Western Valleys Strategic Regeneration Area – Landscape Improvement Strategy December 2010 Western Valleys Strategic Regeneration Area Landscape Improvement Strategy December 2010 1 Western Valleys Strategic Regeneration Area – Landscape Improvement Strategy December 2010 2 Western Valleys Strategic Regeneration Area – Landscape Improvement Strategy December 2010 SECTION O1: INTRODUCTION page 6 O2: WVSRA STRATEGIC REGENERATION page 7 O3: LANDSCAPE CHARACTER page 10 O4: POLICY BACKGROUND page 16 O5: LINKS TO OTHER INITIATIVES page 19 O6: LANDSCAPE & ACCESS ANALYSIS page 25 O7: TOWNSCAPE IMPROVEMENT page 27 O8: QUALITY OF GREENSPACE page 29 O9: STREET TREES page 33 1O: ADDRESSING THE ISSUES page 34 11: STRATEGY VISION page 43 12: LONG LIST OF PROJECTS page 46 13: SHORT LIST OF PROJECTS page 48 14: GENERIC PROJECTS page 55 15: OUTCOMES page 59 APPENDICES 1 town appraisals 2 examples of community projects 3 extract from Welsh Housing Quality Standard 4 benefits of trees 5 benefits of cycling 6 benefits of green infrastructure 7 benefits of natural play 8 contacts for WVSRA landscape improvement strategy 9 long distance walking routes REFERENCES Also refer to separate landscape action plans for each of the nine valleys 3 Western Valleys Strategic Regeneration Area – Landscape Improvement Strategy December 2010 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CONTEXT This Landscape Improvement Strategy has been prepared for the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) by Mackley Davies Associates Ltd working with tourism consultant Kim Colebrook. Its purpose is to identify the issues, opportunities and projects for the nine valleys within the Western Valleys Strategic Regeneration Area and to provide priorities for Welsh Assembly Government grants. This project follows on from a series of strategies written for the then Welsh Development Agency from the mid 1990’s as part of the ‘Landscapes Working for Wales’ programme. The strategies prioritised projects that were visually prominent with a focus on transport corridors, derelict land, gateways and industrial areas, although some biodiversity and recreation needs were also addressed. The study area was defined by the local authority boundary and the projects were often sited outside settlement boundaries. Many of the projects have been completed, where they have not and are relevant to the WVSRA objectives, they have been incorporated into this strategy. Since the 1990’s there has been a significant change to the political agenda. Access for all, biodiversity conservation, obesity, and mental health are more prominent issues, and there is growing concern for the need to mitigate and adapt for climate change. Welsh Assembly Government funding for the Western Valleys is now focussed on the Strategic Regeneration Area where nearly a third of the population live in Communities First Areas. BASELINE REVIEW This strategy and its associated nine valley action plans is a response to needs identified through site visits, discussion with the Countryside Commission for Wales (CCW), Forestry Commission Wales (FCW), Environment Agency Wales and Sustrans amongst others, and workshops with local authority and Communities First officers. The objective was to identify strategic level landscape projects suitable for Welsh Assembly Government funding. Area level projects have been identified through a separate local authority-led process resulting in Valley Area Regeneration Plans (VARPs) which include economic and social as well as environmental needs and projects and will be funded by a different route. Potential projects have been grouped according to the geographic valley. The study area extends across five local authorities, overlaps with the Valleys Regional Park and lies adjacent to the Heads of the Valleys Strategic Regeneration Area. This strategy identifies a number of issues for residents, businesses, visitors and landscape managers and highlights potential projects to tackle these issues. Projects will contribute to a number of national and regional objectives, including the WVSRA operating document, the Wales Spatial Plan and Wales Environment Strategy. 