DRAFT LOGGERHEADS NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN LOCAL GREEN SPACE DESIGNATION OCTOBER 2016
1. Introduction For many local communities, green infrastructure in and around their neighbourhood is an important issue, contributing to quality of environment, creating opportunities for walking and physical activity, being part of the distinctive local character and generally adding to quality of life. This can include open spaces, parks, gardens, towpaths, informal grassed areas, and other landscaped areas. Neighbourhood plans can include policies for green spaces and can designate Local Green Spaces, protecting them for current and future generations. 2. Why Green Space is Important Green spaces have a range of purposes and values in a neighbourhood. Planning for green spaces can help to achieve social, economic and environmental benefits. For example, some of the community and environmental purposes of green spaces are: Being part of the public realm, where informal social interaction can take place. Providing pitches and facilities for sports and supporting physical activity. Forming part of a network of paths and spaces, enabling movement through an area. Providing flexible space for recreation, local cultural events and performances. Adding to local amenity, providing an attractive setting and outlook for surrounding residential and commercial properties. Providing open areas or green lungs in residential areas. Forming part of the character or setting of historic areas, buildings and townscapes. Supporting wildlife and ecological diversity, including in urban areas. 3. Achieving Sustainable Development The various social, community, economic and environmental values of green spaces are an important part of making places sustainable. One of the basic conditions for neighbourhood plans is achieving sustainable development. Considering the impact of new development on green spaces, and providing new green spaces to support new development, will often be significant factors in considering whether development is sustainable. Thus planning for green spaces should be considered as an integral part of the wider planning for the area. 4. Neighbourhood Plans and Green Space - Planning for Local Green Space Designation of Local Green Space must be done in accordance with criteria contained in the National Planning Policy Framework. Policies can relate to green space and infrastructure, or development adjacent to such facilities.
Good planning requires that green infrastructure be considered in terms of its value to the local community, local environment and local economy. This can be demonstrated by providing a clear rationale and evidence for Local Green Space designations or policies. In addition to a robust and proportionate evidence base, it is necessary to engage with local communities and stakeholders. 5. Evidence - Statutory Designations affecting green infrastructure have been identified. These include public rights of way and conservation areas. Environmental data has also been considered, such as any value to wildlife or ecological value. 6. Green Space Audit A green infrastructure audit of the area has been undertaken. This involved assessing and critically evaluating existing green spaces in the area in terms of: what there is, location (geographical distribution), type of space (purposes), quality of the facility, movement, amenity value and other relevant considerations. The map at Appendix 1 shows the spaces. The audit & assessment is attached at Appendix 2. 7. Assessing Local Need The audit of local facilities has been accompanied by an assessment of local need. This is included in the Business Case for Community and Sports Facilities. Socio-economic data will need to be taken into account, including data on the current population and population growth predictions. Deficiencies in provision may be identified by assessing current and future needs. 8. Community and Stakeholder Engagement As with other aspects of neighbourhood planning, consideration of green spaces involves engagement with the community and with local stakeholders. Key stakeholders have included Newcastle Borough Council, Staffordshire County Council, Loggerheads Parish Council and Friends of Turner Hodgkiss. In engaging with the local community, the criteria in Paragraph 77 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) for designating Local Green Space should be taken into account. Local people have helped to identify any nearby green spaces that are special to the local community and hold a particular local significance, and to explain in what ways they are special and locally significant. They have also been asked in the Residents Survey of February 2016 the extent to which they use local facilities and whether they think there are gaps in local provision and this has been used to form a policy on sports provision.
9. Designation of Local Green Space Not all green spaces will be suitable for designation as Local Green Space. The criteria in Paragraph 77 of the NPPF must be applied. National Planning Practice Guidance states: Local Green Space designation is a way to provide special protection against development for green areas of particular importance to local communities. Paragraph 77 of the NPPF sets out the criteria that green space must meet in order to be designated as Local Green Space : The Local Green Space designation will not be appropriate for most green areas or open space. The designation should only be used: where the green space is in reasonably close proximity to the community it ; where the green area is demonstrably special to a local community and holds a particular local significance, for example because of its beauty, historic significance, recreational value (including as a playing field), tranquillity or richness of its wildlife; and where the green area concerned is local in character and is not an extensive tract of land. In addition to these criteria, National Planning Practice Guidance states: Local Green Space designation will rarely be appropriate where the land has planning permission for development. Exceptions could be where the development would be compatible with the reasons for designation or where planning permission is no longer capable of being implemented. Other designations of land, such as green belt or conservation area status, do not necessarily preclude or support designation as Local Green Space, but it is necessary to consider whether the additional designation is necessary and would serve a useful purpose, in addition to existing designations. In applying the NPPF criteria, close proximity would normally mean in easy walking distance. In considering whether a space is demonstrably special to a local community, it is clearly important to engage with the community and to assess how the community uses a space. It is also important to engage with any owners of the land in question. Consideration of whether the green space is local in character and not an extensive tract of land suggests spaces within a locality, rather than, for example, extensive green areas in the countryside.
