 1 kilometre of home, shops or work with links to the green spaces network.
Natural and semi-natural green spaces, including urban woodland
Access to woodland or a local nature area of at least 2 hectares within 2 kilometres of home.
Provision for younger children
Access for 0-5 year olds to a good quality green space of at least 0.1 hectare for play out of doors, within 100, and ideally 50 metres of home, particularly if it has no garden. (About 2-3 minutes walk without having to cross a main road).
Provision for older children
Access for 5-12year olds to a good quality green space for play out of doors, including a reasonable sized level grassed area for ball sports, within 300 ideally within 150 metres of home, particularly if it has no garden. (About 3-5 minutes walk, without having to cross a main road).
Provision young people
Access for 13-18 year olds to a good quality, green space within 700 metres of home (approximately 5-7 minutes walk, with safe convenient crossing points over any main roads en route). |
| Key Issue OS2: Open space categories and standards
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- Do you agree with this suggested new approach to open space categories and standards for residential neighbourhoods and major business areas?
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- Do you agree with a new Civic Spaces category, and have you any suggestions?
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| G19. | PPG17 advises that existing open space should be protected from development unless an assessment has clearly shown that it is surplus to requirements and is not capable of alternative uses. This closely reflects UDP policy OS1.4. This might need to be updated, particularly in the light of new guidance, categories, and standards, and the large volume of development expected over the plan period. Area regeneration plans, for example, might propose changing the shape and location of open spaces, to improve their quality, usefulness and security, whilst still securing overall standards.
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| Key Issue OS5: Protection of open space
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| UDP policy has been successful in protecting the city’s open spaces. Are any changes needed in the light of more recent guidance, potential changed categories and standards outlined in these key issues, or meeting the needs of local area regeneration plans? |
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| DEVELOPER CONTRIBUTIONS AND PLANNING OBLIGATIONS |
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| G20. | Developer contributions and planning obligations are negotiated legal agreements used in appropriate cases to enable grant of planning permission. PPG17 allows local authorities to seek planning obligations where this is justified, for example where housing development would create new needs. These agreements can provide for the creation of new and/or improved open space and recreation facilities, as well as payment for maintenance of landscaping for a number of years. Housing is the main generator of new need, but commercial schemes such as business parks can also generate recreational needs for employees, visitors or the general public.
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| G21. | UDP policy OS1.1 already requires new (or improved) open space to meet the needs new housing and other major land uses. A particular issue is the threshold at which this policy should be triggered. On-site standards are relatively straightforward for larger housing schemes, but single dwellings or smaller groups may be individually too small to need their own open space. However, a number of small infill developments in a neighbourhood can equate to a larger scheme, but with no additional provision for the growth in need.
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| G22. | An option is the principle of having a “tariff” approach to require developer contributions towards recreational facilities from all housing schemes regardless of size, based on the amount of accommodation to be provided. This could ensure that total cumulative impact is taken into account. With commercial development, larger schemes such as business and industry parks are expected to contribute open space. This also could be assessed according to the floorspace or employment. There would be a need to set out how and where this money was to be spent.
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| Key Issue OS6: Developer contributions and planning obligations
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- Do we need to clarify and/or expand the operation of planning obligations in relation to providing new or improved open space needs arising from development?
- An option is for a tariff approach to housing proposals, for example based on the number of dwellings, or bedrooms, with assessment of children’s play needs based on the number of homes suitable for family occupation.
- Is a separate tariff required for major business or industry developments, based for example on floorspace or projected numbers of workers?
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| INDOOR RECREATION FACILITIES |
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| G23. | Government guidance is that policies should apply to all forms of sport and recreational activities including their affordability. Assessments of need and audits of existing built facilities for sport and recreation should include swimming pools, indoor sports halls and leisure centres, indoor bowls centres, indoor tennis centres, ice rinks, community centres and village halls. RPG1 (SR4) advises that indoor facilities, including dual use of facilities, can relieve pressure on open space.
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| G24. | An option is to note the distribution and need for indoor facilities when dealing with proposals affecting them. An audit of the relevant facilities would be needed.
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| Key Issue OS7: Indoor recreation facilities |
| Should open space policy be extended to cover indoor recreation facilities, and if so which facilities? Options include:
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- assessing the impact of loss of an affordable public local facility thereby forcing users to travel further, particularly by car;
- requiring retention or provision of an alternative facility of equivalent community benefit; and
- whether the contribution privately run facilities such as health and fitness clubs should be taken into account.
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| G25. | The UDP open space policies, including those for protection, apply to privately owned open land only where it is:
a. adopted by the Council;
b. otherwise maintained by legal agreement as a public facility, eg the wildlife park and cricket pitch at St Nicholas Hospital; or
c. public rights of way, cycleways, or recreational routes. |
| G26. | PPG 17 advises that policy should include all open space of public value: “as a visual amenity even without public access, people enjoy having open space near to them to provide an outlook, variety in the urban scene, or as a positive element in the landscape.”
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| G27. | This guidance could apply to some privately owned open space which may be locally important, for example:
- Amenity open space, such as that attached to the increasing number of flats and apartment developments.
Significant areas of green space which are prominent in their locality, such as grounds attached to major buildings, or paddocks.
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| Key Issue OS8: Private open space |
| Should open space policy be extended to cover certain types of private open space not used for outdoor sport? Examples include:
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- Open areas prominent from the public realm, or affecting the amenities of a number of properties;
- Significant amenity open space associated with flats and apartments; and
- Former educational open space following re-building of a school.
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