CABINET
Disposal of Westwood Park, Coldhurst, Oldham
Report of Executive Director, Neighbourhoods
Portfolio Holder: Councillor Dave Hibbert, Housing, Transport and Planning
22 nd October 2012
Officer Contact: Akeel Shafiq, Development Officer Ext. 3617
Purpose of Report
To provide consent for the:
Advertisement of the intended disposal of Westwood Park as required by the POS protocols.
Subject to the satisfaction of the POS protocols direct disposal of Westwood Park to The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.
Recommendations
It is recommended that approval be provided for:
Advertisement of the intended disposal of Westwood Park as required by the POS protocols.
Subject to the satisfaction of the POS protocols direct disposal of Westwood Park to The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.
Cabinet 22 nd October 2012
Disposal of Westwood Park, Coldhurst, Oldham
1 Background
Westwood Park
1.1 Westwood Park is approximately 2 hectares in area and is surrounded by the Royal Oldham Hospital to the immediate north and east of the park and a small housing area (Yasmin Gardens) to the south, to the west is the former Westhulme Hospital site (NHS Land) and a large B&Q superstore. Appendix 1 shows the location of the park.
1.2 Westwood Park is a relatively large park. It includes two five-a-side football pitches, a basketball/netball court, two crown green bowls pitches and an area of children’s play equipment. Despite the facilities the park is almost derelict and in a very poor condition, attached as Appendix 2 are pictures showing the current state of the park. The site also includes a small clubhouse building, which was in the past used by the bowling club who used to use the park’s greens.
1.3 Westwood Park has some quite significant level changes within it. It is built up at a higher level than Westhulme Avenue and this western side of the park levels off creating a platform for the children’s play equipment and basketball court and one of the five-a-side pitches. The land then rises again creating a higher terrace at a similar level to the south end of the Royal Oldham Hospital site.
1.4 There are two entrances to the park, one off Westhulme Avenue to the west via an unmade road, and the other to the south east side of the park, from Westhulme Street, which is the main entrance used by hospital staff, patients and visitors using the park. Westhulme Avenue is in a very poor condition with major potholes all the way along making it unattractive for vehicular access and particularly difficult for the disabled, elderly / mobility impaired to access the park from that entrance.
1.5 Despite the elevated nature of the park it is hidden from view of the surrounding areas. There are mature trees surrounding the site with a particularly dense barrier of mature trees to the north. To the east the maze of buildings of the Royal Oldham Hospital creates a barrier to the park. To the west the park entrance is bounded by an unmade road (Westhulme Avenue) and is faced by the rear of the B&Q superstore. The housing estate to the south turns its back on the park and a barrier is created by the rear garden fences of the closest houses.
1.6 The residential area referred to in 1.1 above (Yasmin Gardens) is the only area of housing that has easy pedestrian access to Westwood Park although even this is not a direct access. Other areas of housing within the surrounding areas are cut off from the Park by the busy dual carriageways of Rochdale Road, Featherstall Road and Chadderton Way, the hospital and B&Q.
th Page 2 of 9 Westwood Park v1.doc 14 September 2012 1.7 It is widely recognised that the park is under used, suffers from poor access and attracts anti social behaviour. It is also a maintenance liability for the Council.
Discussions with the Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
1.8 Initial discussions started with the Pennine Acute Trust towards the end of 2004 at which point the Trust were undertaking an exercise to explore possibilities for the expansion of the existing hospital. Given the location of the adjoining Westwood Park the acquisition of the site was one of the options that provided some potential however other than exploring the Planning position nothing further was done at the time.
1.9 Following a major review and consultation exercise undertaken by the NHS Trust (known as the Healthy Futures Programme) which had concluded that the Royal Oldham Hospital site would become a key regional hospital, a meeting took place between representatives of the Trust and the Council in April 2009. At this stage a landswap was discussed whereby it was proposed that the Council consider disposing of the Westwood Park site to the Trust in exchange for the former Westhulme Hospital site (identified as NHS Land in Appendix 1).