Appendix 1: Map of Green spaces
Appendix 2: Green Infrastructure Audit & Assessment Name and Address Description and purposes Quality of facility 1. Green Space, off London Road, under disused Railway bridge, Knighton Land owned by Loggerheads Parish Council. Grassed open space with play equipment for children s play, roughly square, 0.25 hectares. Leads into grassed walkway along old disused railway for 0.3 mile, public access permitted by Parish Council for walking. Not a public right of way. Grass is well maintained. Play equipment in wood in good working order. Short walking distance to centre of Knighton village Recreational, disused railway, tranquil walkway Enclosed space
2. Green space, off Pinfold Lane, Almington Land owned by Loggerheads Parish Council. Grassed open space with play equipment for children s play roughly is square, 0.3 hectares Grass is well maintained. Play equipment in wood in good working order. Adjacent to houses Recreational Enclosed small space Name and Address Description and purposes Quality of facility 3. Green Space, at end of cul de sac at Bell Orchard, Ashley Land owned by Loggerheads Parish Council. Grassed open space with play equipment for children s play roughly is square, 0.3 hectares Grass is well maintained. Play equipment in wood in good working order. Adjacent to 22 houses & short walking distance for 100 more Recreational Enclosed space
4. Green space, along Tadgedale Brook, between Chestnut Road and Brookfield Land owned by Newcastle Borough Council, Loggerheads Parish Council own and manage play equipment. Grassed open space 84 feet wide along both sides of brook for walking dogs and access for residents on estate on north of brook to reach south side for shops and school. 0.25 mile in length, with 8 points of access. Play equipment at 4 locations close to access points to Chestnut Road, Fox Hollow, Sharplands and Chartwood. Total 2 hectares. Grass is well maintained. Play equipment in wood in good working order. Trees maintained as needed. Space flanked on both sides by high fences of adjacent houses. Within walking distance of 250 houses Recreational, beauty, tranquillity Space enclosed by houses on all sides
5. Green space at Hugo Way Land owned by Newcastle Borough Council. Narrow strip of green space up both sides of Hugo Way with wide lay-by on one side of road to small play area on tarmac base at top of road with more green space on two sides of play area. Used for play. Total 0.3 hectares. Grass is well maintained. Play equipment in metal in good working order. Location of play area on top of hill, overlooked by 3 houses resulted in some anti-social behaviour. High shrub around play area cut down to improve visibility. Lay-by attracts vehicles in evenings. Adjacent to houses at Hugo Way and Burntwood View and access point for Hugo Meynell Primary School Recreational value Local enclosed by houses and allotments
6. Green Space, centre of Kestrel Drive, Loggerheads Land owned by Newcastle Borough Council. Informal green space for tranquillity and amenity for surrounding houses. History value as was centre of site for Joint Cheshire Sanatorium. Grass, shrubs and trees well maintained. Adjacent to houses Tranquillity & beauty Enclosed on all sides by houses
7. Football field in Burnt Wood, accessed from end of Pheasant Walk off Kestrel Drive, Loggerheads Land owned by Newcastle Borough Council, leased by Loggerheads Parish Council. 1 hectare square field of grass with football pitch (not FA size compliant) marked out and used by Loggerheads Football team. Access via gated track. Informal games played on field. Surrounded on all sides by woodland, owned by Forestry Commission, close to SSSI. Permissive access, not public right of way. Grass on pitch is well maintained, on field adjacent to pitch rough cut. Walking distance to all houses in Loggerheads Recreational, wildlife, tranquility Local enclosed by woodland
8. Allotments, off B5026 Eccleshall Road, between Hugo Meynell School on one side, Hugo Way on two sides and behind houses on Eccleshall Road, Ashley Asset of Community Value Walking distance to Loggerheads, Ashley Heath and Hookgate Land owned by Staffordshire County Council, leased by Loggerheads Parish Council and rented to Loggerheads Allotment Association. 2 hectare site with 40 allotments. None Recreational, tranquillity, productive space Allotments all in use and well looked after. None Enclosed on all sides.
9. Turner Hodgkiss Nature 200 metres north along Pinewood Road from the junction with B5026 Eccleshall Rd, opposite Pinewood Farm, Hook Gate. 2 hectare site with pond and wooded area. The Friends of The Turner Hodgkiss Community Nature Reserve is a charity set up to manage the site which was left for the good of the community.? None None Site is heavily wooded ad kept under control by volunteers. Bordered on 2 sides by roads, other two by gardens of houses. Walking distance for Hookgate, Ashley Heath and part of Loggerheads Wildlife, Beauty, tranquillity Enclosed space