normanton & featherstone area greenspace report
TRANSCRIPT
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NORMANTON & FEATHERSTONE AREA GREENSPACE REPORT
SUMMARY
The amount of Equipped Play in each ward is above the standard amount
The amount of Outdoor Recreation is low except for the ward of Featherstone
The amount of Allotments in each ward is considerably above the standard amount
INTRODUCTION
This Blueprint proposes changes to make the greenspace network fairer and more sustainable. The
aim will be to provide something for everyone rather than everything for everyone.
To ensure a consistent approach across the whole district a two stage assessment will be made of
greenspace provision alongside local knowledge of the area:
Access to greenspace and facilities will be assessed using the catchment distances in Table 1
The amount of accessible greenspace and facilities will be assessed using quantity standards
It is recommended that the Blueprint is reviewed at least annually.
1. MAIN SITES
The Neighbourhood Management Area of Normanton and Featherstone is made up of the wards of
Normanton, Featherstone and the west part of Altofts and Whitwood as shown in Appendix I.
Purston Park is the main park for Featherstone.
A management plan has recently been prepared and adopted for Haw Hill Park. Funding for the plan
is potentially available from Section 106 funding from nearby developments.
Savile Park is a sports themed park adjacent to a hospital with a middle section lost to a depot area.
Heath Common is an attractive natural area housing the conservation village of Heath.
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Table 1: Greenspace Catchment Distances
Greenspace
Category
Catchment
Distance(s)
Minimum
Area(s)
Description of Greenspace Category
Accessible
Greenspace
120m - Churchgrounds, Natural Areas,
Sportsfields and Amenity Areas
which are publicly accessible
Sites must provide for recreation – does
not include sites offering only visual
benefits
Outdoor
Recreation
250m 500m 0.2ha 2ha Sportsfields and Amenity Areas
suitable for ball games such as
kickabout
Multi Use Games Areas (MUGAs) should
be prioritised for areas where there is little
Outdoor Recreation
Equipped
Play Area
500m 2ha Equipped Play Areas for children
containing manufactured play
equipment
Equipped Play Areas should be prioritised
in areas where there is little Accessible
Greenspace
Skateboard
Park
500m - Skateboard Parks: basins and
ramps for skateboarding
Formal BMX tracks are also included in this
category
Natural Areas 500m
2km
5km
2ha
20ha
100ha
Areas of natural greenspace such as
grasslands and woodlands which
are publicly accessible
Management of Natural Areas for the
benefit of biodiversity is covered in the
Local Biodiversity Action Plan
Allotments - -
Plots of land rented to individuals for the purpose of growing produce
Allotment sites are not accessible to the general public
Green Linkages
-
- Walking and cycling linkages for recreation and commuting that do not use public carriageways
Green Linkages that are appealing to use can greatly increase access to recreational greenspaces
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2. LOCAL PLAN
The Local Plan can be viewed as an interactive map on the LDF Portal in Planning Policy on the
Wakefield Council website. Appendix II shows:
Adopted policies from the Local Plan (Special Policy Areas, Housing Sites and Protected
Areas of Search)
Policies in consultation from the The Leisure, Recreation and Open Space Local Plan
(Strategic Leisure Corridors, Leisure Opportunities Areas and Sports Facilities)
2.1 Adopted Policies
Housing allocations between Altofts and Normanton (HS43 – HS48) virtually merge the two
settlements together leaving the railway line as the dividing feature. Development of the former
brick works HS46 would result in a loss of a natural area and there is a substantial strip of natural
greenspace included in PAS6.
HS43 – HS45 combined require a kickabout, play area and community recreational open space. HS46
and HS47 will require accessible greenspace on site.
Green linkages from all developments to Normanton Train Station should be prioritised. A
regeneration master plan is being prepared for the area which will include employment, housing,
open space and green infrastructure.
Housing allocations HS49 and HS50 in Featherstone present no great loss of accessible greenspace.
HS49 requires a 2ha natural greenspace either on or off site, and HS50 requires accessible
greenspace and play area. Special Policy Area SPA 10 requires a kickabout to be retained and
provision of accessible greenspace - but presents a substantial loss of amenity greenspace and a
playing pitch.