1.10 If the Council was inclined to support the proposed exchange, one of the possible solutions could have been that the Trust provided a sum of money that would allow the Council to replace some or all of the sports/recreational facilities that were to be lost at Westwood Park on the Westhulme Hospital site. If the whole site was not required for the replacement of the lost facilities the remainder could be sold for other forms of development such as residential or an extension to the adjacent retail development owned by Oldham Property Partnerships (OPP) and the Council would thereby generate a capital receipt. The proposed land swap was however discarded due to a number of reasons.
1.11 The preferred option was for the disposal of Westwood Park to be independent of the NHS Land as it would allow:
• A significant capital receipt to be generated from the sale of the site as well as reducing any ongoing revenue liabilities that the council has.
• Accommodate the future expansion of the hospital in line with the aspirations for it to become a key regional hospital.
• The facilities that were to be lost to be reprovided in a much improved way so that they would be better located to serve the existing communities at no cost to the Council.
• The Trust to dispose of the former Westhulme hospital site (NHS Land) for residential development.
1.12 Officers working with consultants appointed by the Trust (Taylor Young) have carried out a detailed assessment of the existing facilities at Westwood Park
th Page 3 of 9 Westwood Park v1.doc 14 September 2012 and their use by the communities that surround it, the study has found that the facilities are underused and could be better re-provided locally on other parcels of land that would better serve the existing community that may currently use Westwood Park. The results of the Taylor Young study are summarised below however set out in detail as part of Appendix 3.
1.13 The Trust is currently in the process of developing the existing Royal Oldham Hospital site including providing a new cancer unit and a general medicine/woman and child unit and intend to use the Westwood Park land to provide car parking that will support the long term expansion and redevelopment of the hospital.
1.14 The Trust currently lease parking land adjoining the hospital from Oldham Athletic FC at a substantial rent and it is understood that they will not require the use of this facility should they acquire Westwood Park.
Taylor Young Study
1.15 Following discussions between the Council and the Trust Taylor Young were instructed to:
• Assess the nature and quality of the existing open space at Westwood Park.
• Assess other open space facilities within the area that may either compliment or compete with the existing facilities at Westwood Park or could provide potential for the replacement of Westwood Park.
• Indentify options for the replacement of the loss of the existing open space at Westwood Park, within the area, in a manner that would better serve the needs of the local communities.
1.16 In line with the Council’s Open Space Study (Steps 1 and 2 – 2008) and the Open Space, Sport and Recreation Provision SPD Taylor Young undertook a study in December 2010 that included an assessment of all the open space within walking distance of the communities that are located within a walking distance of Westwood Park.
1.17 Site visits, discussions with the team that manages and maintains the park along with the information in the Council’s Open Space Audit showed that Westwood Park was underused and frequently subject to vandalism and anti- social behaviour due to a number of reasons, the main two being that:
• Only the residents bordering the park (Yasmin Gardens) can easily access it and residents from other parts of the area are cut off from Westwood Park by Chadderton Way and Rochdale Road.
• The park is hidden from view being tucked away between the retail park, hospital and surrounding houses (which all turn their back onto the park) resulting in little natural surveillance.
th Page 4 of 9 Westwood Park v1.doc 14 September 2012 1.18 The Open Space Study highlighted areas of open space in the vicinity of Westwood Park, the types of open space and the facilities which were available. Following detailed assessment land/existing parks were identified that were capable of accommodating the re-provision of the open space facilities which would be lost at Westwood Park in an improved manner that would better serve the communities. Amongst the options identified were land at Garforth St, Coldhurst Community Park and land at Cottam St although since then improvements have already been carried out at Coldhurst Community Park.
1.19 More recently a detailed consultation exercise has been carried out with the local community the details of which are set out in section 5 below.
2 Current Position
2.1 A Planning Application has recently been submitted for the redevelopment of Westwood Park as a car park by the NHS Trust (Ref: PA/332891/12), basic details of the proposals are attached as Appendix 4. Whilst considering the proposed scheme it should be noted that these are initial proposals that may vary to take into account the requirement to retain some POS facilities on site.
