Outdoor Playing Space Study

Outdoor Playing Space Study

Lewes District Outdoor Playing Space Study September 2014 Lewes District Outdoor Playing Space Study September 2014 Contents: 1. Introduction 2 2. Definition of Outdoor Playing Space 2 3. Policy Context 3 4. Methodology 4 5. Findings 7 Appendices 1. School and college availability 11 2. Quality assessment template 14 3. Quantity assessment 23 4. Quality assessment 46 1 Lewes District Outdoor Playing Space Study September 2014 1. Introduction 1.1 Lewes District Council seeks to ensure the adequate provision of outdoor playing space within the district. The provision of appropriate and accessible outdoor playing space, both for children’s play and for youth and adult sporting activities, is a critical component of the infrastructure necessary to support housing growth. 1.2 This study of outdoor playing space, which assesses the quantity and quality of existing provision within Lewes district, was undertaken in 2014. It provides baseline information to demonstrate the extent to which the Council’s adopted standards for outdoor playing space are met in each town and parish and is intended to assist with the implementation of planning policy. 2. Definition of Outdoor Playing Space 2.1 The definition of outdoor playing space used by Fields in Trust has been adopted, i.e. ‘space that is accessible and available to the general public, and of a suitable size and nature for sport, active recreation and play.’1 2.2 The definition of outdoor playing space covers: Facilities for pitch sports, such as football, cricket or lacrosse, including training areas Facilities for other outdoor sports, such as bowls, athletics and tennis, including training areas Designated areas for children’s play containing a range of facilities and an environment designed to provide focussed opportunities for outdoor play, including play areas and playgrounds of all kinds Amenity open space suitable for casual or informal play, particularly within housing areas Facilities for teenagers and young people 2.3 Outdoor sports facilities owned by local authorities, including district, town and parish councils, and the voluntary, private and commercial sectors are included within this definition, provided they meet the recreational needs of the public or their members. 2.4 The definition of outdoor playing space excludes: 1 Planning and Design for Outdoor Sport and Play, Fields in Trust/National Playing Fields Association (2008) 2 Outdoor sports facilities which are not as a matter of policy or practice available for public use Verges, woodlands, commons, the seashore, nature conservation areas, allotments, ornamental gardens (except for clearly defined areas within them for sports, games, practice and play) Golf facilities Water used for recreation, except where it forms an interactive feature of an outdoor play area Sports halls or leisure centres and other indoor provision Commercial entertainment complexes or theme parks Car parks for non-recreational users 2.5 Educational facilities are excluded unless they are available for public use by written agreement. The informal or unauthorised use of such facilities by the public falls outside the definition. 3. Policy Context 3.1 The adopted Lewes District Local Plan 2003 identifies the need to provide and maintain adequate outdoor playing space as a key issue that should be addressed by the Council. ‘Saved’ Policy RE1 of the Local Plan 2003 sets a minimum standard of provision as follows: Policy RE1 The Council will seek (through positive planning and provision, and through the control of development) to achieve provision of outdoor public and private playing space, which are as a matter of practise and policy available for public use, to at least the following minimum standard: 1.7 ha per 1,000 population for outdoor sports, including pitches, courts and greens, and 0.7 ha per 1000 population for children’s play, of which about 0.2 – 0.3ha will comprise equipped areas and 0.4 – 0.5ha will be of a more casual or informal nature. 3.2 These adopted standards are based upon the Fields in Trust2 benchmark standards, which are a longstanding nationally proven tool for assessing the 2 Fields in Trust is now the operating name of the National Playing Fields Association 3 adequacy of outdoor playing space. In 2014, 75% of local planning authorities in a survey commissioned by Fields in Trust used its benchmark standards or guidance that promotes equivalent levels of provision. 