Friends of Calthorpe Park CALTHORPE PARK DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2013–2018 Calthorpe Park Development Plan Adopted at RLA on 17 July 2013 Calthorpe Park Development Plan 10 July 2013 Contents PART 1 – MANAGEMENT AND FACILITIES 1. Introduction 2. Site Description and Information Base 2.1 Name of site 2.2 Location 2.3 Park users 2.4 Grid reference 2.5 Area 2.6 Byelaws 2.7 Land ownership of Calthorpe Park 3. History of the site 3.1 Lady Calthorpe’s Deed of Gift and Covenant 3.2 Fleet Cricket Club 3.3 Fleet Town Football Club 3.4 Football training 3.5 Odiham District Scouts 4. Features of the site 4.1 Existing sporting provision 4.1.1 Football pitches 4.1.2 Tennis courts 4.1.3 Sports pavilion 4.1.4 Other users of the Park 4.2 Swan structure 4.3 Jubilee wood 4.4 Cycle route 5. Annual events 6. Current management practices 7. Management issues 7.1 User requirements 7.2 Conflicts between interest groups 7.3 Car parking 7.4 Vandalism 8. SWOT analysis 9. Action plan on general issues for Calthorpe Park 2 Calthorpe Park Development Plan 10 July 2013 9.1 Vision and Objectives 9.2 Community involvement 9.2.1 Action days 9.3 Utilising the Park 9.3.1 CCTV 9.3.2 Multi-User Games Area 9.3.3 Wildflower Meadow 9.3.4 Children’s Play Area 9.3.5 Resurface playing fields 9.3.6 Manage the woodland 9.3.7 Outdoor Table Tennis Tables 9.3.8 Wet field adjoining Merivale 9.3.9 Adult Fitness Equipment 9.3.10 Develop an Orienteering Course in the Park 9.3.11 Upgrade Jubilee Garden 9.3.12 Sensory garden 9.3.13 Additional Parking 9.3.14 New Park Pavilion 9.4 A Welcoming Place 9.4.1 Increase Car Parking 9.4.2 Upgrade the pavilion 9.4.3 Signage 9.5 Health and Safety/security 9.5.1 Install CCTV in the Park 9.6 Maintenance of Equipment, Buildings and Landscape 9.6.1 Annual maintenance 9.6.2 Woodland management 3 Calthorpe Park Development Plan 10 July 2013 PART 2 ECOLOGY AND WILDLIFE Calthorpe Park - Key Objectives and Areas of Operation Summary of Management Plan 10. Environmental Information 10.1 Physical 10.2 Biological 10.3 Cultural 11. Evaluation 11.1 Size 11.2 Diversity 11.3 Naturalness 11.4 Rarity 11.5 Fragility 11.6 Typicalness 11.7 Recorded History 11.8 Position in Ecological Unit 11.9 Potential Value 11.10 Intrinsic Appeal 3.11 Other Criteria 11.12 Identification/Confirmation of Important Features 11.13 Operations likely to damage special features and interests 11.14 Main factors influencing the management of the site 11.15 Land of conservation or strategic importance 12. Management Policies 12.1 List of policies 12.2 Rationale 13. Management Prescriptions and Operations 13.1 Mature Trees 13.2 Boundaries 13.3 Improved Grassland 13.4 Ditches 13.5 Scrub 13.6 Ponds 13.7 Bare Ground 13.8 Visitors/Interpretation/Education 13.9 Estate and Equipment 4 Calthorpe Park Development Plan 10 July 2013 13.10 Public Relations and Administration 13.11 Research/Survey/Monitoring 14. T en-Year Work Programme - Summary 15. Appendices Appendix 1 Map of the area Appendix 2 Lady Calthorpe’s Deed of Gift Appendix 3 Fleet Town Council policy on major events in Fleet Parks Appendix 4 Checklist for the Park Appendix 5 Species Lists Appendix 6 Schedule of Development Projects 5 Calthorpe Park Development Plan 10 July 2013 Part 1 General Management Issues 1. Introduction This development plan is a document which sets out the current situation of Calthorpe Park, together with the ambitions and expectations for its future This is the first development plan written for Calthorpe Park and will provide a route map for both users and custodians of the park to help them take decisions on its maintenance, use and development. The plan looks to define a vision for Calthorpe Park and considers objectives that could be achievable over a 5 year timeframe. The plan also looks at wider issues that affect the Park, including policy and legal issues, as well as socio-economic factors. The plan goes on to describe how Calthorpe Park and the work that is proposed to be carried out there will be promoted and evaluated. It consists of two parts: Part 1 is concerned with general management of the area and user facilities; Part 2 is concerned with ecology and wildlife issues. This plan has been developed jointly by the Friends of Calthorpe Park and Fleet Town Council, in consultation with key stakeholders of Calthorpe Park, such as the users identified in section 2.3. This hopefully ensures that it fulfils the needs of the community which it serves. The core of this development plan is the proposed development project opportunities that will move the facilities and ecology towards our 2018 vision. These