2.2 As part of the Planning process the consultation feedback that has been received will be considered to ensure that, should Planning Permission be granted and Cabinet approve the disposal of the park, the facilities that have been lost are reprovided in an efficient manner that better suits the needs of the immediate and wider community.
2.3 The District Valuer has also provided a valuation of the park and Heads of Terms for the disposal of the park have been agreed between the Council and the NHS Trust as set out below.
3 Options/Alternatives
3.1 The options available to the Council are:
3.1.1 To sell the park – by selling the park to the NHS Trust the Council will be relieving itself of the liability of maintaining a park that is poorly located, underused and which attracts anti social behaviour whilst at the same time facilitating and safeguarding the future expansion of Royal Oldham Hospital. The Council will however be disposing of a park that is considered to be of some value by the community that immediately adjoins it however the facilities that are lost at the park will be reprovided on other sites within the area in a manner that is more efficient from a land use point of view and that better serves the communities both within the immediate and wider areas.
3.1.2 Not to sell the park – by not selling the park to the NHS Trust the Council will retain the liability of maintaining a park that is poorly located, underused and which attracts anti social behaviour whilst at the same time it may hinder the long term future expansion of Royal Oldham Hospital. The Council will however retain a park that is considered to be of some value by the community that immediately adjoins it however will forgo the opportunity to
th Page 5 of 9 Westwood Park v1.doc 14 September 2012 reprovide the facilities that currently exist at the park in a manner that is more efficient and that better serves the communities within the wider area.
4 Preferred Option
4.1 The preferred option is for the Council to dispose of the park for the reasons set out in 3.1.1 above.
5 Consultation
5.1 Members and senior officers have been consulted during the process by way of meetings, briefing notes and emails. More recently a formal public consultation exercise was carried out, the plan attached as Appendix 5 should be referred to when considering the information below.
Strategy
5.2 Park users and residents were consulted as follows:
• Westwood Bowling Club – Discussions were held with the Westwood Bowling Club which commenced earlier in the year and officers are continuing these discussions in order to assist the club in finding a new base.
• Residential Area 1 (Yasmin Gardens), 2 (Furtherwood Rd/Boundary Park) and 3 (Carlton Way/Cumberland Drive) – leaflets were issued to all the properties in the area advising of the proposals and inviting residents to a formal consultation event to be held at the Millennium Centre (7).
• St Hilda’s Primary School (5), Robin Hill Youth Centre (6), Westwood Primary School (8) and Richmond Primary School (9) were contacted to advise of the proposals and to publicise the public consultation event to be held at the Millennium Centre.
5.3 The initial intention was to hold two consultation events however upon requests from members a third event was also planned specifically for the community at Yasmin Gardens. The events were:
• Formal consultation event at the Millennium Centre - Drop-in from 2pm- 6pm Wednesday 30 th May 2012.
• Informal consultation event at Burnley Brow Primary School – consultation with parents at Friday Coffee Morning. 9am 1 st June 2012.
• Formal consultation event at Dovetales Church, Maygate – consultation event specifically organised for the community around Yasmin Gardens. 14:30 – 17:00 12 th July.
5.4 The issues that were consulted upon were:
• Facilities that will be lost/to be reprovided.
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• Accessibility/location of new facilities.
• Parking problems in the area.
• Antisocial behaviour.
5.5 The consultation material included:
• An overview of proposals.
• Options for reprovision.
• Opportunity for feedback.
Responses/Feedback
5.6 Formal Consultation Event at the Millennium Centre – although it was well publicised the event did not generate much interest from the community that lives within that area of Westwood with only a handful of people attending the event. The attendees had no particular views regarding the disposal of Westwood Park although they did identify a need for childrens play, sports facilities and areas for relaxation within the area.
