PLYMOUTH SUSTAINABLE NEIGHBOURHOODS STUDY Criteria notes in red gives a summary of guidance only – refer to notes above for full guidance.

Neighbourhood Area: 17 & Laira Objective Achieves Comments Options for consideration by PCC objective? 1. A community with thriving mixed use centres. A sustainable neighbourhood should have clear & identifiable local & neighbourhood centres, with access to jobs, education, healthcare, leisure, retail and public transport & open space. 1.1 Is there a range of community facilities, consistent with the The neighbourhood has a moderate range of facilities, which • Consultation with the community to ascertain need for neighbourhood population? correlates with the moderate population size. In addition to missing facilities. Criteria: shops, there are two churches, one pub and one nursery, two • If new facilities are provided, consider the topography Facilities include shops, religious meeting places, community primary schools and a community college. There is a when deciding on their location. halls, scout huts etc. community sports centre located on the college campus. • Consideration of options on site of burned down The neighbourhood lacks healthcare facilities (aside from a community centre east of Mount Gould Road. pharmacy) and a community centre. Some residents may have difficulty accessing local shops due to the steep topography of the neighbourhood. The average distance people are prepared to walk to local facilities is severely reduced because of the steep gradient. 1.2 Are community facilities grouped to create identifiable local & The majority of the community facilities are located on flat land, • Existing facilities in Lipson and Laira are fairly neighbourhood centres? while the residential areas climb the sides of the valley. dispersed along the main road. Consider strengthening There are 2 local centres at either end of the main road running local and neighbourhood centers by locating future through the neighbourhood. facilities in the existing centres to reinforce their • Old Laira Road - In the east there is a loose centre identity. consisting of a small convenience store, barbers shop, library, church and beauticians. Spread out, further along the road there is also a pub and pharmacy. Running adjacent to Old Laira Road, Bramley Road contains a High-Tech systems shop and another convenience store next to a primary school. There are almost sufficient facilities to qualify as a neighbourhood centre, but as they are so spread out, it functions more like a local centre. • Percy Terrace – Originally Percy Terrace was a more diverse and important local centre. In the last decade, many shops have closed down and the frontages converted into housing. Today there remains 3 shops; two takeaways and a door fitting shop. Together with a convenience shop located in a filling station on the same side of the road, this makes up a separate local centre.

1.3 Are the current catchment populations sufficient to support the The current population of Lipson and Laira is 5577, just above • Consider topography when locating any new facilities. local & neighbourhood centres? the minimum recommended figure to support 1 neighbourhood Criteria: centre or 2 average sized local centres. Local centres - pop.2,000 – 5,000 (av. 3,500) Neighbourhood centres - pop. 5,000-9,000 (av. 7,000) Local centres: • Old Laira Road has a catchment area of 5 ha giving a figure of 504 people within a 250 metre walk of the centre. • Percy Terrace has a catchment area of just under 5 ha producing a figure of 428, although the majority of these come from outside Lipson and Laira.

Both these figures are substantially below the lowest catchment population necessary to support a local centre. This is largely due to the topography preventing a larger walking catchment. However, this is a good amount of centres for the population

and is important to at least maintain existing facilities. 1.4 Are people able to work locally? 2670 people (aged 16-74, including unemployed) are • Consider any employment opportunities in the Criteria: economically active in Lipson and Laira. However, there are neighbourhood. • Good – job ratio above 1.0 only 1051 jobs within the neighbourhood. This gives a poor job • Look at ways to improve access including public • Moderate – job ratio between 0.7 to 1.0 ratio score of 0.39. This shows there are little available transport to nearby employment areas. • Poor – job ratio below 0.7 employment opportunities within the neighbourhood. This is reflected in the fact that, with the exception of the railway maintenance depot, the area is primarily residential in character.

70% travel to work by car, exceeding the and national averages (63.5% and 61.5% respectively). This supports the idea that not many residents are employed within the neighbourhood and they have to travel out for work.

1.5 Are education facilities in close proximity to local & The neighbourhood contains Lipson Community College which • No particular issues to address. th neighbourhood centres? teaches children up to 6 Form level as well as offering Access • Consider if more nursery provision is needed. Criteria: Courses and Evening Classes. There is also the adjoining ‘Education facilities’ include crèche, primary schools (junior and Lipson Primary School and Laira Green Primary School to the infants), secondary schools and tertiary education centres. north. There is one nursery off Old Laira Road.

