Canbury Gardens - Development Plan Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames
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Canbury Gardens - Development plan Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Kingston Town Neighbourhood Introduction to the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Kingston is often referred to as a ‘green and leafy’ suburb of Greater London. This characterisation is given partly because of the diverse range of open spaces, from the formal parkland of Canbury Gardens in Kingston Town to the informal hay meadows of Tolworth Court Farm Fields Local Nature Reserve in Tolworth. There are many large and small parks, playing fields and wayside gardens in between. Other open spaces include large mature private gardens in the north of the Borough to the Green Belt farmland in the south. Many of the streets are lined with mature large trees in the Victorian and Edwardian streets and smaller ornamental species in the post-war and modern developments. As a whole, the ‘green leafy’ description is accurate. The Kingston Open Space Assessment (Atkins May 2006) investigated the supply, quality and value of open space. The report provides detailed analysis of all public and private open space provision. % Total Open Open Space Type No. Sites Area (ha) Space District Park 1 10.36 1.2% Local Park 17 113.38 13.3% Small local park/open space 13 18.93 2.2% Linear park/open space 12 22.34 2.6% Total park provision 43 165.01 19.4% Allotments 23 41.70 4.9% Amenity Green space 92 17.81 2.1% Cemeteries 5 18.54 2.2% Horticulture 6 2.22 0.3% Natural/Semi-natural 18 102.13 12.0% Play space 37 22.09 2.6% Playing field (public) 28 87.47 10.3% Woodland 14 47.83 5.6% Total other space provision 223 339.79 40.0% Total park + other space 266 504.8 59.4% Private open space 49 346.32 40.6% Total open space (includes 318 851.12 100% private landholding Open Space provision by type (Atkins 2006) 2 Introduction to Canbury Gardens Address Lower Ham Road, Kingston. Access There are 7 access points into the park which can be seen on the map in appendix 1. On-site facilities Bandstand Children’s Playground Community Pavilion Public House Rowing Club Tennis Courts Leaf Mulch Store – used by Quadron Services Ltd Contractors Yard – used by Quadron Services Ltd Description Canbury Gardens is situated between the River Thames and Lower Ham Road and is within easy walking distance from Kingston town centre. Canbury Gardens covers an area of 14.5 acres and contains the Boaters Inn public house plus the Kingston Rowing Club and the Sigi Cornish Tennis Club, both of which are privately run. There are also some hard surface tennis courts which are privately leased but open to the public. A qualified LTA coach runs the courts and lessons are available. A Pay and Display machine is in force and works on the same principle as those used in car parks. All players must buy a ticket before using the courts. The site plays host to various events including regattas. Band concerts are held at the bandstand during the summer period. On site is also a children’s playground which caters for kids between the ages of 3 and 14. All the equipment is very popular. The park is characterised by a line of mature London Plane tree’s running along the length of the towpath. Situated within the Gardens are 3 CCTV cameras which feed back into Kingston’s main CCTV control room. The cameras have been a welcome addition to the gardens in respect to limiting vandalism and anti-social behaviour. On the site there is also a small contractor’s yard and leaf mulch store which is used by Quadron Services Ltd (QSL), the council’s grounds maintenance partners. Currently the leaf mulch store is used to compost vegetative waste that is collected from grounds maintenance works in the borough. The contractor’s yard is used on a regular basis by the Payback Scheme. However, the building has been surveyed by the Council’s building consultants and is considered to be in an unsafe condition for use. It is likely that as a result of changes to QSL’s current depot arrangements this compound will be brought back into use with the next 3-5 years. 3 (c) Crow n Copyright. All Rights Reserved, Royal Borough of Kingston 100019285. 