2.2 Leisure, Recreation and Open Space Local Plan
Leisure Opportunity Area LA5 in Whitwood represents no loss of accessible greenspace, but neither
may it provide any new greenspace since the allocation is to provide “canal related leisure uses and
ecological enhancement”.
Sports Facility SF1 is the development of the Featherstone Rovers site into a sports hub with
community facilities which has the potential to change the recreational use of existing accessible
natural and amenity greenspaces. New sport facilities could diversify recreational uses in
combination with enhancements to natural areas and informal greenspace.
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3. ANALYSIS
A map of Accessible Greenspace and Allotments is shown in Appendix III and areas of greenspace
deprivation are shown in Appendix IV.
3.1 Accessible Greenspace
A catchment distance of 120m is applied to Accessible Greenspace which comprises Churchgrounds,
Sportsfields, Natural Areas and Amenity Areas that are accessible to the public and provide for
recreation. There is no minimum site size.
Applying the catchment distance of 120m indicates that there is an area of Accessible Greenspace
Deprivation (AGD401) in the part of the ward of Altofts and Whitwood in this Neighbourhood
Management Area.
The distribution of Accessible Greenspace in the ward of Normanton is good with only one area of
Accessible Greenspace Deprivation in the south of the town (AGD402).
In the ward of Featherstone, there are areas of greenspace shortfall in Sharlston (AGD403) and
Purston (AGD404) - the latter should be reduced by Accessible Greenspace provided on
development HS49.
3.2 Equipped Play Areas
West part of the Ward of Altofts and Whitwood
Ward of Normanton
Ward of Featherstone
NORMANTON & FEATHERSTONE
Equipped Play Areas 3 8 7 18
Population 6,191 16,424 16,151 38,766
Sites/1000 residents 0.48 0.49 0.43 0.46
Table 2: Equipped Play Areas (Standard is 0.3 sites/1000 residents)
Equipped Play Area provision is consistently well above the standard amount throughout the
Neighbourhood Management Area.
Applying the 500m catchment area to Equipped Play Areas in the part of the ward of Altofts and
Whitwood in this Neighbourhood Management Area indicates good coverage.
Coverage is good for the ward of Normanton. The removal of two out-of-date Equipped Play Areas
close to Haw Hill Park would retain good coverage and still exceed the quantity standard.
Development of Equipped Play in Haw Hill Park should provide the opportunity to carry out these
removals.
The distribution of Equipped Play Areas in the ward of Featherstone is poor. There are four
Equipped Play Areas for the small populations of Sharlston and Streethouse in the west of the ward
and just three for the much larger populations of Featherstone, Purston and Ackton in the east of
the ward.
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Applying the 500m catchment distance to Equipped Play Areas indicates that the following ones are
in highly sustainable and valuable locations and will potentially be refurbished as a priority:
Haw Hill Park, Normanton
Linton Rise/Western Gales, Normanton
Walnut Drive, Normanton
Purston Park
Sharlston Common
3.3 Outdoor Recreation
Outdoor Recreation comprises sports fields and areas suitable for informal games. Sites over 0.2ha
are allocated a 250m catchment distance and sites over 2ha are allocated a 500m catchment
distance. There are no areas of Outdoor Recreation Deprivation for sites over 2ha in the
Neighbourhood Management Area.
West part of the Ward of Altofts and Whitwood
Ward of Normanton
Ward of Featherstone
NORMANTON & FEATHERSTONE
MUGAs 1 0 1 2
Outdoor Recreation 8.7ha 22.8ha 53.3ha 84.8ha
Population 6,191 16,424 16,151 38,766
Ha/1000 1.41 1.39 3.30 2.19
Table 3: Outdoor Recreation (Standard is 2.4ha/1000 residents)
Coverage of Outdoor Recreation is low in the part of the ward of Altofts and Whitwood in this
Neighbourhood Management Area - but a MUGA in Altofts compensates for this to some extent.
There are two pockets of Outdoor Recreation Deprivation for sites over 0.2ha in Altofts (ORDA401
and ORDA402).