4 Western Valleys Strategic Regeneration Area – Landscape Improvement Strategy December 2010 VISION The overall vision is to create a linked network of multi-functional landscapes, a new green infrastructure along each valley, by linking up formal recreation spaces, grass verges, pocket parks, community routes, river and canal corridors, to provide all sectors of communities with access to a diversity of outdoor experience and to create a more attractive environment for residents, visitors, and investors. The following themes have been developed 1. Greening of key road corridors through settlements 2. Developing and upgrading strategic community routes 3. Transforming public open space 4. Improving landscapes to enhance the tourism offer Cross cutting themes have also been developed to apply to all projects and other opportunities as they arise: 1. Making the most of new development 2. Creating a sense of place 3. Keeping the landscape strategy and valley action plans open to new ideas 4. Incorporating community consultation, art work/craft work, biodiversity PROJECTS A long list of projects was agreed by peer review at the local authority workshops and consists of some 135 projects. Prioritisation criteria was developed and applied to the long list to create a short list of 44 priority projects which best meet the WVSRA objectives (see sections 12 and 13). Projects are detailed in the separate nine valley landscape action plans. Seven generic projects which address WVSRA-wide issues have also been identified (see section 14) which may require the Welsh Assembly Government to act as the leading organisation. The scope and scale of projects has been defined against a background of future public sector cuts. Many combine a number of smaller projects and could be phased if required. The long list represents the start of phase 1 of this strategy where the focus is on delivering the WVSRA objectives and delivering Welsh Assembly Government polices for communities within communities, to improve the places where people live, often work, and enjoy their leisure time. Over time, as the landscape of settlements improves, the focus could be turned to improving the landscape of valley slopes (mostly rural but sometimes urban fringe in character) and on improving access to the slopes from communities. Later landscape improvement phases could focus on the rural upland hilltops and include encouraging public access and understanding of open access and common land, and on enhancing access links across the valleys. CONCLUSIONS Defining environmental needs and outcomes is an area which is currently receiving much policy and research interest and is rapidly changing. The outcomes (see section 15) and appendices review how to measure the benefits of environmental change. Often benefits extend across a range of other ‘quality of life aspects’ and may include: health, social interaction, inward investment, community confidence, biodiversity value and asset value. 5 Western Valleys Strategic Regeneration Area – Landscape Improvement Strategy December 2010 01 INTRODUCTION The WVSRA aim is to direct resources to tackle long standing issues in the region. The SRA area covers c150 square miles with a population of 136,000. The WVSRA crosses five local authority boundaries, from the Gwendraeth Valley in the west, to the Ogmore Valley in the east, extending from the M4 to the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Mackley Davies Associates Ltd was commissioned to produce a ten year strategy for landscape projects across the Western Valleys Strategic Regeneration Area for the Welsh Assembly Governments grant programme. The WRSRA operating document is focussed on benefits for communities and is based on the community geography of valleys rather than political geography. This has also been the basis for our approach. The WVSRA vision is to approach regeneration in an integrated way, linking physical infrastructure and community regeneration, building on the existing community infrastructure (including Communities First Partnerships) to provide a quality environment in which people want to live and work. The themes for investment (economic investment, environmental improvement and social legacy) provide a framework for regeneration and reflect the key strands for sustainable development. Working with the five local authorities within the WVSRA, projects were identified at a strategic and area level through site visits, local authority officer workshops and through discussion with selected national agencies and voluntary sector organisations. Although the scale of environmental needs varies across the study area, there is consistency in the type of need identified (see section 3) and four key themes. Those projects that met the WVSRA objectives and agreed at the workshops were prioritised in a consistent way by Mackley Davies using simple but robust criteria (see section 12). The result is a long list of some 135 projects for which further site visits, an outline of proposals and budget costs were produced for the short list of 44 which are detailed in nine separate landscape action plans for the following valleys: Ogmore [Bridgend CBC] Garw [Bridgend CBC] Llynfi [Bridgend CBC] Afan [Neath Port Talbot CBC] Dulais [Neath Port Talbot CBC] Neath [Neath Port Talbot CBC] Swansea [Neath Port Talbot CBC + City & County of Swansea + Powys County Council] Amman [Carmarthenshire County Council + Neath Port Talbot