5.7 Burnley Brow Coffee Morning – this was more of an informal event, attached within Appendix 5 is a summary of the discussions that took place – a positive response towards the disposal of Westwood Park was received at this event with the main request being for the improvement of the facilities/creation of Childrens play on the land at Garforth St. There were no particular concerns/requests for the retention of Westwood Park.
5.8 Formal Consultation Event at Dovetails Church – This event was targeted at the community at Yasmin Gardens who are most likely to be impacted upon by the disposal of Westwood Park. 20 people attended and completed questionnaires at the event itself however a large number of forms were taken away and circulated within the community which were completed over the weekend and returned on the following Monday. The majority of residents within this community are generally opposed to the disposal of the park as they felt that there is a real need for sports facilities, childrens play and relaxation facilities in the area. Some residents did however support the proposed disposal particularly those that were impacted upon by the antisocial problems that the park attracts – attached within Appendix 5 is a detailed breakdown of the feedback received regarding the usage of Westwood Park i.e. the facilities that are used there.
5.9 The residential areas at Furtherwood Rd/Boundary Park and Carlton Way/Cumberland Drive were also targeted for their views however no real response from these communities was received, the responses that were received were in favour of the disposal of the park.
th Page 7 of 9 Westwood Park v1.doc 14 September 2012 5.10 On balance it is generally recognised that the park is poorly located, attracts antisocial behaviour and does not meet the needs of the wider community in an efficient way. The community most impacted upon by the proposed disposal will be the residents around Yasmin Gardens who have identified a real need for the retention of childrens play, sports and relaxation facilities within the immediate area.
Reprovision Options
5.11 Following the consultation exercise officers have been working closely with the local ward members and the NHS Trust to try to agree and identify the best way in which the facilities that were identified by the communities as needing to be replaced i.e. childrens play, sports and relaxation facilities (see 5.7 and 5.10 above) can be reprovided.
5.12 Although the details have not yet been finalised (which will happen as part of the Planning process) it is anticipated that the key elements of the reprovision will consist of:
• Childrens Play – New facilities at Cottam Street and improved/new facilities at Garforth Street.
• Sports Facilities – new facilities to be provided either on a retained section of Westwood Park or on the former Westhulme Hospital site (NHS Land).
• Relaxation – to be provided on triangular section of Westwood Park.
5.13 As part of the future redevelopment of the former Westhulme Hospital site (NHS Land) there will also be the ability to provide further additional POS/recreational facilities in the area.
6. Cooperative Agenda
6.1 The proposed disposal of Westwood Park is to a partner agency i.e. the NHS and will facilitate the long term expansion of Royal Oldham Hospital. In addition to this the reduction and or efficiency improvement of the Council’s property portfolio is fully aligned with the Council’s Cooperative agenda.
7 Procurement Comments
7.1 No procurement implications. (Karen Lowes) 8 Property Implications
8.1 As set out above.
9 I.T. Implications
9.1 None.
10 Environmental and Health & Safety Implications
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10.1 The disposal of Westwood Park will result in the loss of land currently designated as open space but will help facilitate the extension of Royal Oldham Hospital and result in the reprovision of the existing facilities at Westwood Park on other parcels of land within the wider area in a more efficient and accessible manner.
11 Equality, community cohesion and crime implications
11.1 The disposal of Westwood Park will remove an area of land that currently attracts antisocial behaviour.
12 Equality Impact Assessment Completed?
12.1 N/A.
13 Key Decision
13.1 Yes.
14 Forward Plan Reference
14.1 EPS-48-11.
15 Background Papers
15.1 The following is a list of background papers on which this report is based in accordance with the requirements of Section 100(1) of the Local Government Act 1972. It does not include documents which would disclose exempt or confidential information as defined by the Act:
Appendix 1 – Location Plan
Appendix 2 – Pictures
Appendix 3 – Taylor Young Study
Appendix 4 – Redevelopment Proposals
Appendix 5 – Consultation:
• Consultation Strategy Plan
• Feedback – Burnley Brow Coffee Morning
• Feedback – Dovetails Church Event
th Page 9 of 9 Westwood Park v1.doc 14 September 2012