MUNICIPAL SUB-PLAN Blue-Green Infrastructure in Bergen
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MUNICIPAL SUB-PLAN Blue-green infrastructure in Bergen Green Environment Plan 2012-2020 summary The municipal sub-plan for blue-green infrastructure in Bergen (2012–2020) (the «Green Environment Plan») concerns blue-green infrastructure within the municipal borders, and is both a compilation and a continuation of previous planning documents and reports relating to green infrastructure. Blue-green structures can be described as a network of blue and green spaces between and outside built-up areas. Chapter 2 of the plan provides an overview of governing documents and other guide- lines for the planning work. A review of programme-based facilitation measures for outdoor recreation for the period 2005–2009 is presented in Chapter 3. Many facilities have been built during the period, while we must acknowledge that we have not come as far as we expected. An overall status description of the content, values and challenges that lie in the man- agement of blue-green structures is presented in Chapter 4. Excerpts from a national analysis of the population’s access to play and recreation areas and nearby nature ter- rain are presented in the chapter introduction. In this context, Bergen scores on a par with or slightly higher than the national average, but it is worrying that access to such areas has decreased during the period 1999–2009. The wealth of arenas, types of facilities and opportunities for activities and experi- ences that blue-green structures in Bergen represent are briefly described in this chapter. Here, reference is also made to relevant reference documents. Challenges in different areas are highlighted. Some relevant topics are highlighted in particular in Chapter 5: ■ The need for an overview and mapping of deficiencies in the blue-green structures ■ Area improvement programmes ■ Pedestrian paths and the need for a pedestrian network ■ Challenges relating to securing of land and safeguarding of rights ■ Lack of arenas and facilities for certain activities such as canoeing and kayaking, horse riding, dog walking and new activity forms ■ The need for quiet zones ■ The need for allotment gardens ■ Challenges arising from increased life expectancy ■ Challenges in the information field The action programme for the Green Environment Plan for the period 2012–2020 is presented in Chapter 6. It proposes initiatives in relation to both the development of land and facilities and the need for planning and assessment. Enclosed with the plan is an overview of registered long-term needs for land and facilities. MUNICIPAL SUB-PLAN • BLUE-GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE IN BERGEN • GREEN ENVIRONMENT PLAN 2012-2020 3 preface The municipal sub-plan plan for blue-green infrastructure in Bergen (2012–2020), hereinafter called the Green Environment Plan, is a municipal sub-plan pursuant to the Planning and Building Act. It concerns blue-green infrastructure within the municipal borders. The plan is a continuation of previous plans relating to green infrastructure, including the Parks Report (1993), the Green Spaces Plan for Bergen (1993) and the Outdoor Recreation Reports (2001, 2005). The current Green Environment Plan takes a broader and more overall perspective than previous documents. On 25 November 2010, the City Government adopted a resolution to start the plan- ning work (item 1422-10): 1. Pursuant to the Planning and Building Act Section 11-12, a resolution is adopted to initiate a municipal sub-plan for blue-green infrastructure in the City of Bergen, the Green Environment Plan. 2. Pursuant to the Planning and Building Act Section 11-13, the enclosed proposal for a planning programme for work on the Green Environment Plan, dated 25 August 2010, Annex 2, is distributed for public consultation. On 6 October 2011, the City Government made a resolution on the planning pro- gramme for the planning work (item 1415-11): Pursuant to the Planning and Building Act Sections 4-1 and 11-13, the planning programme dated 25 August 2010 is adopted with the following addendums/ amendments as described in the case documents and in the enclosed memo dated 8 August 2011. The Green Environment Plan, which is not a land use plan, will provide guidelines for the work on legally binding land use plans and individual cases pursuant to the Planning and Building Act, including the land use part of the municipal master plan. The four-year action programme lists prioritised implementation measures, topics for assessment and planning needs. The action programme is revised annually and linked to the economic plan. The Green Environment Plan is structured in a way that ensures implementation through the allocation of national lottery funds. The plan does not go into detail on each individual sector, but