Agenda Item No. 5 (a) Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council Neighbourhoods and Community Scrutiny Panel 24th February, 2009 Access to Parks and Green Spaces by Public Transport Briefing Note 1) Summary 1. This briefing forms part of the Scrutiny Policy Review Scoping Document entitled “Green Spaces – Promotion, Protection and Management”. The overall aim and scope of the review is to assess how public green spaces in Sandwell are promoted, protected and managed, and to make three key recommendations. 2. One of the three key recommendations relates to access, specifically with the intention of increasing community access and involvement in the Borough’s green space. 3. Sandwell’s Green Space Audit (2006) identified 539 green areas, equating to a total area of just over 2,000 hectares, or 24% of the entire area of the Borough. Unlike other West Midlands Metropolitan Areas, Sandwell’s green space is not located on the periphery but in locations within the conurbation. 4. Sandwell has a comprehensive bus network within the Borough boundary, with high frequency bus routes along the main transport corridors and between most district centres. The bus remains the most commonly used form of public transport in the Borough. 5. Heavy rail provision in the Borough covers three lines with 12 rail stations serving the Borough. Hamstead and Tame Bridge stations provide access to Sandwell Valley and Powke Lane/Totnal Bridge and Rowley Hills open spaces can be accessed via the towpath to Dudley No2 Canal from Old Hill station. The Galton Valley Canal and heritage trail can be accessed from Smethwick Galton Bridge station, being just a small walk away from the entrance to the canal towpath. 6. Midland Metro Line 1 also passes through and has 11 stops in the Borough. Kendrick Park stop is adjoins that open space, the allotments and playing fields. West Bromwich Central is the nearest Metro stop to Dartmouth Park and the Sandwell Valley. 7. This briefing makes use of existing literature on green spaces in the Borough through the Sandwell Unitary Development Plan (2004) to define the areas of green space for which access by public transport would be a consideration. It will build on the existing Sandwell UDP (2004) Policy OS12: Accessibility, which defines the wider transport and physical access requirements for sports and recreation facilities, but not for green space. 8. The briefing also uses the latest Network West Midlands public transport maps of the network to analyse the quality of access to areas of green space within the Borough by public transport. 9. The structure used divides the Borough into six sections; the “six towns” of Sandwell. This is to provide a comprehensive analysis of access to green space by analysing each specific locality. 2) Definitions of Green Space in Sandwell 1. According to the Sandwell UDP (2004) Policy OS1: Open Space Hierarchy (page 91), existing provision of green space in the Borough has been ranked according to the Type of open space, its Function, Distance from Home and the Characteristics of the open space in question. The hierarchy contains seven types of open space, however it is considered that for an analysis of public transport access only the top three types are relevant. This is due to the distance from home element of the hierarchy; a distance from home of between 1.2 to up to 8 kilometres defines the top three from other types of open space. These are (see below): • Regional Parks, Regional Wildspace and Green Belt • Strategic Open Space and Wildspace • Town Parks 2. The function of these areas of open space is to provide access mainly at the weekend and occasional visits by car or public transport. Refer to Table 1 (below) for a detailed description of the open space defined: Type Function Distance from Characteristics Home Regional Mainly Up to 8 km Large areas of rural type land, including woodland and Parks, weekend and agricultural land. Some areas not publicly accessible. Regional occasional Primarily providing for informal recreation, but should Wildspace visits by car include a strategic area for play. Car parking at key and Green or public locations. Belt transport Strategic Mainly Up to 8 km Large areas of open space. Includes: formal parks Open Space weekend and and private open space; land of rural character; and and occasional land of nature conservation value. Should include a Wildspace visits by car strategic area for play. Adequate car parking and or public cycle parking. transport Town Parks Mainly 1.2 km Landscape setting with a variety of natural features weekend and providing for a wide range of activities; formal and occasional informal, or of a more specialist character e.g. nature visits by car conservation. The non-specialist parks should include or public a neighbourhood area for play. Size about 15-40 ha. transport Some car parking. Table 1: Description of open space designated as being accessible by public transport 3. The bottom four types of open space not included in Table 1 (above) are defined in the local context only and are likely to be accessed predominantly by pedestrians, being within 0.4 kilometres Distance from Home. Certain public transport accesses some of these open spaces and where there is direct access this is commented upon in the analysis. 