1.6 Are there places for formal sports, play & informal recreation? There are 6 publicly accessible open spaces with • Maintain current facilities. Criteria: Neighbourhood Importance for Informal Recreation, 1 of District Open space categories 1 (informal recreation) & 2 (sport and Importance and 1 of City Importance. formal recreation) and play areas: • Good – more than one area of both category 1 & 2, of District There are 2 areas of importance for Sport and Formal or above importance, and areas for play. Recreation, 1 of Neighbourhood Importance and 1 of District • Moderate = at least one area of both category 1 & 2, of Importance. Neighbourhood or above importance, and at least one play There is also a small basketball court and a number of small area. playgrounds in the area. • Poor = less than one area of both categories 1 & 2. 1.7 Are there places to meet and socialise for all ages & interest There are a range of places for meeting and socialising within • Consultation with the community regarding meeting groups? the neighbourhood. These include parks, playgrounds, a sports places for adults. Criteria: centre and the basketball court. The library and churches are • Consider options for replacement of destroyed Community centres, shopping centres, pubs, squares and public also important places for socialising. However the there is only community centre. parks within the neighbourhood. one pub in the neighbourhood and the two small local shopping centres are not well designed for meeting places as they are located on a busy road. One community centre has been burned down.

2. A balanced community A sustainable neighbourhood means a balanced community set within a safe and healthy environment. It should comprise a well- integrated mix of decent homes of different types and tenures to support a range of household sizes, ages and incomes.

2.1 Does existing housing stock provide a range of different tenures Owner occupation is very slightly below the national average • Consider need for detached properties in any new and types, with a good mix of social and private housing? (68.0% to 68.9%) but above the Plymouth average (63.8%). development to improve the mix of housing types. Criteria: (10.8%) of households rent from the council, lower than • Ensure there is a range of mix and type of housing in 1. Balance of public/ private housing stock national and Plymouth averages. The proportion renting from any new development. 2. Mix of different types social landlords and housing associations is just higher than average at 6.7% compared to a general average of 5.8% in • Good – Good balance & mix. Plymouth. • Moderate – Average balance & mix. • Poor – Poor balance & mix. At 20.2% the proportion of flats is just above the national average of 19.2% while the figure for semi-detached properties is 31.7% against a national figure of 31.6%. There is a much lower percentage of detached properties (4.5% to 22.8%) and correspondingly higher numbers of terraced properties (43.8% to 26.0%). 2.2 Are different types & tenures well integrated across the Terraced properties are located throughout the older, • Ensure social and market housing are integrated in any neighbourhood? established parts of the neighbourhood, generally on the flat or new development. the lower valley slopes Local authority built housing consists of semi detached houses, modern terraces and large blocks of flats. These are located on the higher parts of the valley. The majority of local authority housing is in the southern part of Lipson and Laira.

2.3 Does the neighbourhood have an appropriate balance of The figures for economic activity in the neighbourhood are very • Not an overriding problem, but could be improved by economic activity? similar to the national averages. provision of employment opportunities. Criteria: • Good – Above national average employment rate, and below In Lipson and Laira 60.2% of the resident population aged 16 to national average unemployment rate. 74 are in employment compared to a national average of • Moderate – Around national average employment and 60.6%. Unemployment stands at 3.6% against a figure of 3.4% unemployment rate. for and Wales. • Poor – Below national average employment rate and above national average unemployment rate. 2.4 Is there social deprivation? Overall Lipson and Laira’s performance is reasonable, scoring • Consider any areas within the neighbourhood where Criteria: 20% and being ranked 13th worst neighbourhood out of 43. crime is a concern, and look at ways to improve them Index of Social Deprivation (2004) national ranking: for example with better street lighting. • Good – neighbourhoods above 10% • Moderate - Neighbourhoods that lie within the national top 3% and 10% • Poor - Neighbourhoods that lie within the national top 3% 2.5 Is the population healthy? The figures for Long Term Illness in Lipson and Laira are very • Not a significant issue. Criteria: similar to the national average at 18.6% compared to 18.2%. 1. Long Term Illness (compared to national average) 2. Life Expectancy (compared to Plymouth average) Life Expectancy is above the Plymouth average at 79.3 to 3. Assessment of Personal Health (compared to national average) compared to 78.6

• Good – Above average for all three criteria. In the area 67.2% of people considered that their health was • Moderate – Around average for all three criteria, or above “good” compared to the national figure of 68.6%. average for two/ below average for one. • Poor – Below average for two or more criteria. 3. A well-connected community A sustainable neighbourhood is one in which there is a very clear and understandable pattern of streets and spaces providing ease of movement between key destinations, adjacent areas and to the rest of the city. 3.1 Is there a clear hierarchy of streets and spaces? The main road through the area, Old Laira Road is used as • Look into improving pedestrian connections. Criteria: route between the City Centre, the A38 and . It is very busy and the pavements are extremely narrow in stretches

• Does the scale of the streets reflect their function. making crossing it difficult and walking along it unpleasant. • Are streets well linked. The topography means that there are poor connections within and between neighbourhoods but this means that many of the residential roads carry little through traffic.

