PAPER B2

ISLE OF WIGHT COUNCIL DEVELOPMENT CONTROL COMMITTEE –

WEDNESDAY 5 JUNE 2002

REPORT OF THE STRATEGIC DIRECTOR OF CORPORATE AND ENVIRONMENT SERVICES

Agenda Item 5(a)(ii) 

This application was due to be considered at the Development Control Committee on 14 May 2002 but was deferred at Officer’s request because revised plans had been received, significantly reducing the area of the children’s play space proposed. It was thought appropriate to reconsult with the Isle of Wight Gardens Trust, who had raised significant objection to the original scheme.

Representations

Archeological Officer comments that the proposed development is on a site of Archeological interest.

Newport Area Forum objected to original scheme on grounds that proposed equipment is too large and would therefore unsettle the charm of Church Litten Park, cause an obstruction for future events held in the park and will act as a magnet for undesirable behaviour during the evenings.

Isle of Wight Gardens Trust has submitted a detailed report in respect of this application as Church Litten is one of twenty-nine parks and gardens of local interest listed in the UDP. The Gardens Trust understand the desire for a play area in the centre of Newport but are firmly of the opinion that the development under consideration will adversely affect the landscape and character of Church Litten Park and that it is in conflict with Policy B10 of the UDP. The Gardens Trust therefore recommend that the present planning application for a play area be refused.

Islandwatch recognise the need for a play area but object on grounds that it will lead to further loss of green space in Newport town centre. It is suggested that the library car park or even the Orchard Street car park could be used as a venue for proposed play area.

The Head teacher of Nodehill Middle School recognises the need for such a facility in Newport but is of the opinion that this is not a good location and would make the vicinity vulnerable to vandalism and undesirable gatherings. He states that the area of land adjacent to the school would be better developed as an open space for all members of the community to enjoy for a variety of purposes without the destruction of permanent play apparatus.

Six letters received supporting application on grounds that Newport is in desperate need of such a facility and that this seems to be an ideal place for a new play area as there is easy access, being close to the Bus Station and local shops. It is also easily overlooked which may mitigate the risk of vandalism.

A petition submitted signed by 41 people and headed 'Please will you support this venture by signing below if you wish for a play area in Church Litten'. The petition is attached to a press release indicating progress of the project so far and indicating sponsorship of £32,265.30 from land fill tax money made possible by match funding from Newport Forum and Marks and Spencer. It confirms Church Litten was the proved favourite when a choice of locations for needed outdoor play space was established with particular benefits of proximity to facilities such as toilets and shops and CCTV installation later this year. £100,000 is being invested in central Newport enhancing the facilities already in place and providing much needed play area for local children.

Isle of Wight Gardens Trust has been involved in discussions directly with the applicants and has considered the revised plan produced as a result of that consultation. The Trust understands the need for a play area close to the centre of Newport; upper age limit of twelve is sensible; mainly unpainted wooden construction of a reduced size to the original proposal was also agreed to be sensible; the suggested location within Church Litten Park was agreed to be the safest and least obtrusive. However, a meeting of the Committee and ordinary Members was held to view the earlier decision and notwithstanding the points of agreement/compromise set out above, affirmed the earlier conclusion of the Trust that:

"The application if approved will adversely affect the landscape character of Church Litten Park and that it conflicts with Policy B10 of the UDP."

The Trust does not believe that the proposed play area in the historic Church Litten site is likely to achieve the Government's aim of enhancing the quality of life of local communities by bringing improvements to urban and rural community spaces. The Trust believes that risks of vandalism etc and high maintenance/repair costs will debase the quality of life. Carefully selected planting would better meet the aim and such a plan would be incompatible with an adjacent play area. In a positive manner, the Trust suggests that one of three sites under consideration for development (the fire station, the bus terminal and the area opposite St George's football ground) might be suitable for such dedicated play provision.

The Isle of Wight Gardens Trust has commented on the revised plans, indicating that what is now proposed is in line with previous discussions with the applicants, but that in the Trust’s view, the proposal still contravenes policy B10 of the UDP.

