AGENDA ITEM NO: 7
ENVIRONMENT AND REGENERATION SCRUTINY COMMITTEE
WEDNESDAY 26 NOVEMBER 2008
REPORT FROM CHIEF ENVIRONMENT OFFICER
DESIGNATED AREAS OF PUBLIC OPEN SPACE AS OWAIN GLYNDWR FIELDS
PURPOSE OF THE REPORT
To seek Members’ views on the designation of three areas of Public Open Space as Owain Glyndwr Fields under the scheme operated by the Fields in Trust in order to protect the land for recreational use in perpetuity.
INFORMATION
1 The Owain Glyndwr Scheme is an initiative introduced by Fields in Trust (formerly the NPFA Cymru, the Welsh arm of the NPFA), with the endorsement of the National Assembly for Wales. Its introduction is intended to commemorate the 600th Anniversary of the Welsh Statesman and to protect land for recreational use in perpetuity for the benefit of local communities. Within Wales, the aim of the Fields in Trust is to establish 22 Owain Glyndwr Fields, one in each unitary authority. Last year 3 sites were dedicated in Wrexham County Borough, these were the recreational grounds at Bryn Avenue (Worsley Avenue recreation area), Johnstown, the recreational grounds at Mulsford Lane, Worthenbury and the recreational grounds at Chapel Lane, Chirk.
Should Members agree to proceed with the designation of the recreational grounds as proposed, this would not affect the present use of the field nor would it interfere with the existing day-to-day management of the site.
2 Effectively, the way in which the scheme works is that the Local Authority can either transfer the freehold ownership of the land over to the Fields in Trust or enter into a deed of dedication.
Both involve the land becoming charitable – the creation of charitable land makes it far more difficult to dispose of the land for purposes other than recreation. Also, in both scenarios and similar to the King George’s Field, the Fields in Trust would be the custodian trustee and Wrexham County Borough Council would be the managing trustee.
3 A dedication of land for these purposes would amount to a disposal for less than best consideration. Non-housing disposals must comply with the General Disposal Consent (Wales) 2003. This provides that authorities may dispose of land for less than best consideration without the consent of the National Assembly where the under-value does not exceed £2 million and where the authority considers that the disposal is likely to contribute to the achievement of the promotion or improvement of the economic, social or environmental well-being of its area or any persons resident in it.
It is proposed to recommend for designation as Owain Glyndwr Fields, the three highest-ranking public open space areas in the County Borough according to our specific scoring criteria under the Fields in Trust initiative. This would involve the Council entering into a deed of dedication or transferring the freehold in order to protect the land for recreational use in perpetuity.
4 The following areas of public open space, which were nominated by Members and the Community Councils during 2008, have been considered for designation:-
1. Acton - Rhosnesni Playing Fields
2. Tan-y-Dre (Councillor Ron Prince nomination)
3. Rhosddu Community Council - Ashfield Playing Field
4. Bangor-on-Dee Community Council - Abbots Way
5. Pen-y-Cae Community Council - Poplar Road Rec (this was nominated last year and has a restricted covenant on it)
6. Minera Community Council - Church Road, Minera
7. Caia Park Community Council - The Dunks
8. Offa Community Council - Maesgwyn Playing Fields
9. Rhos Community Council - Mountain Street, Rhos
10. Stockwell Grove (Councillor Bob Dutton nomination)
11. Gwersyllt Community Council - Pendine Way/Bickerton Drive
12. Abenbury Community Council - The Oval, Maes Brenin
The sites which score highest in terms of least public informal open space and meet the other criteria (see Appendix 1) are:-
1. Recreational Ground, off Church Road, Minera,
2. Ashfield Playing Field, off Crispin Lane (further enquiries are still underway,
re-suitability of the land)
3. Recreational Ground, off Abbots Way, Bangor-on-Dee
4. The Oval, Maes Brenin, Abenbury (Reserve- if problems occur with above sites).
5 The amount and distribution of youth/adult playing fields, children’s equipped play areas and informal open spaces measured against National Playing Field Association Standards – Owain Glyndwr Nominations 2008 are detailed in Appendix 2.
RECOMMENDATION
That Members recommend to the Executive Board that the, Minera, Rhosddu and the Bangor-on-Dee sites, (as named above) be designated as Owain Glyndwr Fields under the Fields in Trust initiative, by the Council entering into a deed of dedication or transferring the freehold, and be registered as charitable trusts, subject to all legal conditions being met.
BACKGROUND PAPERS
None.