The amount of Outdoor Recreation in the ward of Normanton is also low. Coverage of Outdoor
Recreation over 0.2ha is poor in the east of the town (ORDA403) and provision will be required from
developments HS43 – HS45. Development of Freestone Academy playing fields would create a
significant shortfall in Outdoor Recreation over 2ha, and would certainly justify a MUGA.
Despite the amount of Outdoor Recreation being above the standard for the ward of Featherstone
there are areas of Outdoor Recreation Deprivation in Sharlston (ORDA404) and North Featherstone
(ORDA405 and ORDA406). There is ample Outdoor Recreation in Purston which also has a MUGA.
3.4 Skateboard Park & BMX
There is a skateboard park in Purston Park and some skateboard features at The Crescent,
Streethouse.
A skateboard park or BMX track could be justified in Altofts or Normanton but no suitable site can be
found - despite repeated requests Haw Hill Park in Normanton is not considered to be a suitable site.
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3.5 Natural Areas
Natural Areas comprise publicly accessible woodlands and natural heath and grasslands. Sites over
2ha are allocated a 500m catchment distance and sites over 20ha are allocated a 2km catchment
distance.
Altofts and Normanton are both mostly in shortfall of the 2ha category of Natural Areas (NGD401
and NGD402).
Coverage of the 20ha category of Natural Areas is good for the Neighbourhood Management Area
except for the for the north part of the town of Normanton.
There are 11.5ha of new Natural Areas due to the Naturalisation Programme (most of which are in
Purston) but the areas of Natural Greenspace Deprivation are unaffected. Maps have not been
updated to reflect the Naturalisation Programme.
3.6 Allotments
West part of the Ward of Altofts and Whitwood
Ward of Normanton
Ward of Featherstone
NORMANTON & FEATHERSTONE
Allotments 8.4ha 10.3ha 17.4ha 36.1ha
Population 6,191 16,424 16,151 38,766
Ha/1000 1.36 0.63 1.08 0.93
Table 4: Allotments (Standard is 0.2ha/1000 residents)
There are very high levels of Allotments provision across the Neighbourhood Management Area.
Wakefield Council no longer manages any of the sites (except for those in Whitwood) and it cannot
be confirmed whether the sites are now used for other purposes such as grazing.
Until recently, some of the sites in Featherstone were managed by Wakefield Council and
information from that time indicates that waiting lists were short implying that there was no
shortfall.
3.7 Sites Recommended for Protection
It is recommended that no loss even incremental should be accepted on any of the following sites
(see appendix V). Proposals for changes to other sites will be assessed on a site by site basis.
Altofts P401 – P402
Normanton P403 – P405
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4. RELATED PLANS
The following plans are continually updated. The first three plans in the table are used to track the
delivery of projects:
Plan Name SharePoint Location Description
Parks and Open Space Capital Plan
Greenspace/ Finances/.. Approved improvements to parks infrastructure and facilities
Section 106 Funding Tracker
Greenspace/ Finances/.. Allocations for commuted sums for offsite improvements
Greenspace Delivery Plan
Greenspace/ GS2 Delivery Plan/..
List of projects identified from the draft Greenspace Plan
Asset Management Plan
Greenspace/ Property & Assets/..
Lists of buildings, facilities, allotments, leases and licences
The Greenspace Policy
TBA Policy guiding the planning, management and financing of greenspace
Greenspace Blueprints
Greenspace/ Greenspace Planning/..
This report - plus ones for the six other Neighbourhood Management Areas
Disclaimer
Wakefield Council takes no responsibility for the accuracy of information contained within this report which should be
considered as advisory. Any recommendations or proposals may be withdrawn or altered at any time. Identified areas of
greenspace shortfall do not imply that Wakefield Council is under any obligation to fulfil this need.
There is a significant delay between new greenspace being created on new developments and the greenspace being
mapped. Caution should therefore be exercised in identifying areas of greenspace shortfall near recent developments. Site
specific requirements for greenspace are negotiated with developers and may not always be provided as required in the
Local Plan.
APPENDICES
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Appendix I
Ward Boundaries for
Normanton and Featherstone
Neighbourhood Management Area
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Appendix II
Adopted and Proposed
Policies from the Local Plan
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Appendix III
Accessible Greenspace
and Allotments
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Appendix IV
Greenspace Deprivation Areas