North Staffordshire Green Space Strategy Final Report Version 02 September 2007 Scott Wilson Planning & Regeneration On behalf of: RENEW North Staffordshire Stoke-on-Trent City Council & Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council North Staffordshire Green Space Strategy September 2007 Collated and Peter Richards edited by: Assistant Planner Reviewed by: Alan Houghton Head of Planning & Regeneration Northwest Approved by: Alan Houghton Head of Planning & Regeneration Northwest Scott Wilson St James’s Buildings Oxford Street Manchester M1 6EF Tel: +44 (0)161 236 8655 Fax: +44 (0)161 228 2581 Email: [email protected] Urban North Staffordshire Green Space Strategy Final Version 02 Contents Executive Summary Glossary 3 1. Introduction 7 2. Scope of the Study 11 3. Policy Context Review 13 4. The North Staffordshire Green Space Audit & Needs Assessment – A Summary 33 5. A North Staffordshire Green Space Strategy – Methods, Assumptions & Limitations 35 6. The Local Standards 39 7. Delivering the Strategy 71 8. Delivering the Local Standards 91 9. An Action Plan Programme 115 10. Organisational Responsibilities 129 11. Capital & Revenue Costs 133 12. Resourcing the Strategy 135 13. Monitoring Performance 145 14. Summary of the Strategy’s Key Points 147 Bibliography 149 Appendices Appendix A – Existing Overall Provision of Green Space in North Staffordshire Appendix B – A Comparison of Existing Provision to the National Standards Appendix C – The NPFA Six Acre Standard Appendix D – A Local Standard for Play Facilities Appendix E – Outdoor Sports Provision in North Staffordshire Scott Wilson 1 September 2007 Urban North Staffordshire Green Space Strategy Final Version 02 Appendix F – Plans of Existing Provision and Accessibility Appendix G – ACPO “Secured By Design” Principles Appendix H – A Hierarchy of Proposed Parks & Play Space Appendix J – Proposed Semi-Natural Green Space Appendix K – The Remaining “Amenity” Green Space Appendix L – The Green Corridor Network of Sites Appendix M – Plans for the Proposed Provision of Green Space Appendix N – Full Costed Action Plan Programme Appendix P – Indicative Cost Calculations for Actions Appendix Q – Standard Unit Costs for Typology Improvements Scott Wilson 2 September 2007 Urban North Staffordshire Green Space Strategy Final Version 02 Glossary Amenity sites – green space sites that have no specific function or typology (either functional or non-functional) but are generally in public ownership or are open to public access ANGSt model – English Nature’s Accessible Natural Greenspace Standards (ANGSt) Model that was published within English Nature’s A Space for Nature (1997) and sets out recommendations for accessibility to semi-natural green space Area Action Plan (AAP) – are Supplementary Planning Documents that are produced for specific areas that will be subject to significant change. They contain more detailed proposals for relatively small areas of an Authority compared to the Core Spatial Strategy which looks at broader issues over a wider area. Area of Major Intervention (AMI) – a term adopted for those areas of the conurbation where it is proposed that significant intervention will take place to stimulate the housing market and regenerate the economy Area Regeneration Framework (ARF) – is a document that sets out the spatial strategy for the regeneration of the AMIs Audit – refers to the North Staffordshire Green Space Audit, completed in 2005, and the precursor to this Strategy Biodiversity – the number and variety of organisms found within a specified geographic region BME Communities – Black and Minority Ethnic Communities Core Spatial Strategy (CSS) – is a planning policy document that will form a part of the Local Development Frameworks and will replace the Borough Local Plan and the City Plan. The Borough and City are producing a joint CSS, which will set out the key planning policies for North Staffordshire. DBERR – the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform DCLG – the Department for Communities and Local Government DEFRA – the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Demography – the study of the characteristics of human populations, such as size, growth, density, distribution, and vital statistics Developer Contributions – see Planning Obligations Development Plan Documents (DPDs) – planning policy documents that make up the core of the Local Development Framework, including the Core Spatial Strategy Functional Green Space – is the green space that serves specific functions for general public use. For the purposes of this strategy, functional green space means the typologies of Parks & Gardens, Play facilities, Outdoor Sports facilities and Semi-Natural. Green Belt – a statutory designation within planning policy that protects identified