Back to Contents - Back to Introduction     Appendix 6 OUTDOOR PLAYING SPACE   Page 179     The City Council considers that new residential development should either provide additional outdoor playing space, or secure improvements to existing facilities to enable them to sustain a greater intensity of use arising from the new development. Policy C28 of this Plan sets out this objective to ensure that the District's residents have the opportunity to improve their well-being through accessible and usable outdoor community facilities. Central government has given strong encouragement to local authorities to produce open space strategies. Planning Policy Guidance (PPG)17: Planning for Open Space, Sport and Recreation and its Companion Guide, ‘Assessing Needs and Opportunities’ set out objectives and outcomes for open spaces and sport and recreation provision and it confirms that the Government considers that achieving these outcomes depends on local authorities first undertaking local assessments of need and audits of provision. The City Council  has undertaken an audit and needs assessment of open space provision in the District.  This is known as the Open Space Strategy (2005) and is available on the Council web site at www.canterbury.gov.uk. The approach adopted in this strategy follows the guidance set out in PPG 17 and the companion guide ‘Assessing Needs and Opportunities: A Companion Guide to PPG17’ by Kit Campbell Associates 2002, and in guidance from ‘CABE Space’.  The Council’s approach to open space is also informed by other recent Council strategies, prepared for sports pitches and outdoor play areas.  These are known as the Playing Pitch Strategy and the Play Strategy. The key benefits of having an open space strategy are: an understanding of what open space exists where and of what local people want; knowledge of where new spaces can provide greatest benefit, and which spaces need to be protected and which need to be improved; clear objectives and direction; a raised public, political and marketing profile for open spaces; an ability to attract external funding to create new and improve existing open spaces; communication of a clear local authority expectation to developers and landowners in respect of open space requirements; an action plan of targeted improvements to be implemented in order of priority. The Council has prepared a draft Developer Contributions Supplementary Planning Document.  The provision and maintenance of Open Space will form an important element of this guidance and the open space standards will be used to calculate open space requirements/ developer contributions in relation to new developments.   top