are described in section 9 of this document and in tabular form with potential funding sources and timelines in Appendix 6. The opening of the new cycleway through the park is not included as this will have been completed and opened by September 2013. Items that have been established as priority items (or already being actioned) for progress in 2013/2014 are Installation of CCTV to protect facilities and park users Amendment of FTC Civic Events Policy to protect park environment Planning and planting of Wildflower Meadow with seating Provision of MUGA facility in Tennis Court 3 Invasive plant removal in wooded areas and SINC planning 2. Site Description and Information Base 2.1 Name of site: Calthorpe Park 2.2 Location: Calthorpe Park is an area of 34.368 acres (13.909 hectares) situated about a quarter of a mile west of the Oatsheaf crossroads at the centre of Fleet, Hampshire (see Figure 1). It is surrounded by residential areas, with Tavistock Road to the north, Lea Wood Road and Stanton Drive to the south, Merivale to the west and Reading Road North to the east. Figure 2 shows a more detailed map of the central area of the park, excluding most of the cricket ground to the east and the western end that borders on Merivale. County Council: Hampshire County Council District Council: Hart District Council Parish Council: Fleet Town 6 Calthorpe Park Development Plan 10 July 2013 Calthorpe Park School Oatsheaf crossroad s Tavistock Primary School All Saints Junior School . Figure 1 Location of Calthorpe Park to the west of the Oatsheaf crossroads Fleet, Hampshire (courtesy Ordnance Survey) Grid reference: The park lies between grid references SU 47991537, SU 48031535 and SU 48061539 OS Explorer: 1:25 000 Sheets: 145 Guildford and Farnham and 144 Basingstoke OS Landranger: 1:50 000 Sheets: 186 Aldershot and Guildford 7 Calthorpe Park Development Plan 10 July 2013 Figure 2 Map of Calthorpe Park Area 8 Calthorpe Park Development Plan 10 July 2013 2.3 Land ownership of Calthorpe Park The site of Calthorpe Park is owned by Fleet Town Council. The boundaries surrounding Calthorpe Park are owned by Hart District Council. Until 1946 the area that is now Calthorpe Park formed part of the Calthorpe Estate, managed from Elvetham. Way-leaves: There are no way-leaves on the site Management agreements: Leases and site management responsibilities have been agreed with Fleet Town Football Club, Fleet Cricket Club and the Scouts, Odiham Division. Land/Rights of Way let by Fleet Town Council: There are no land or rights of way let to other parties Site definition and boundaries: See Appendix 1 2.4 Legal and other constraints and permissions Statutory and planning designations: The site has no statutory designation and falls into the Hart District Council’s Local Plan Area. Rights of Way: There are no definitive rights of way recorded on Ordnance Survey mapping associated with the site. Byelaws: There are current byelaws in force on this land from Hart District Council. Recreation and car parking: There are a number of access points to the site, mainly related to movement thorough the park between the local schools, housing and the town centre. The main entrance is off Reading Road North, with an alternative large vehicle access via Crookham Road adjacent to the Football Club. A formal cycle path connecting Merivale and Reading Road North utilising the edge of the northern boundary is scheduled for completion in 2013, as part of scheme PC3 of the Fleet Town Access Plan, Cycle Route Hart Leisure to Fleet Town Centre. 2.5 Main fixed assets Main buildings: Fleet Cricket Club has a pavilion building for equipment storage, changing and facilities on match days. It also has a garage used for maintenance equipment. Fleet Town Football Club has stands and ancillary buildings for match days and pitch maintenance. The Scouts Odiham Division has a building for use as headquarters to two groups of the Odiham District Scouts; the 22nd Fleet Scout Group and the 26th Fleet Sea Scout Group. Other facilities: There is a Fleet Town Council pavilion and garage with toilets on site, which is used regularly by Fleet Town Colts Football Club during the football season. It is also used by Fleet Town Council for site maintenance, equipment storage, changing and provision of onsite catering facilities. There are 5 football pitches, 6 tennis courts, a kick-about football goal, wooden swan play features, park benches, a Jubilee Wood planted in 2012 and a large amount of open space. This open space is used for informal recreation, dog walking and, particularly on Saturday mornings, junior football training.