WEBSITE INFORMATION
None.
Report No: CEnO/27/08S
Appendix 1
Fields in Trust - Owain Glyndwr Scheme
Nominations will be ranked, the Community Council wards with the least amount of public recreational open space will be placed highest on the list using the statistics collected by the Planning Department in 2005 on the amount and distribution of youth/adult playing fields, children’s equipped play areas and informal open spaces measured against National Playing Field Association standards (2.4ha per 1,000 population).
1.0 Criteria which all sites must achieve to be eligible for consideration under the Scheme:-
1.1 Wrexham County Borough Council has a beneficial interest in the site. If land is leased to a Community Council, the Community Council must ensure that its members fully support the proposal before any application is submitted.
1.2 The site is used for sport, play or other recreation.
1.3 The location of the site must be accessible and safe, either on foot or by public and/or private transport.
1.4 Legal agreements securing vehicle and pedestrian access must be in place prior to submission of any application under the Scheme.
1.5 The site must satisfy all relevant current legislative requirements, standards and guidance in respect of sport, play, recreation and public open space.
1.6. The site must not be protected by other conservation categorisations such as Green Barrier, other charitable status or restrictive covenants.
1.7 No covenants must exist which would inhibit the use of the site for recreational purposes.
2.0 Additional Criteria
2.1 Only 1 nomination per Community Council area will be allowed in any year.
2.2 Having satisfied the above criteria, applications from areas where no awards have been made within the past 2 years, will be prioritised, over areas which have already received Owain Glyndwr Awards. If this still does not differentiate between nominations, then the relevant Scrutiny Committee will determine a recommendation for the final three nominations.
3.0 Other Information
3.1 Applicants must be aware that any site chosen for the Owain Glyndwr Scheme will be made subject to restrictive covenants in the relevant deed or on the relevant title to the effect that any future proposals to build on or future disposals of all or parts of the land must have the consent of the Fields in Trust and, because dedication will result in the creation of a charitable trust, comply with the provisions of the Charities Acts 1993 and 2006. Consent will normally be given to building work which facilitates the use of the site for recreational purposes, e.g. changing rooms, parking areas, toilets, improved accesses, etc. There may also be some developments allowed which raise an income for the field’s benefit. Such development may require planning consent and any consent under the Scheme should not be read as consent under any other statutory regime.
3.2 No more than three sites will be eligible for consideration under the Scheme in any year. This reflects the amount of officer resource required in bringing applications to a successful conclusion.
3.3 A shortlist of eligible sites will be put forward for consideration by the relevant Scrutiny Committee. Its recommendations will be put forward to the Executive Board to make the final decision on the sites to be recommended for designation to the Fields in Trust in any one year.
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Appendix 2
The amount and distribution of youth/adult playing fields, children’s equipped play areas and informal open spaces measured against National Playing Field Association standards - Owain Glyndwr Nominations 2008
Community / Youth/adult playing fields (ha.)A / Children's equipped play areas (ha.)
B / Informal open spaces (ha.)
C / Total
A+B+C / Ranking / Comments /
Acton Community Council –Rhosnesni Playing Field / -2.00 / -2.25 / 18.93 / 14.68 / 10
Caia Park Community Council -2 nominations Tan y Dre/The Dunks / -7.69 / -1.83 / 20.20 / 10.68 / 8
Rhosddu Community Council – Ashfield Playing Field / -4.16 / -0.78 / 3.44 / -1.5 / 2
Bangor on Dee Community Council- Abbotsway / -0.48 / -0.08 / 0.28 / -0.28 / 4
Pen y Cae Community Council –Poplar rd, Rec / -2.68 / -0.48 / 1.90 / -1.26 / 3 / Covenant exists on land, not suitable
Minera Community Council- Church rd / -1.85 / -0.16 / 0.14 / -1.87 / 1
Community / Youth/adult playing fields (ha.)
A / Children's equipped play areas (ha.)
B / Informal open spaces (ha.)
C / Total
A+B+C / Ranking / Comments
Offa Community Council-Maesgwyn Playing Fields/Stockwell Grove- 2 nominations / 2.58 / -1.07 / 11.09 / 12.6 / 9
Rhos Community Council-Mountain st / -1.41 / -1.44 / 6.04 / 3.19 / 5
Gwersyllt Community Council- Pendine way/Bickerton Drive / 2.70 / -1.20 / 7.94 / 9.44 / 7
Abenbury Community Council – The Oval, Maes Brenin / 4.99 / -0.09 / 3.90 / 8.8 / 6
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