Pendle Local Plan Part 2 Open Space Audit February 2019 For an alternative format of this document phone 01282 661330 Versions Document: Pendle Open Space Audit Legislation: - Regulations: - Author: Pendle Borough Council Document Reference: LP2/EVB/001/2018 Version Date Detail Prepared by Checked by Approved by 1.1 09.07.2018 Initial draft Jonathan Dicken John Halton NA 1.2 13.07.2018 Revised draft Jonathan Dicken John Halton John Halton 1.3 19.07.2018 Draft for internal comment Jonathan Dicken Kieron Roberts NA 1.4 06.12.2018 Amended draft John Halton Neil Watson NA 1.5 01.02.2019 Final draft John Halton Neil Watson P& R Committee Preface The Pendle Open Space Audit 2019 has been updated help inform the development of policies to be included in Pendle Local Plan Part 2: Site Allocations and Development Policies. It reflects current best practice and replaces the previous Open Space Audit published in 2008. Individual open space sites can perform a number of quite different functions, which in turn offer a wide range of associated benefits. The accompanying Green Infrastructure Strategy explores the multifunctional role of open space in greater detail. The sites identified in the OSA 2019 provide space for sport, recreation and leisure, nature conservation, civic occasions and community events. The key benefits they provide are listed below: • Encourages increased levels of physical activity • Improves mental health • Provides opportunities to connect with the natural environment • Offers space for local food production • Creates a greener and more pleasant environment • Helps to combat a range of environmental problems including air quality, flooding and climate change. These benefits demonstrate the important role open space plays in encouraging people to adopt healthier lifestyles and in improving the overall quality of life for residents in the borough. OSA 2019 provides an up-to-date analysis of current open space provision in Pendle. It considers provision at the neighbourhood level by looking at the quantity, quality and accessibility of provision in Electoral Wards and on a wider footprint by considering the areas administered by the Council’s five Area Committees. The results highlight which of these areas have a surplus or deficiency when measured against the average provision rate (APR) for the borough within a particular typology. The format of this audit responds to feedback we received on the 2008 edition. For the first time, it establishes local standards for the expected quantity, quality and accessibility of open space in Pendle. It provides more in-depth analysis by assessing the performance of existing open space sites against the three standards that have been established; identifying where gaps in provision are most acute; and where quality needs to be improved. The ward profiles (Appendix 2) have been expanded to provide a better summary of open space provision within the ward and to show where provision in a neighbouring ward may help to adequately address a apparent deficiencies. 4 Pendle Open Space Audit 2019 Contents Contents Preface ........................................................................................................................... 3 1. Background ..................................................................................................................... 7 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 7 The open space audit ............................................................................................................... 7 2. Policy Overview .............................................................................................................. 9 National planning policy ........................................................................................................... 9 Local planning policy ................................................................................................................ 9 Links to other strategies ......................................................................................................... 10 3. Methodology ................................................................................................................ 11 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 11 Open space definition and typologies ................................................................................... 11 Quantity assessment .............................................................................................................. 15 Quality assessment ................................................................................................................ 16 Accessibility assessment ........................................................................................................ 17 4. Local Standards ............................................................................................................. 19 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 19 Quantity standards ................................................................................................................. 19 Quality standards ................................................................................................................... 20 Accessibility standards ........................................................................................................... 21 5. Survey Results ............................................................................................................... 25 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 25 Quantity findings .................................................................................................................... 25 Quality findings ...................................................................................................................... 69 Accessibility findings .............................................................................................................. 74 Site size, ownership and access ............................................................................................. 83 Additional provision ............................................................................................................... 84 6. Conclusions ................................................................................................................... 85 5 Pendle Open Space Audit 2019 Contents Appendices Appendix 1: Quality Assessment Criteria.................................................................................... 87 Appendix 2: Ward Profiles .......................................................................................................... 95 Appendix 3: Quality Scores by Typology ................................................................................... 187 6 Pendle Open Space Audit 2019 Background 7 Pendle Open Space Audit 2019 Background 1. Background Introduction 1.1 Open space is a valuable asset that is vital to the quality of life of those who live in the towns and villages of Pendle. 1.2 Open space has many benefits; providing space for local communities to interact with each other, nature and the built environment. Open space also has wider benefits, helping to meet the challenges presented by climate change and flooding. Street trees and woodland provide urban cooling, whilst Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) help to reduce the overland flow of rainwater following a storm event. 1.3 The planning system has an important role to play to ensure that the provision of open space is sufficient to meet the needs of the local population. It is also tasked with protecting open space from development and putting in place policies that help to increase the level of provision and seek improvements in quality and accessibility. The open space audit 1.4 The Pendle Open Space Audit 2019 (OSA 2019) provides information on the quantity, quality, distribution and accessibility of open space in the borough. In particular it identifies those areas with either a surplus or deficit of open space when compared to the borough-wide average. This document replaces the previous Open Space Audit, which was adopted in 2008 (OSA 2008); highlighting any changes in levels of provision and quality that have occurred in the last 10 years. 1.5 The publication of the revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) in July 2018 and the subsequent Planning Practice Guidance (PPG), provide the most recent guidance on planning for open space. Pendle Council is in currently the process of preparing the Pendle Local Plan Part 2: Site Allocations and Development Policies (LP2) and needs to ensure that there is an up-to-date evidence base on open space provision to underpin the policies and site allocations in this plan. 1.6 The OSA 2019 also provides the Council with an opportunity to establish a set of local standards for the amount, quality and accessibility of open space that it expects to be provided within local neighbourhoods and at a borough-wide level. These standards will be incorporated into LP2 to help ensure that, where necessary, developers are required to provide sufficient open space in new developments to meet the needs of local