The Preparation of an Open Space Strategy for Poole

AGENDA ITEM 7

BOROUGH OF POOLE

NEWTOWN , PARKSTONE AND PENN HILL AREA COMMITTEE:

18th FEBRUARY 2004

REPORT BY THE HEAD OF LEISURE SERVICES ON THE PREPARATION OF AN OPEN SPACE STRATEGY FOR POOLE

Public open space of all types amounts to nearly 1070 hectares and makes up 17% of the total land area in Poole. It is one of our most important public assets. The Open Space Strategy is intended to be a tool to assist the planning and management of “green space” for recreation, amenity and biodiversity and the delivery of a good quality of life. It is intended to guide the future management and improvement of all our public open spaces.

Leisure Services manages over 1000 distinct open spaces in Poole, but many of these are very small areas of grass or landscaping. Only about 70 open spaces have been identified as being large enough or sufficiently important to be strategically significant. Of these, about half are formal parks, gardens or recreation grounds, and the remainder are semi-natural areas such as nature reserves, heath and woodland.

With finite resources of time and money, it is always going to be necessary to prioritise the most important sites. In practice, the highest priority sites in the strategy tend to be formal parks, gardens and recreation grounds, because these have the greatest public use and capacity for both informal and active recreation. They are often located in the most densely developed urban areas. But there is only about 330 hectares of such “multifunctional” open space in Poole, just under a third of the total of all public open space.

The strategy sets out to:

Develop and promote a better understanding of the role of open space in delivering public policy objectives. These include: urban regeneration, social inclusion, cultural and community development, economic prosperity, healthy living, quality of life, biodiversity, protection of natural habitats and environmental sustainability.

Provide useful information on the use, distribution, function, quality and accessibility of open space in Poole to guide future development.

Assess community needs and identify opportunities for appropriate provision of open space and related recreational facilities

Formulate policy for effective planning of open space for local communities

Make recommendations for an action plan with clear and measurable outcomes

Financial constraints are considered in the strategy, particularly the difficulty in investing capital funding to refurbish and improve the infrastructure of our open spaces. Constraints on maintenance costs are also noted. The importance of engaging with local communities in the management and improvement of open space is stressed - as demonstrated by the Council’s partnership with existing ‘Friends’ groups.

PPG 17

It is intended that the strategy should demonstrate compliance with the Government’s latest Planning Policy Guidance for Open Space, Sport, and Recreation (PPG17), which suggests that local authorities should carry out a “robust assessment of existing and future needs of their communities for open space, sport and recreation facilities”. PPG 17 also recommends that local authorities should develop local standards for open space, based on identified community needs, that are appropriate and achievable. Standards should be both quantitative and qualitative. Definitions of different types of open space, and criteria for evaluation of accessibility and quality are contained in the strategy, and applied to case studies to demonstrate their application.

The strategy contains a preliminary audit and assessment of all strategically significant existing open spaces, to provide an overview of the qualitative attributes of provision in Poole. This provides the background information for development of a prioritised action plan. A continuing audit and evaluation of existing facilities should become an integral part of the Council’s process for developing open space in Poole. To plan for the future It is essential to have reliable information on accessibility, use and quality of open space in relation to public need.

Emerging issues for Poole that are noted in the strategy include:

The Borough has a beautiful natural environment and sufficient open space overall, but the amount of accessible and useable public open space in some of the older and more densely urban areas is very limited and does not meet current Local Plan standards

In areas of deficiency, where practicable, acquisition of land for open space will be considered. If this is not possible, the shortfall in provision will be addressed by improving the overall “fitness of purpose” of existing space. Intelligent upgrading of quality can do much to increase the capacity and utilisation of existing recreational land.

Understanding that whilst some open spaces are ‘successful’ in terms of their fitness for purpose, others are under achieving, or obviously failing.

The “traditional” reasons for providing public open space – physical and spiritual wellbeing, social cohesion and identity, environmental quality, cultural value, recreation and physical exercise – are as valid now as they were in earlier centuries. This links well to the Governments concept of “liveability” in towns.

The strategy suggests that to improve open space for the enjoyment of the people of Poole, we can often make more difference to the quality of open space than quantity, and that we should work to achieve a comprehensive vision for open space In Poole:

“A network of open space of the highest quality, diversity and beauty that underpins the culture, prosperity and quality of life in Poole for existing and future residents, and that is managed in a way that provides a refuge for wildlife, benefits the environment, and provides a free, accessible recreational resource to residents and visitors”

The action plan recommends that we should focus on three main aims:

1. PROVISION AND DEVELOPMENT OF OPEN SPACE

Providing enough open space of the right type and quality, where it is needed, for the use of existing and future residents and visitors.

PARTICIPATION AND USE

Enabling people to get more use and enjoyment of open space, and ensuring that the community derives maximum benefit from its resources.

3. CARE AND SUSTAINABILITY

Looking after the open space assets of Poole in an efficient and effective manner that takes account of its social, heritage and wildlife value, and makes a contribution to the delivery of wider public policy objectives.

For the wards covered by this Area Committee, the strategy recommends that the highest priority for development and improvement of open space is given to a relatively small number of the most important parks. In making this proposal, the strategy has taken into account the size and catchment area of each open space, the existing quality and potential for improvement, and the value to the local community. It has been accepted that the Council will never be able to put unlimited resources into every open space, and it has to make strategic choices based on need. The following sites in (or partly within) Newtown, Parkstone and Penn Hill are prioritised.

NAME / TYPE / PRIORITY
Poole Park / District Park / High
Harbourside Park / District Park / High
Haskells Recreation Ground / Local Park / Medium
Upper Road, Newtown / Small Local Park / Low
Alexandra Park / Local Park / Medium
Parkstone Park / Small Local Park / Low
Parkstone Heights / Small Local Park / Low

The list for this committee represents a hierarchy of open space type, in which the largest is a district park, with a catchment area which may extend beyond ward boundaries, and the greatest range of facilities, to a small local park, which has a limited neighbourhood useage. All are important, but larger sites usually serve the greatest number of people and have the greatest potential “carrying capacity” for multifunctional recreational use.

Consultation is now needed to see if we have gauged the issues correctly and to explain to our customers why the strategy is needed.

Consultation

It is recommended that the development of the open space strategy is now taken forward for more detailed consultation through the Poole Opinion Panel (POP). It is hoped to obtain clear feedback on a number of borough wide and more local issues. We need information about open space. The type of questions to POP about the provision of open space will probably include:

Is it good enough? How could it be improved?
Is there enough locally ?
Accessibility - Can you get to it? Use it when you get there?
What it is your local park / open space being used for now?
What discourages you from using it?
What could open space be used for, in the future?
How can open space improve the quality of life for the community?
Are the sites listed as priorities in the strategy correct?

The strategy is not yet a finished document and the Council welcomes feedback in preparing the final draft.

Clive Smith

Head of Leisure Services

Contact Officer

Matti Raudsepp

Open Spaces Manager

261377