2005 Aerial view of Canbury Gardens Stakeholders There are various partners and stakeholders who are either situated in the Gardens, or take a keen interest in its management. As mentioned previously, the Boaters Inn Public House, Kingston Rowing Club and Sigi Cornish Tennis centre all operate in the boundary of the gardens. The Gardens are a popular location for fisherman. The Canbury Community Pavilion is also located adjacent to the public tennis courts and offers a fantastic facility available for use by the community. Thames Landscape Strategy (TLS) The Thames Landscape Strategy is a sub-regional partnership for the River Thames between Hampton and Kew in West London. It brings together a partnership of organizations, individuals and local groups to provide strategic guidance for the Thames corridor. The partnership acts as a catalyst to implement project work on the ground, and as a day to day link between the authorities, the local communities and the vision of the Strategy. The Thames Landscape Strategy vision is to ‘Conserve, promote and enhance for the future, one of the world’s great river landscapes between Hampton and Kew’ 4 Canbury Gardens falls within the remit of what the TLS are trying to achieve, and as such they are a key sounding board for projects and funding along the riverfront. In addition to this the TLS has produced a series of service level agreements between the various responsible authorities along the stretch from Hampton to Kew to implement a suitable riverbank management plan. Kingston’s SLA can be seen in appendix 2. Canbury Community Pavilion Volunteers rescued the old bowling pavilion weeks before it was scheduled to be knocked down and have turned it into a vibrant, sustainable resource for Kingston. The pavilion is self financing, using money made from the hire of the facility by private organisations to allow a cheap, sometimes free venue for several voluntary organisations. On a weekly basis activities range from an Iranian older person's gathering, to a Muslim youth group, Aikido, Qicong to Canbury Buttons (a mothers and toddlers ‘drop in’). Other activities include: Sit-down fund raising events for Breast Cancer, Peruvian nurseries, Shooting Star trust. Kids karaoke Carol sing-along around the piano with mulled wine and karaoke. Exhibition of photographs Public meetings to discuss local planning issues ...even a funeral and wake for a local angler. The pavilion is a focal point for the park, attracting people to the events mentioned above, and also providing ‘eyes and ears’ for the needs, wishes and concerns of local users to be expressed to the volunteers running the pavilion. It is a great example of partnership working, using existing park infrastructure for greater community benefit. Maintenance Canbury Gardens is managed and maintained by Quadron Services (QS), on behalf of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBK). Inspection and maintenance of the play equipment is carried out by Ash Reid Design (ARD), who are specialists appointed to oversee the health and safety of play equipment across the borough. Monthly inspections are carried out by an appropriately qualified inspector to highlight the works needed at each playground. The budget for playground repairs and improvements is held by QS. In addition, daily visual checks are carried out on all play equipment by QS. A copy of the playground equipment checklist list is found in appendix 4. 5 Horticultural maintenance of the site is carried out by QS. This includes keeping the site clear of litter and debris, cutting of grassed area, maintenance of the tree stock and maintenance of the large shrub and rose beds. The repairs and maintenance of the remaining infrastructure of the park (seating, pathways, fences, gates, signage) is administered by the councils appointed building maintenance partners NPS. Lighting During 2008 a short run of riverside lighting was put in. The lighting aimed to illuminate the path for pedestrians and cyclists along the riverside. When funding opportunities arise the run can be increased if the scheme does not impact too greatly on the ecological aspects for the park. For example, the line of trees attracts commuting bats along the river. A known bat maternity roost exists further upstream. Canbury Gardens is regularly surveyed for bats therefore there is extensive data on this species. Clinker Wall The low level wall that separates the upper section for the cycle path was constructed from the clinker of the old power station (MC Edwards per comm.). This, over time has developed into an attractive wall with an interesting ranges of wall flora. There have been several repairs to the wall in the ensuing years, but unfortunately clinker was not used. As and when clinker becomes available it will be used to repair the wall. And if possible used to replace the brick repair. Toilets There are no public toilets in Canbury Gardens. There is an existing agreement for the public to use the Public House toilets. The Green Spaces Strategy The Green Spaces Strategy is an assessment of the natural spaces and features that exist for the local community. It provides a framework for action to ensure that the quantity, quality and accessibility of the spaces keep pace with community needs. The Green Spaces Strategy Framework – Outcomes and Principles The strategy concentrates around ten top line functions listed below.