There are Ten major decision points to consider when scoping a
local framework or SPD. They are reproduced here as ten
questions.
1.Which categories of sport and recreation are included?
This will have largely been determined in step 1, but may
include some or all of the following:
- Playing fields, pitch sports, tennis, bowls and athletics
tracks
- Children’s and adult playing space
- Informal recreation space, including green corridors, walking
and cycling routes
- Swimming pools
- Sports halls
- Community and village halls
- Artificial turf pitches
The range selected may depend on:
- The level of detail in the policies in local development
framework
- The level of up to date information held by the authority on
the topic; eg: an up to date playing pitches strategy with
proposals linked to growth in the plan period
- Existence of local standards in an approved plan
2. What standards and catchments are included?
Advice in PPG 17 and the Companion Guide suggests that
authorities should define local standards based on local audits of
needs and opportunities. The audit should look at quantitative
needs, the extent of catchments for facilities and their existing
quality.
The framework should identify, in terms of hectares, or sq m per
1000 population, local standards. The catchments comprise the
functional links between the resident population and
facilities.
A map should be devised showing the relevant catchments. For
example, Fareham have split the borough into catchemnt areas as
part of thier Open Space SPG -
Click here for the Fareham map
The following types of catchment definitions have been used in
SPD;
- For children’s/young persons play space; one or a number of
wards (in urban areas) or parishes in a rural area;
- For playing fields; wider catchments, comprising the whole of
urban area, or a small number of divisions reflecting the
catchments of pitches;
- For built facilities; whole of urban area, or rural market town
and surrounding parishes in catchment; and
- For joint use sports on schools; school catchment areas.
Where NPFA standard of 6 acres per 1000 is in the approved
development plan, a number of authorities have utilised this for
open space calculations until replaced by local standards following
a PPG 17 audit and a revised policy in the LDF.
3. Do you have a programme of priority projects by
catchment?
These should form one of the outputs/extensions of the audit of
existing facilities. They should look ahead over the period of the
SPD and list new facilities, and facility up-gradings required over
the period. They should be subject to public consultation and be
prioritised by catchment. In this way off site contributions can be
applied to the improvement of facilities within the relevant
catchment.
The Cambridge City SPG shows this process at work. Candidate
lists of schemes were drawn up by technical staff. These were
vetted and prioritised by Area Committees. A period of stakeholder
consultation was undertaken before approval. In Windsor and
Maidenhead, a broad public consultation was undertaken over
proposals for improvements to open spaces.
4. Which land uses are to be included in the framework?
All SDDs relate to new housing. Increasingly, new SDDs relate
also to some types of employment related development.
Eligible categories of residential development may include open
market housing, flats, student hostels, and affordable housing.
Normally extensions to dwellings, or replacement dwellings of a
similar size, do not come within the ambit of schemes.
Eligible categories for employment may include offices, shops,
and uses such as retail warehouses.Click here
to view employment related examples
5. Which land uses generate a need for open space in the
categories listed?
Some uses may only be asked to contribute to a few of the sport
and recreation categories in the framework. For example, nursing
homes may not be asked to contribute to open space. Various forms
of sheltered housing may contribute to open space at full rate or
half rate, but not to children’s play space. Commercial uses may
contribute to informal open space and built facilities used by
workers.
Affordable housing should in principle contribute to all types
of open space. Only where schemes would be made unviable by so
doing should this principle not apply.
Holiday accommodation, such as holiday parks, caravan parks and
dwellings restricted to holiday occupation should also be eligible
for contributions.
Health facilities, including hospitals and healthy living
centres may also be asked to provide accompanying open space.
For example, see SGD for Cambridge.
6. What development size thresholds are relevant?
Housing - In principle the occupants of all new dwellings create
a need for sport and recreation.
Cut off points of one dwelling have been accepted by Government
Offices in SPGs without objection since the late 1990s. Some
authorities have cut off points of four, five or ten dwellings. Mid
Devon have successfully implemented a contributions policy based on
a one dwelling threshold. Click here to view
Mid Devon's SPG.
Employment uses - Here, the threshold is a judgement by the
authority of the significance of the use of open space and
facilities by office and other workers, some of who may be daily in
commuters. Common threshold sizes are 500 or 1000sq m gross floor
space for employment uses. Clck here to view
employment related examples.
7. What is the assumed occupancy of new housing?
Dwelling occupancy can be taken from the 2001 Census, or be
developed from local surveys of the occupancy of new housing.
Normally figures vary between 2.3 and 2.7 persons. A refinement
could be to use occupancy by number of bedrooms or bed spaces in
the dwelling.
Occupancy figures for employment are normally derived from local
surveys, and can be in the order of 20 sq m per person for offices,
40 per person for B1 business, and 50 per person for B8 uses. A
minimum number on site (say 20 persons) could also form a
threshold.
8. What sizes of site can be assumed to have on site or off
site provision?
Sport and recreation provision in association with new
development may take a number of forms:
- On site provision with the land provided by the developer and
facilities constructed to a detailed specification provided by the
authority;
- A financial contribution allowing the local authority to
arrange for construction of the facility on-site;
- A financial contribution to new provision, or the upgrading of
existing facilities nearby; or
- A mixture of some or all of the above.
Many developments are too small to provide for a new facility in
entirety. Therefore most local frameworks give an indication of
where on and off site developments or contributions can be expected
to be sought.
9. What elements are to be included in the costs of
facilities?
The authority should establish the relevant headings for cost by
sport and recreation facility. These should from the basis for the
costed programme listed in Part 1. Elements of cost may
include:
- Building costs, including any lighting, car parking and
landscaping;
- Abnormal site costs, including additional groundwork and site
clearance;
- Land purchase costs
- Equipment costs;
- Architects and designers fees and planning application
charges;
- VAT; and
- Local administration charge and/or legal costs of drawing up
the s106 agreement
Further cost information can be obtained from;
- Facility costs - Sport England’s regularly up-dated figures for
a range of sports facilities Click here to
get the latest costs.
- Outdoor playing space costs - annually updated cost guides from
the National Playing Fields Association. Click here for the NPFA web site.
- Similar recently built facilities - Alternatively, costs may be
derived from recent similar facility provisions within the local
authority area or nearby
These figures can be expressed as cost per sq m of provision in
the local framework for ease of calculation
Local frameworks should state that costs will be index linked
according to the Retail Price Index or a similar construction
index
10. What are the principles for maintenance of open space,
including playing fields and play space?
The planning guidance allows authorities to seek contributions
for the maintenance of open space, including playing fields, for a
limited period where the new infrastructure is predominantly for
the use of the development concerned. Authorities have generally
sought contributions for between 10 and 20 years of maintenance for
open space schemes. They are normally expressed as £ per sq m.
The figures are derived from the local costs of effectively
maintaining recent provision that has been made. Costs are
‘discounted’; that is allowance is made for future inflation over
the 10 or 20 year period, within the capital sum sought.
Click here
for the checklist of questions entitled ‘Scoping an SPD for Sport
and Recreation’