4. According to the Sandwell UDP (2004) Proposals Map, the top three types of Open Space as listed in Table 1 (on previous page) are situated in the six towns in Table 2 (below) as follows: West Smethwick Oldbury Rowley Regis Tipton Wednesbury Bromwich Sandwell Warley Barnford Haden Hill Sheepwash Hydes Road Valley Country Woods Hill Park Park/Corngreaves Urban Park Pools Park/Dartmouth Park Lightwoods Titford Rowley Victoria Park Brunswick Park Pools Hills/Warrens Hall (Tipton) Park Red House Park Galton Bury Hill Park The Valley Cracker/Central Canal Powke Avenue Lane/Totnal West Bridge Smethwick Park Codsall Coppice Victoria Britannia Park Park (Smethwick) Table 2: Open space designated in the six towns of Sandwell 5. The green spaces listed in Table 2 (above) have been selected through their identification on the Sandwell UDP (2004) Proposals Map as having characteristics associated with the top three hierarchical definitions of open space in the Sandwell UDP (2004). The area of green space may be smaller than other neighbourhood areas of green space, but may include more features, i.e. an Area of Potential Archaeological Importance, a Local Nature Reserve, or a Wildlife Corridor. These features would boost the potential of the particular area of green space to attract visitors from outside the neighbourhood by public transport. 6. In addition, public transport access to Tividale Park in Oldbury, Forge Lane Park in Rowley Regis, and Jubilee and Farley Parks in Tipton have also been considered due to their local importance. 3) Existing Bus Access to Green Spaces 1. Public Transport access to the green spaces identified in Table 2 is given by town below. The quality and frequency of public transport access has been provided by analysing the latest Network West Midlands Map and Guide (July 2008). West Bromwich Sandwell Valley Country Park/Dartmouth Park The southern entrance to the Valley from Europa Avenue is provided for limited periods by the 407H (Europa Village/Scott Arms, via West Bromwich evening 30-60 minute service) and the 640 (Hill Top/Europa Village, via West Bromwich) bus services. The West Bromwich centre entrance, via Dartmouth Park, is served directly by the 405 (Walsall/Yew Tree Estate, via Bescot Crescent, with a 15 minute daytime and 30 minute evening service), the 405A (Walsall/West Bromwich, via Fullbrook and Stone Cross, 30 minute Sunday service), the 406H (West Bromwich/Scott Arms, via Hamstead Village, 12 minute or better daytime and 60 minute evening service) and the 407H already mentioned. In addition, with a slightly longer walk, all the buses using West Bromwich Town Centre serve it. Bus services 406H and 407H and 451 (Sutton Coldfield/West Bromwich via Scott Arms, every 10 minutes or less daytime and 30 minute evening), all run along Newton Road and allow access to that side of the Valley. The northern side of the Valley abutting Hamstead is served by the 16 (Birmingham/Hamstead 10 minute daytime and 20 minute evening service), the 406H, 407H, and 424 (Birmingham/North Birmingham College, via Perry Beeches daytime 60 minute service), the 425 (Hamstead/Scott Arms, via Longleat Avenue and Whitecrest, 60 minute daytime service) and the 654A (Perry Barr/Valley Road, Handsworth Wood and Hampstead 60 minute evening service). Finally the eastern, Birmingham, side of the Sandwell Valley is served by the 101 (Birmingham/Oxhill Road, via Jewellery Quarter, 10 minute or better) service and the 654 and 654A services. Red House Park Red House Park is only really served by the 424 and 451 services that use Newton Road, although it is a short walk from Scott Arms, which is served by the Walsall/Birmingham services and others. Smethwick Warley Woods Warley Woods is well served by buses that run and stop at several locations on the boundary of the open space. The 448 (West Bromwich/Queen Elizabeth Hospital via Bearwood), 448A, (West Bromwich/Queen Elizabeth Hospital via Smethwick and Bearwood), and 447 (West Bromwich/Bearwood services effectively provide a bus every 15 minutes daytime and 30 minutes in the evenings) serving two sides of the Woods, namely Harborne Road and Lightwoods Hill. The other sides are served on Abbey Road by the 128 (Birmingham/Blackheath via Fiveways, Warley and Oldbury with a 20 minute daytime service and a 60 minute evening service) and the 258 (Birmingham/Merry Hill, via Brandhall and Blackheath with a 20 minute daytime service and a 60 minute evening service).