The Council's Contract Services Manager has written in support of the proposal outlining the lead up to the submission of this application and referring to the Stephen Jenkins Memorial Playground at Sandham Grounds which he believes has acted as a catalyst for other groups around the Island. He confirms, as officer responsible for the park, that the provision of the playground correctly sited within the park will not impinge on any current or future event that is currently held within the garden. He points out that the site was previously occupied by a doctor's surgery which was destroyed during the war, it meets the criteria set out by national standards of the provision of play and is sympathetic within the park. It will be in view of CCTV cameras to be installed in May. Design and equipment has to meet European standards for playground construction and Council's performance indicators necessary for insurance purposes. He recommends use of natural products for equipment and primary colours only where necessary. Maximum acceptable platform height of equipment is unlikely to exceed 2.4 metres. In order to reduce impact on the green area of the park, he suggests grass reinforced mat to provide a safety surface around the equipment; the playground itself would occupy no more than 5% of the total area of park with equipment itself occupying less than 2%. The proposal for a play area received backing of elected Members at the January Leisure Committee and this went forward to Council's Executive to adopt, subject of course to necessary planning permission. He suggests that more family use of the park will reduce anti-social behaviour and may lead to recreation of more floral interest as vandalism may be reduced. The play area is

necessary for the town and if correctly managed, will be an ideal facility for the whole community and will regenerate further interest from the parks' network. Actual details of equipment will depend on success of fundraising and could be discussed in due course if principle is accepted.

Additional representations have been received, prior to the receipt of the latest revised plan, as follows:

A resident of Carisbrooke expresses great concern as Church Litten is the only piece of public green in or near the town centre – to allow any of it to be cordoned off will deprive people who it was created for of their right to its use, a larger area than shown will probably be needed to accommodate a paedophile barrier as men who frequently visit the park would feel uncomfortable at the thought of being mistaken for a paedophile and would probably not use the park at all – to fence children off would be hazardous with regard to carbon monoxide fumes from traffic waiting at the traffic lights – additional applications for toilets, changing rooms, etc. even car parking are likely to arise and the site is near consecrated ground, other and better sites are available.

Architectural Liaison Officer points out site is close to access to Nodehill Middle School which has recently suffered damage and burglary – could be moved closer to consecrated land boundary and extending footpath from Orchard Street, siting of proposed CCTV camera is different to original plan and needs to be resolved – if site is managed then boundary fence has to be such that people cannot access it easily – should not be climbable and equipment inside should not act as ladder but comment is not possible as there are no examples of equipment. If there is no restricted access then the fence is superfluous and should be viewed purely from aesthetic view including good surveillance from all sides. It should not reduce effectiveness of CCTV by reducing surveillance and equipment should be laid out with this in mind. Site should not become an alternative skateboard park. No indication as to lighting which is all important from health and safety, surveillance and security points of view. Further information is needed on this point.

A letter from the applicants to Chairman of the Development Control Committee has also been received indicating the background to the proposal, how it is to be financed and the public participation exercise which indicated that a new play area in central Newport is much needed.

Evaluation

Members will be familiar with Church Litten Park which provides a pleasant area of open space immediately north of Medina Avenue and east of Newport Library and Nodehill Middle School. Church Litten Park is relatively level and open with its character further enhanced by a variety of mature trees with a path meandering its way through from Medina Avenue to South Street.

Consent is sought for the provision of an enclosed play area situated approximately 37 metres north of Medina Avenue and 12 metres east of boundary shared with Nodehill Middle School. Proposed play area is oval and has been reduced in size from original submission which was 32.2 metres by 19.5 metres to 28.4 metres by 14.7 metres and is to be enclosed by 1.2 metre high bow top boundary fence. It was originally shown to contain a variety of equipment including a large wooden climbing structure (wet dock), a "shipwreck bounty" and numerous other pieces of play equipment, which in the main would be constructed of timber. The timber climbing facility and "shipwreck bounty" would have covered a considerable portion of play area, with a maximum height in the region of 3 to 4 metres.

Applicants now indicate that they would like to remove the 'Bounty' and 'wet dock' systems as shown on the originally submitted plan and replace with smaller pieces of equipment. Other pieces of equipment would still be provided and would be constructed of natural wood wherever possible. However, because equipment may be used by children with impaired sight, it may be necessary for some parts, eg grab bars, to be of a bright colour so as to enable those children to use the equipment safely. Advice of the Isle of Wight Council's Park Officer would be sought on this issue. Play area will also consist of sand pits and seating. The following list of points has been provided by the applicant (Newport Inner Play Area):

Use of part of Church Litten as a playground maintains the existing use of the area as a recreational space.

Footprint for proposed play area is on non consecrated area.

Site owned by Local Council to the benefit of the community in perpetuity.

