Replacement Calderdale UDP : Adopted 25 August 2006 (as amended August 2009)

Replacement Calderdale UDP : Adopted 25 August 2006

• Foreword
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Calderdale in Context
• Strategic and Core Part One Policies
• 3 Guiding Principles and Key Themes
• 4 Employment, The Economy, Tourism and Regeneration
• 5 Housing
• 6 Retailing and Town Centres
• 7 Open Space, Sport and Recreation Facilities
  • Introduction
  • Protected Open Spaces
  • Open Spaces in Areas of Deficiency
  • Safeguarding Sports Grounds and Playing Fields
  • Provision of Sport and Recreation Facilities
  • Provision of Recreational Open Space in Residential Development
  • Allotments
  • Common Land
  • Waterways and Open Water
  • Former Halifax Branch Canal
• 8 The Built and Historic Environment
• 9 Transport
• 10 Infrastructure, Education and Community Facilities
• 11 Natural Environment and the Countryside
• 12 Environmental Protection
• 13 Minerals
• 14 Waste Management
• 15 Monitoring and Review of the Plan
• Annex A Privacy, Daylighting and Amenity Space
• Annex B Trees On or Adjacent to Development Sites
• Appendix 1 National Planning Policy
• Appendix 2 National Minerals Policy
• Appendix 3 Supporting Published Documents
• Appendix 4 Glossary of Terms
• Appendix 5 Acronyms and Abbreviations
• Appendix 6 Policy Topic Index
• Appendix 7 Policy Number Comparison
• Appendix 8 Supplementary Maps

Protected Open Spaces

7.3 Open space has a very broad definition which has been modified by PPG17 ‘Planning for Open Space, Sport and Recreation’ (2002) to embrace accessible countryside in urban fringe areas, allotments, amenity greenspace (including informal recreation spaces, greenspaces in and around housing, domestic gardens and village greens), cemeteries, children's and teenagers' play and informal areas, churchyards, city farms, civic spaces, community gardens, golf courses, grasslands and scrub (e.g. downlands, urban and rural commons and meadows), green corridors (including river and canal banks, cycleways, and rights of way), parks and gardens (including urban parks, country parks and formal gardens), playing fields, open and running water, outdoor sports and recreation facilities and grounds (with natural or artificial surfaces and publicly or privately owned), school grounds, urban forests, wastelands and derelict open land and rock areas (e.g. cliffs, quarries and pits), wetlands and woodland.

7.4 The level of public access is not a criterion for definition. An open space, for instance, located on private land could mean that it will not always be available for public recreation. The areas of identified open space are shown on the Proposals Map. However, there maybe additional areas that the 2002 version of PPG17 defines as open space, which could be of public value such as domestic gardens, but which due to time constraints, the Council has yet to identify. PPG17 is a material consideration in the assessment of planning applications within such areas (as outlined in paragraph 7.10).

7.5 The Council undertook an assessment of open space provision throughout the District in 1999. This survey, when compared to the Council’s adopted standard, revealed significant under-provision not only in terms of the land area devoted to recreational open space provision but, more importantly, in terms of its distribution around the District. Meeting the standards for open space provision and achieving a satisfactory distribution within Calderdale are long-term objectives.

7.6 Open space (both public and private) fulfils several valuable functions which enhance quality of life by improving the quality of the environment, aiding nature conservation, providing regeneration and ecological benefits, and providing outdoor recreational and leisure opportunities close to where people live. Areas of open space add much to the character of settlements and are considered important by the communities in which they are located. Many act as lungs of open land breaking up densely populated urban areas, acting as buffer areas between incompatible uses and helping to combat pollution. Others form fingers of undeveloped land passing through and linking communities. Some are important simply for their visual amenity value and some land with little intrinsic quality may be of value simply because there is no other undeveloped land in the vicinity. A survey undertaken by the Council in 1999 (based on the definition of open space contained in the 1991 version of PPG17) indicated that there is a deficiency in the provision of all types of open space across the District when compared to the National Playing Fields Association (NPFA) ‘Six Acre Standard’ of open space provision. Standards for the provision of open space within the district are to be developed (as advocated in PPG17, 2002) but in the interim the Council has adopted the NPFA recommended standard for outdoor sport and recreation provision. A further survey of open space in the district is being undertaken based on the revised definition of open space contained in PPG17 (2002) and the results will inform the formulation of the Local Development Framework (LDF). It has not been possible to incorporate revised standards into the Plan, but work is in hand to develop locally determined standards to inform a supplementary planning document (SPD) which will be published to interpret the requirement of Policy.

7.7 English Nature has established a standard for the provision of Accessible Natural Greenspace (ANG). ANG can possess significant biodiversity value and offer alternative recreational opportunities, and serves an important function of an equivalent value to managed open space and sports pitches. Section 11 (Natural Environment and The Countryside) incorporates policies for the designation and protection of Local Nature Reserves, which are also important open space features contributing to the biodiversity of the District.

7.8 There are many areas of open space shown on the Proposals Map, some of which, whilst being below 0.4 ha in area, have limited potential for leisure opportunities, but which are nevertheless important. These small sites perform a valuable function in both providing passive recreation opportunities and contributing to visual amenity by providing greenery and breaking up the built-up area.

7.9 Open spaces often come under pressure for development, particularly for housing or employment development, and this pressure is set to increase in the future. There are limited opportunities to increase the amount of open space, particularly in urban areas, and therefore it is imperative that existing open space is preserved and that it is protected from loss and inappropriate development that would harm its character, appearance or function. PPG 3 ‘Housing’ (2000) reaffirms this stance in paragraph 53 by stating that “developing more housing within urban areas should not mean building on urban green space”. The plan identifies adequate opportunities and land for development and these open space areas must be safeguarded in order to retain a balance between the amount of land which is built-up and the amount of open land, particularly within urban areas. PPG17 (2002) is a material consideration in the assessment of planning applications relating to areas of open space. This is particularly pertinent where development proposals are located within areas of open space that are considered to be of public value but which are not located on the Proposals Map.

7.10 There will be exceptional occasions when it will be appropriate to release open space for development and these are set out in Policy OS 1 ‘Protected Open Spaces’. Uses appropriate to the particular open space area which would bring community benefits may be acceptable such as outdoor sports facilities, interpretation centres, toilets, refreshment facilities, woodlands, allotments, cemeteries, and horticulture. The onus will be upon prospective developers to demonstrate that there would be no adverse effect in terms of the various functions that the open space fulfils. Developers will be required to consult with the local community to establish whether open space is surplus and to demonstrate that their proposals are widely supported by them, as advocated in PPG17 (2002). This should be at least as accessible to current or potential new users. The alternative provision could take the form of on-site and/or off-site replacement open space provision or the enhancement of existing open space in the area. The provision of appropriate replacement open space or recreational facilities as part of any planning permission will be ensured through the use of conditions or a planning obligation. The policy for the preservation of open space is set out in Policy OS 1 ‘Protected Open Spaces’ below.

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