The Committee is asked to consider the Revised Open Spaces/Play Strategy.

The Cabinet Member for Environment and Rural Affairs, the Head of Commissioning and Customer Contact and the Leisure and Technical Services Manager have been invited to attend for this item.

The Chairman welcomed the Head of Commissioning and Customer Contact, the Leisure and Technical Services Manager, and the Greenspaces Manager to the meeting.

The Head of Commissioning and Customer Contact introduced the report which set out the Open Spaces and Play Strategy 2017-22 and the processes undertaken to arrive at the final draft and what happened next.  He outlined the following: a suggestion that the timeframe of the Strategy be changed to 2018-23; that they had tried to combine technical evidence in the Strategy so that it was more streamlined; the Strategy brought the Play Areas and Open Spaces together in one document; the consultation commenced on 12 March 2018 and would be circulated to residents, partner organisations and regional organisations; and the Strategy would be considered at Cabinet on 30 May 2018 for formal adoption.  The Head of Commissioning and Customer Contact explained that the Strategy was based on technical assessments made in 2016/17, and was evidence-based in relation to the Local Plan.  He stated that it was a move away from previous strategies, as the Council was seeing a decrease in resources, together with a greater demand on the Council.  He considered it to be a fundamental policy change.

The Chairman invited consideration and questions from the Committee and suggested the document be split into sections for discussion.

The Report, pages 19 – 24

The following points were raised:

·         The Strategy was linked to other departments at SBC in relation to Section 106 agreements and Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), and this would dictate how it went forward;

·         Welcomed decision to not have a play area on every new development;

·         Welcomed £100,000 investment per year for five years on other existing open spaces as noted in paragraph 2.8; and

·         Needed to remember and consider small sites as well.

A Member asked how funding was going to be achieved for this.  The Head of Commissioning and Customer Contact stated that there were two elements, either Section 106 monies or CIL.  The Council had not adopted the CIL approach, so this left the Section 106 option.  He explained that the date of 2017-22 fell in-line with the Local Plan process, so the targets and demands were running together.  He added that it was not possible to maintain all the present and potential play areas if there was one on each development site. The same amount of funding would be requested, so there would be quality instead of quantity.

A Member asked if the consultant’s report had been made public yet.  The Head of Commissioning and Customer Contact advised that it was not public at the moment as the process was not at that stage yet, and the report would be used to enable a set of principles to be signed-up to.  It provided technical guidance and would be referred to on how decisions had been made.

The Head of Commissioning and Customer Contact outlined the process put in place to fund open spaces which included working on a formula based on the type and number of houses; and whether there were any open spaces nearby, and the condition they were in.  Not all Section 106 Agreements had deadlines, but priority was given to any deadline, plus any need to de-commission for safety reasons.  The Green Spaces Manager met regularly with Planning Officers, and sometimes there might be Parish or Town Council involvement.

In response to a question, the Green Spaces Manager advised that Section 106 monitoring had improved over the years.

A Member asked how open spaces that were surplus to requirements were assessed and raised concern that fewer play areas could have an impact on obesity issues.  The Head of Commissioning and Customer Contact advised that a nationally recognised assessment process was used for the criteria of both open spaces and play areas.  These were plotted on GIS maps to determine walked catchment areas.  The principle of potentially losing an open space would be discussed with the Cabinet Member and Ward Member(s).  He also outlined asset transfer options where local community groups could manage the land.  He advised that this option in relation to open spaces was more contentious because of the varying opinions in relation to maintenance standards of the land in question.  Complete disposal of an open space, e.g. for housing was very difficult and would normally only take place if there was over-provision, and would be a last resort option.