3.2 Do people have good access to a range of public transport A number of bus routes run through the neighbourhood along • Consider ways to improve public transport in areas methods? the two main roads, Old Laira Road and Lane. The outside of the 5 minute walk zone from a bus stop. Criteria: majority of the population to the north of the railway line is Is there a range of public transport facilities within walking within 5 minutes walk of a bus stop but this may involve a steep distance of dwellings. climb to or from the stop. The residential area on the south side of the valley has no bus routes near it and is more than 5 minutes walk from a bus stop, as is a large estate in the north east of the neighbourhood.

• Service 8 and 9 provides a 10 minute interval service to the City Centre. • No. 10 is an hourly service to Derriford Hospital. • No.19 is an hourly service to Steer Park. • Service 20/22 provides a half hourly service to Plympton Ridgeway. 3.3 Are the local & neighbourhood centres well served by a range of The two local centres are well served by buses running along • Consider the need for bus services from the south of public transport methods? the main road to the city centre. There are no services from the the neighbourhood to the local centres. southern part of the neighbourhood to the local centres. 3.4 Are people able to travel to work by public transport? Sixty percent of people travel to work by car compared to a city Criteria: average of 61.6% and 17.3% use public transport against a Census data for working locally. Plymouth average of 12.3%. The low figure for walking to work probably reflects the difficult topography of the area and the fact that it is primarily a residential area. 3.5 Are there appropriate green-spaces easily accessible by foot and There is a good spread of green spaces in the neighbourhood cycle, within recommended distances? with only the area around Wycliffe Road/Hanover Road being Criteria: more than a 5 minute walk from one. However, due to the poor • Good – publicly accessible neighbourhood and local open street layout some areas do not have easy access to a green spaces serving the majority of the neighbourhood (above 75%). space even though they are in close proximity to one. This is • Moderate – publicly accessible neighbourhood and/or local particularly true of the areas around Dunclair Park/Fairview open spaces serving more than half of the neighbourhood (50- Avenue and to a lesser extent the eastern part of Sefton 75%). Avenue. • Poor – publicly accessible neighbourhood and/or local open spaces serving a limited section of the neighbourhood (e.g. below 50%). 3.6 Is it easy to move around the neighbourhood by foot and cycle? The Plymouth to Paddington railway line runs on a high • Consider need for increased pedestrian crossings over Criteria: embankment through the area creating a barrier that divides it the railway line. • Are the majority of streets interconnected. into two parts. There is only one point in the neighbourhood • Consider opportunities for introducing cycle lanes. • How steep is the topography. where it is possible to cross the tracks. North-south pedestrian movement requires going up or down the steep sides of the valley and often involves using steps, making it difficult for parents with young children, the elderly and those with impaired mobility. East-west movement is hampered by the apparent piecemeal development of the area with many routes terminating in dead ends. There are no official cycle routes in the neighbourhood. 3.7 Is the neighbourhood well connected to adjacent neighbourhoods Vehicle and pedestrian links to other neighbourhoods are poor and city districts? due to topography and street layout. 3.8 Is the neighbourhood well connected to citywide facilities? There are poor connections to other parts of the city but there are good links to the City Centre and an hourly bus service to Derriford Hospital. 4. An attractive and safe neighbourhood.

A sustainable neighbourhood should be one that is an attractive and safe place to live in with good quality buildings and public spaces.

4.1 Is there a positive sense of place and identity in relation to the The neighbourhood is made up of a steep sided valley with rest of Plymouth? residential development on both sides separated by school Criteria: playing fields and the railway depot. In the north east is a large • Topography private estate that is only connected to the rest of the • Urban typology/ era neighbourhood by a narrow road. • Typical materials The dominant type of building is residential with traditional • Typical vegetation/ open space rendered and painted Victorian terraces on the lower slopes and more recent local authority built semi-detached and terraced housing on the upper slopes. There are small pockets of modern infill development.

There is no obvious shopping or community centre or notable public or private buildings. There is a good spread of green spaces throughout the neighbourhood. The neighbourhood is essentially a series of smaller parts without any unifying identity or architectural style. 4.2 Is it easy to understand and find your way around the The area lacks any landmark buildings or structures. The • Consider opportunities for landmark buildings or neighbourhood? principal routes through the neighbourhood run east to west structures in new development. with other streets radiating off them making it fairly easy to work out ones location. Some roads terminate in dead ends. 4.3 Are there high quality buildings, streets, spaces and parks? There are 5 Grade II Listed Buildings in the area, with St Mary’s Criteria: Church, Old Laira Road, being the only real large building of • Conservation Areas interest. Laira Green Primary School is of note because of its • Listed Buildings scale compared to the surrounding low terraces and its use of • Quality of materials local limestone. There are examples of granite set paving in • Areas of visual amenity (category 4) and separation/ buffer older parts of the neighbourhood. (category 5) greenspace The majority of the remaining buildings are small scale domestic. There are no defined public spaces but from the north side of the valley many of the openings between streets offer fine views of the Plym and the Saltram estate. Laira Emplacement is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. There are 6 areas with importance for visual amenity; 4 with district importance and 2 with neighbourhood importance. There are 8 spaces with importance as a separation/buffer; 2 with district importance, 6 with neighbourhood importance.

