Provision of Recreational Open Space in Residential Development
7.18 Standards for the provision of open space within the District and within new housing developments are to be developed as required by PPG17. The Good Practice Companion to PPG17 'Assessing Needs and Opportunities' (2002), provides detailed guidance for undertaking such an assessment. The Council is developing locally devised standards, based on the needs of local people and will expect developers to provide open space in accordance with those standards.
7.19 In the interim the Council has adopted the National Playing Fields Association (NPFA) recommended standard for outdoor sport and recreation provision (hereafter referred to as ‘recreational open space’) across the District of 2.4ha of outdoor recreation and playing space per 1000 population. This standard is broken down into 1.6 ha per 1000 population provision of adult and youth outdoor playing space (to include elements of pitches, greens and courts) and 0.8 ha per 1000 population provision of children’s playing space to include outdoor equipped playgrounds and informal or casual playing space. The average household size in Calderdale at the 2001 Census was 2.36 persons per dwelling. This will be applied to the number of dwellings in a development to assess the population likely to be generated.
7.20 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.
7.21 The cumulative impact of new residential development, both large and small, will further compound deficiencies in recreational open space provision by generating additional demand, which puts increasing pressure on existing facilities. Open space is required to be provided with all new housing developments, either on or off-site. Suitably designed and landscaped areas of formal and informal recreational open space (incorporating children’s play areas and associated equipment where appropriate) should be an integral part of the design of new housing schemes. The provision of these facilities should not just be seen as an exercise in meeting standards. It is important that new open space is both usable, safe and integrated within the scheme as a part of a cohesive landscape structure. New housing developments will be expected to provide and maintain recreational open space to at least the Council’s minimum standard as outlined in paragraph 7.19. The exact location, size, and type of open space to be provided will be subject to planning conditions or a planning obligation between the Council and the developer. Where a developer cannot provide the appropriate amount of recreational open space on site, the Council will assist developers in meeting their responsibilities by accepting a financial contribution in lieu of physical provision to enable the creation or improvement and maintenance of alternative local facilities. However, specialised accommodation such as sheltered accommodation would not be required to contribute to overall open space provision, but rather only for the amenity needs of the development itself. The following Policy will apply:-
Policy OS 5
The Provision of Recreational Open Space in Residential Development
All new residential developments should provide for the recreational needs of the prospective residents, by providing, laying out and maintaining recreational and amenity open space of a scale and kind reasonably related to the development within or adjacent to the development within an agreed timescale. Such provision shall be in accordance with standards set by the Council. (Pending preparation of locally based standards the NPFA standards will be applied).