A Member raised concern with the use of management companies and whether there was another way of dealing with this and he asked, what the ‘overwhelming case’ was, referred to in recommendation (f) on page 21 of the report.  In response, the Head of Commissioning and Customer Contact outlined the process of a commuted sum, and then liability of the land sitting with the Council.  He explained that the Council would need to see the proposals of any management company, and advised that the Council could not keep inheriting more spaces for maintenance.  The Member suggested that the process be looked into and to work with the developers initially, then a management company, without a management company coming in first.  The Head of Commissioning and Customer Contact stated that the process of the developer talking to Planning Officers at the pre-application stage would not change.  He suggested that in terms of management companies being taken to account, that conditions could be added to Section 106 Agreements.  In response, the Greenspaces Manager advised that there were stringent requirements around management companies in terms of Section 106 Agreements.  They were required to supply a management plan and commit the funding and put a company in place and this would then be monitored going forward.

Members agreed that the term of the Strategy should be amended to 2018-22.

Members agreed that Ward Members be involved in determining recommendation (f).

The Strategy

Section 1:  Introduction and Executive Summary, pages 25 – 37

In response to a question, the Head of Commissioning and Customer Contact explained that it was an external assessment in relation to play areas that were considered to be low quality (paragraph 1.4).

The Head of Commissioning and Customer Contact agreed to find out more information in terms of who took responsibility for Local Green Spaces.

Section 2:  The way forward, pages 37-44

The following points were raised:

·         Flagship Play Sites (page 40) – Sheppey was not a town;

·         There was confusion as to who was in charge of the maintenance of different plots of land;

·         Safeguards were needed in relation to management companies; and

·         Consultation with Ward Members was needed under paragraph 2.3.

The Head of Commissioning and Customer Contact agreed to look at the wording in relation to the named places for Flagship Play Sites.  He advised that there would be one per major conurbation, not multiple sites.  In response to a question, he advised that this concept was about delivering a range of facilities around the area that was stipulated.

The Head of Commissioning and Customer Contact agreed to look further into management companies, who was responsible for what and also look at national guidelines.  The Leisure and Technical Services Manager confirmed that he would speak to legal and planning to look into making management companies more ‘water-tight’.

In response to a question, the Head of Commissioning and Customer Contact agreed to strengthen the wording in relation to facilities for disabled people, and to also look into facilities for adults for an emotional/holistic approach.

Members agreed that under paragraph 2.5 (b) that the sentence be amended to read: ‘To achieve at least 3 Green Flag parks and open spaces in the next five years’.

Members agreed that Ward Members should be included in discussions when play areas were considered for disposal.

Section 3 – Funding the improvements – pages 44-46

In response to a question, the Head of Commissioning and Customer Contact reported that options for Green Flag parks were being pursued, and this included Faversham Recreation Ground.

A Member asked how it was determined what facility went into each play area.  The Head of Commissioning and Customer Contact explained that reference was made to an active strategy 2016-26, and some sites were historic in their facility provision.

In response to a question on whether there would be car parking charges, the Head of Commissioning and Customer Contact advised that no decision had been made on this yet, and models around the country would be looked at.  Destination venues provided options for commercial use as well, i.e. a café.  He explained that the Strategy focused on how to protect the Council’s assets, and commercialism had to be an option.  He further stated that the Strategy was looking to re-classify into local and flagship schemes, and the benefit of a destination site was that it could be added to in the future.

Appendix A – SBC play area criteria

A Member queried whether the wording ‘within 20 minutes walking distance’ should be included as he considered there were good places to visit beyond that distance.  He also considered that parking should be included.

The Head of Commissioning and Customer Contact agreed to look further into the 20 minutes walking distance, and also to add parking to the criteria.  In response to a query, he also agreed to reconsider the Appendix to look more closely at the criteria, and specifically destination open spaces.

The Head of Commissioning and Customer Contact thanked Members for their comments and advised that the suggested changes would be made prior to the start of the consultation period on 12 March 2018.

The Chairman thanked the Head of Commissioning and Customer Contact, the Leisure and Technical Services Manager and the Greenspaces Manager for attending for this item.  He explained that the draft Strategy would shortly go out to public consultation and would be adopted by Cabinet on 30 May 2018.

Recommendation for consideration by the Cabinet Member:

(1)       That the comments made by the Committee be considered by the Cabinet Member for the final Open Spaces and Play Strategy 2018-22.