4.4 Are the streets and spaces well defined by buildings? The more established areas are well defined by the terraced streets fronting on to the roads. The later developments higher up the north side of the valley are made up of semi-detached houses with large front garden. To the south are modern terraces with large parking areas, blocks of garages and turning circles. 4.5 Are streets & spaces perceived as safe? Lipson and Laira is ranked as the 22nd worst neighbourhood out • Review the causes of crime in the neighbourhood that Criteria: of 43 for crime. might be related to the physical make up of the urban TBA area. • Consider lighting/maintenance issues.

5. A neighbourhood that respects and capitalises on its environment A sustainable neighbourhood is one that fits in with its natural environment, uses resources efficiently, and utilises its environment as an asset.

5.1 Has development used land efficiently? The neighbourhood area is 125.9 ha and with 2420 households • Continue to seek and secure a range of housing types. Criteria: this would produce a residential density of 19 dph, a figure at Housing densities. the bottom end of the scale. However, given that over 40 ha are taken up by railway land, the river and the Community College the actual “usable” area is 83.3 ha which produces a residential density of 29 dph. This is still generous for an urban area and probably a reflection of the difficult topography and the adverse effect of the railway maintenance depot on development. 5.2 Has the neighbourhood responded to its natural environment? Early development took place on the south facing lower valley Criteria: slopes, just above the main road and railway line. Later Has development responded to topography and other natural development has occurred on the less attractive north facing features. side and the higher slopes, and more recently on the valley floor with the construction of the Community College and a number of small housing schemes. 5.3 Are the areas of biodiversity protected and accessible? • Lipson & Laira contains the Plym Estuary County Wildlife • Maintain biodiversity network features and look at ways Criteria: Site (CWS), in addition 5 biodiversity network features have to enhance them. • Does the neighbourhood include areas designated for their also been identified. biodiversity interest? Including any of the following, Special • The biodiversity features in the south and east are well Area of Conservation (SAC) / Special Protection Area (SPA) / connected. Of the 3 features in the northern part of the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI ) / County Wildlife Site neighbourhood only the scrub area in the northeastern (CWS) / Local Nature Reserve (LNR) / Biodiversity Network corner is linked to the adjacent Efford neighbourhood. Feature(BNF) • The neighbourhood has good public access to the majority • Does the neighbourhood support a linked network of of the areas of biodiversity features. The only exception biodiversity features? being the recreation grounds of Lipson Community College • Does the neighbourhood provide access to areas of and adjacent allotments. biodiversity interest.

5.4 Are there any adverse environmental health factors? The western part of Lipson and Laira falls within the Mutley Criteria: Plain air quality zone and the eastern part is within the Chelson • Good - areas outside 1km radius of any macro environmental Meadow waste site zone. health issue. A very small part of the neighbourhood is within the Marshall • Moderate – areas within 1km of macro environmental health Road sewage processing zone. issue, but outside 250m radius. • Poor - areas within 250m radius of macro environmental health issue. 5.5 Has the area got an exposed microclimate, or sheltered southerly The majority of the residential area is south facing but the more • Consider aspect in any new development. aspect? recent developments are built on the northerly slopes of the Criteria: valley. Topography and location. 5.6 Are there any areas at risk of flooding? An area of housing close to the river and the railway depot have Criteria: a 1 in 100 chance of flooding in any year and additionally this Environment Agency maps. land and an area of railway land behind the depot have a 1 in 1000 chance of flooding in any year. SUMMARY OF OPTIONS

Lipson and Laira is 125ha in area. The neighbourhood is set on steep topography and is adjacent to the . The neighbourhood has a population of 5,577 supporting two local centres. There is poor job ratio in the neighbourhood, with little local employment opportunities. This has caused a high proportion of people to use cars to travel to work. There is a poor sense of place and identity in relation to the rest of Plymouth, as the area has no identifiable shopping hub or community centre for use as a meeting place. There is fair mix of types and tenures of buildings in the area, with some attractive Victorian terraces contrasting with post-war local authority housing on the more exposed slopes. The neighbourhood is essentially divided in two by the railway network, which, in addition to steep topography and poor permeability through streets, restricts walking catchments and access for residents.