3.3 Housing development, including small sites, cumulatively contributes towards the community’s need for recreational open space. The Council therefore expects adequate provision for outdoor playing space to be made within new residential developments in order to meet the needs of new residents and to avoid exacerbating existing deficiencies in provision. This expectation is set out in ‘saved’ Policy RES19 of the Local Plan 2003 as follows: Policy RES19 In areas where there is a deficiency of outdoor sports and/or children’s play space in quantitative or qualitative terms as identified in the Topic Paper “Outdoor Playing Space in the Lewes District”, planning applications for all residential development will be expected to include a level of provision for outdoor sports and/or children’s outdoor play space in accordance with the standards set out in Policy RE1. Satisfactory arrangements will be required to be made to ensure that the children’s play space is either: (a) laid out and, where appropriate, equipped for use at an agreed stage(s) no later than the completion of the final dwelling of the development, or (b) if the appropriate children’s play space cannot adequately be made on-site, provision and/or enhancement (or a contribution towards provision and/or enhancement) is made elsewhere within the neighbourhood or local area at sufficiently close range to satisfy the needs of the proposed development itself. Commuted payments will be required for outdoor sports provision and/or enhancement commensurate with the scale of development. Provision of this kind will not be required from providers of (a) one-bedroom dwellings or (b) sheltered housing or other similar kinds of specialist housing for elderly people. 3.4 The District Council and the South Downs National Park have jointly prepared a new strategic level local plan - the Lewes District Local Plan Part 1: Joint Core Strategy (JCS). The JCS has been submitted to the Secretary of State and is currently at examination. It sets the long-term vision and objectives for the district and provides the strategic policy framework to guide development and change in the period to 2030. One of the key objectives of the JCS is 4 “…to improve the accessibility of key community services and facilities and to provide the new and upgraded infrastructure that is required to create and support sustainable communities”. 3.5 The District Council is also preparing the Lewes District Local Plan Part 2: Site Allocations and Development Management Policies (LPP2). This document will support and seek to deliver the strategic objectives and spatial strategy of the JCS. The LPP2 will only apply to the area of Lewes district outside of the South Downs National Park, as the National Park Authority will be preparing its own local plan. 3.6 JCS Core Policy 8 seeks to promote a connected network of multi-functional green infrastructure by protecting and enhancing the quantity, quality and accessibility of open spaces throughout the district. As part of this strategic approach, the JCS retains ‘saved’ Policies RE1 and RES19 of the 2003 Local Plan (see above) so that, following its adoption, both policies will continue to be part of the approved development plan for the area until replaced by the policies in the LPP2. 3.6 Within Lewes district, eight ‘neighbourhood areas’ have been formally designated for the purposes of preparing neighbourhood plans. These neighbourhood plans will be produced by the relevant town or parish councils and set out specific planning policies for their areas. Once approved, the neighbourhood plans will also form part of the development plan. However, none have reached this stage to date. 4. Methodology 4.1 The assessment was undertaken by officers of the District Council’s Planning Policy Team, assisted by officers from the Council’s Parks Department, in order to update the Topic Paper ‘Outdoor Playing Space in the Lewes District’ referenced in ‘saved’ Policy RES19 of the Local Plan 2003. It involved the following components: An updated audit of existing outdoor playing space provision across the District, in consultation with town and parish councils, education providers and local sports clubs The identification of existing deficiencies in provision in relation to the Council’s adopted standards, and what the potential future requirements may be for new provision A baseline quality assessment of existing provision Quantitative Assessment 4.2 A desk stop study was initially carried out to identify existing provision within the district. This study utilised the Council’s ‘Audit of Adult and Children’s Play Space in Lewes District 2012’, GIS data, and information received from 5 questionnaires sent to all town and parish councils and sports clubs within the district. This information was verified or updated by officer site visits to all the identified facilities. 4.4 All primary and secondary schools were also contacted to establish whether outdoor playing space facilities were available for community use. A list of the schools contacted and the facilities available for community use is included at Appendix 1 of this report. 4.5 The adequacy of existing outdoor playing space provision was then assessed by comparing the quantity of provision in town and parish areas with their estimated population at 20143 and applying the Council’s adopted standards for outdoor playing space to identify which towns and parishes have a surplus or deficiency in provision. 4.6 The assessment also included an analysis of the potential requirements for outdoor playing space based upon the planned level of housing growth to 2030 set out in Spatial Policy 2 and Table 5 of the JCS.

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