land from any development other than that which is in keeping with the nature of the green belt in Scott Wilson 3 September 2007 Urban North Staffordshire Green Space Strategy Final Version 02 order to check urban sprawl, safeguard the countryside and to encourage the regeneration of brownfield sites in urban areas Green Corridors – routes through the urban area that are characterised by being green in nature and that enable pedestrian and cycle movement through the conurbation by way of a safe and attractive environment Green Flag Standards – are the qualitative national standards for parks and green spaces. Parks can apply for an award of Green Flag status to show that they achieve these standards. Greening for Growth – is a programme of environmental improvement for North Staffordshire and is the largest environmental regeneration programme in the West Midlands. The focus of Greening for Growth is on physical environmental improvements in key locations. Green Routes – see Green Corridors Green Space – is space that is set aside for the enjoyment of leisure and recreation, both formally and informally, and that is open in nature with elements of nature present Greenway – see Green Corridors Housing Market Renewal (HMR) – is the tackling of low housing demand and housing abandonment by sustained action to turn round areas where housing markets have failed. Limited Access – is a term used in the North Staffordshire Green Space Audit and this Strategy to define green space sites that are only accessible to the general public at limited times Local Area for Play (LAP) – is a type of play facility defined by the NPFA – see Appendix C Local Area Agreements – set out the priorities for a local area agreed between central government and a local area (the local authority and Local Strategic Partnership) and other key partners at the local level. They simplify some central funding, help join up public services more effectively and allow greater flexibility for local solutions to local circumstances Local Development Documents – planning policy documents that comprise the Local Development Framework Local Development Framework – the suite of documents that comprise the planning policy for a given Authority Local Equipped Area for Play (LEAP) – is a type of equipped play facility defined by the NPFA – see Appendix C Local Nature Reserve (LNR) – is a place with wildlife or geological features that is of special interest locally. They offer people special opportunities to study or learn about nature or simply to enjoy it. Local Strategic Partnerships – are non-statutory, multi-agency partnerships that match local authority boundaries. They bring together the different parts of the public, private, community and voluntary sectors at a local level, allowing different initiatives and services to support one another so that they can work together more effectively. Scott Wilson 4 September 2007 Urban North Staffordshire Green Space Strategy Final Version 02 Neighbourhood Equipped Area for Play (NEAP) – is a type of equipped play facility defined by the NPFA – see Appendix C Non-functional Green Space – is the green space that is not classed as functional in this strategy. It is often characterised by being in private ownership and / or is not generally accessible to all parts of the community. For the purposes of this strategy, this includes Allotments. North Staffordshire Regeneration Partnership (NSRP) – is a local delivery partnership that has been created to deliver the physical, economic and social regeneration of North Staffordshire. The NSRP brings together RENEW North Staffordshire, the North Staffordshire Regeneration Zone and Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s regeneration functions. North Staffordshire Regeneration Zone (NSRZ) – is a local delivery partnership that seeks to transform the economy of North Staffordshire Open Space – see Green Space Planning Gain – is the process being considered by Central Government by which a levy may be placed on development proposals partly in place of a section 106 agreement in order to mitigate against the impacts of that development Planning Obligations – is the term used to describe the current approach to achieving section 106 agreements on development proposals in order to mitigate against the impacts of that development Planning Policy Guidance (PPG) Notes – national planning policy guidance notes that set the policy context for planning policy and planning decisions and regional and local levels Planning Policy Statement (PPS) – national planning policy, PPS are gradually replacing the PPG notes and serve the same function Regeneration – the physical, economic or social renewal and restoration of a geographical area Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) – a regional