addresses blue-green topics within the limits of sound planning. Thus, the plan also includes a summary of the main conclusions in other sector and thematic plans, for example the water- course plan, plans for the mountains of Bergen, and an assessment of urban spaces for children. Work on the plan has been led by a steering committee consisting of the Green Management Agency’s management team. 4 MUNICIPAL SUB-PLAN • BLUE-GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE IN BERGEN • GREEN ENVIRONMENT PLAN 2012-2020 the mountains of Bergen Borgarskaret and Langelivatnet lake. Photo: Jan Robert Brandsdal 5 contents Summary 3 Preface 4 1. Introduction 8 1.1 About the Green Environment Plan 8 1.2 The planning programme 8 1.3 Preparation of the plan and contributors 9 2. Important guidelines 10 2.1 Municipal governing documents 10 2.2 Governing documents at county level 12 2.3 National governing documents 12 2.4 Other governing documents 13 2.4.1 Finances 13 2.4.2 Public health 14 2.4.3 Living conditions 14 2.4.4 Children's tracks 15 2.4.5 Universal Design 15 2.4.6 Aesthetics and the environment 15 3. Implemented initiatives 16 3.1 Programme-based new initiatives 16 3.2 Programme-based upgrading of exsisting facilities 21 4. Blue-green strctures 22 4.1 Access to blue-green structures 22 4.2 Areas and facilities in and between built-up areas 26 4.2.1 Urban qualities - urban spaces, parks and trees 26 4.2.2 Urban qualities relating to water and watercourses 30 4.2.3 Areas and facilities for play and recreation 30 4.3 Coherent areas outside built-up areas 34 4.3.1 Mountains and forests in Bergen 34 4.3.2 Agricultural land 36 4.3.3 Encroachment-free areas 36 4.4 Landscape and natrual assets 38 4.4.1 Landscape 38 4.4.2 Habitat types 39 4.4.3 Wildlife areas 39 4.4.4 Red list species 40 4.4.5 Invasive species 41 6 MUNICIPAL SUB-PLAN • BLUE-GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE IN BERGEN • GREEN ENVIRONMENT PLAN 2012-2020 5. Relevant topics 42 5.1 Blue-green qualities in the city 42 5.2 Area improvement programmes 42 5.3 Pedestrian paths and networks 45 5.4 Safequarding rights and securing land for outdoor activity and recreation 46 5.5 Manglende arenaer og anlegg for aktivitet 46 5.5.1 The use of boats, canoes and kayaks 46 5.5.2 Hourse riding 47 5.5.3 Dog walking 47 5.5.4 Other activities in nature and urban spaces 47 5.6 Allotment gardens 48 5.7 The Coordination Reform and the public health perspective 49 5.8 Quiet zones 50 5.9 Information and inclusion 51 6. Action programme 52 6.1 Strategies and prioritisation criteria for the development of facilities 52 6.2 Other follow-up needs 52 6.3 Action plan for the development of facilities 2012 - 2020 54 6.3.1 Criteria for order of priority in development 56 6.3.2 Recent experience of the development of facilities 57 6.4 Action plan for planning and assessment 2012 - 2020 58 MUNICIPAL SUB-PLAN • BLUE-GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE IN BERGEN • GREEN ENVIRONMENT PLAN 2012-2020 7 Chapter 1 introduction 1.1 About the Green Environment Plan Green structures are now formally defined as a land use objective, cf. the Planning and Building Act Sections 11-7 and 12-5, and the Green Environment Plan specifies the need for allocating land for green structures in connection with the municipality’s land use planning. The plan is to be treated as a municipal sub-plan on a specific topic, cf. the Planning and Building Act Section 11.1 third paragraph, and not as a land use plan. Among other things, the municipal sub-plan will present a specific action programme that contains a list of prioritised implementation measures, topics for assessment and planning needs for the period during which the plan is valid. The action programme will have a four- year perspective and be revised annually. The Green Environment Plan will govern the work on the land use part of the municipal master plan and other plans and initiatives considered pursuant to the Planning and Building Act. The action programme itself will govern what projects are given priority during the planning period, which will then be given priority in the municipality’s economic plan. The plan is structured in a way that also shows possibilities for receiving national lot- tery funds, by implementing measures in recreation areas near the city. The purpose of the planning work is to establish an overview of the need for safeguar- ding, developing and maintaining blue-green infrastructure in the City of Bergen. The plan focuses on the need for more land, new facilities, maintenance and upgrading of facilities and areas, and the protection of aesthetic qualities. The plan is a management tool for the development of areas where the land use is already defined, and it clarifies the need for ensuring public access to new areas through land use planning and by entering into agreements.