To remain as open space.

Planned site for new CCTV camera.

Playground to exist without the assistance of Play Leaders, parental responsibility for supervision.

Fencing to prevent dog fouling and to assure a zone where children can play safely within a controlled area.

Liability and maintenance to be arranged and carried out by Local Council's Parks Department.

Overall appearance of the area to be as natural as possible and proposed scheme used as wooden play structures.

Play equipment for disabled and able bodied children to reach all children in the community.

Location of play area designed to serve both children living in Newport and children visiting Newport town centre with parents.

Full support granted by Portsmouth Diocese.

Play equipment selected to meet the needs of children of ages ranging from 0 - 14.

Close to amenities, i.e. toilets, refreshments, parking.

On a survey distributed to 3500 people in Newport area, 43% voted for Church Litten as the favoured site compared with 23% for the next most popular choice.

Determining factors are considered to be policy and whether the introduction of the proposed play facility in this location will have a detrimental effect on the pleasant open character of Church Litten.

Relevant policies are considered to be S5 (which indicates that proposals for development which, bearing in mind all other policies, will be for the overall benefit of the Island by enhancing the economic, social or environmental position will be approved, provided any adverse impacts can be ameliorated), D1 (Standards of Design), B10 (Parks and Gardens and Landscapes of Historic Interest) and L4 (Protection of Open Spaces, Village Greens and Allotments).

The principle of providing play equipment in Church Litten Park is supported by most objectors including Isle of Wight Gardens Trust. The issue under consideration is whether the overall size and design of proposed equipment is now suitable for this pleasant green area which plays a valuable role in softening the impact of the built environment in this part of Newport. The beauty of Church Litten Park is its simple character with little equipment and paraphernalia which is normally associated with this type of use. The environment of this park is further enhanced by a variety of mature trees. For the play area to be acceptable, it will have to be reduced in size and impact to a degree which renders it less dominant in the character of the park.

Considerable effort has been made through discussions between the applicants, planning officers and the Isle of Wight Gardens Trust in order to resolve the conflict identified by the Gardens Trust (an important consultee) with Policy B10 of the UDP. Despite the considerable support for the proposal, I believe the Gardens Trust's objection to the original proposal was well founded.

Revised plans received show the area of the proposed playground reduced from the original 546 square metres to 371 square metres, a reduction of some 32%. Similarly, the height of the anticipated play equipment is also significantly reduced, to a maximum of 3 metres in the case of one piece of equipment and generally speaking, 2 metres for the remainder. Whilst certain equipment is shown on the submitted drawings, it is not possible at present to confirm exactly the nature of the play equipment because this will be dependant in part on the amount of money raised by voluntary contributions. I would suggest therefore that if Members are minded to approve the application, a condition should be imposed which would ensure that the Local Planning Authority has the opportunity to consider the nature, location and colour of any equipment to be installed within the proposed playground.

The comments of the Isle of Wight Gardens Trust have now been received. It considers that what is now proposed is in line with the agreement reached at a meeting with the applicants earlier in the year and were this revised plan to be approved, the adverse impact which the original size structures would have on the historically important site would be lessened. The Trust continues though that the conflict with Policy B10 of the UDP remains and the significance of the wording “…adversely affect … directly or indirectly …” should be noted by Members.

There is a balance to be struck in this application between the protection of the historic character of the park as required by UDP Policy B10 and the principle that developments which, bearing in mind other policies, will enhance the economic, social or environmental position of the Island providing adverse impacts can be ameliorated, contained in Policy S5. In my view, the benefits which would accrue through the provision of the play area in this location in Church Litten Park, particularly in terms of the social well being of the inhabitants of and visitors to the Island outweigh the acknowledged impact on the character of the historic park. This conclusion is based on the revised plans which significantly reduce the site area of the proposed playground and conditions which would enable the Local Planning Authority to control the height and location of individual items of play equipment, thus ensuring that their physical impact is minimized. Weighing these issues in the balance, I therefore recommend approval.

Reason for Recommendation

Having given due regard and appropriate weight to all material considerations outlined in this report, it is my opinion that the benefits to the community arising from the development and encouraged by Policy S5 of the UDP outweigh any disadvantages arising from the perceived reduction in quality of character of the locally important historic Church Litten Park, protected by Policy B10 of the UDP.

Recommendation -           Approval

  Conditions/Reasons:

M J A FISHER

Strategic Director

Corporate and Environment Services