Chapter 3 What the Open Spaces Strategy will do.

3.1. It will influence how the Council manages and secures the future of open spaces in its ownership, and how we will work in partnership with others to create new open space in the future. We will through this strategy:

3.2. Enhance Open Space:

3.2.1. To ensure that the best use is made of existing open space and that new open space is well designed and appropriate to provide opportunities for recreation for all.

3.3. Protect Open Space:

3.3.1. To prevent the loss of open space sites and prevent the loss of access to open space for recreation.

3.4. Enable Open Space:

3.4.1. To ensure that new, good quality open spaces are planned for, delivered in a timely way and meet the current and future health and recreational needs of the community they serve and managed by the most appropriate organisation.

3.5. Protect Open Space:

3.5.1. It will protect open spaces for communities and wildlife; enable creation of open spaces that are valued and provide suitable habitat; provide a way for communities to take a greater role in management of their local open spaces.

3.5.2. The Open Spaces Strategy seeks to protect existing sites for open space sports and recreation whether privately or Council owned, by applying legislation in the National Planning Policy Framework and the District Local Plan.

3.6. Enhance Open Space:

3.6.1. The Strategy will seek to work with partners to enhance existing open space throughout the District. It will do this by giving a policy framework that will ensure officers work with developers and others to improve existing open space, and also ensure that new open space is appropriate, landscaped to a high standard and is what the community requires.

3.6.2. The Open Spaces Strategy will also give the opportunity to seek developer contributions for off site enhancements of open space where appropriate, and give a local policy for partners to seek external funding.

3.6.3. The Strategy also considers linking up green spaces and settlements by the use of a new network of 'Greenways'; these are proposed to be for cycling and walking using disused railway lines and other appropriate routes.

3.6.4. The Open Spaces Strategy will give a clear direction of travel for open space in the District, and allow more detailed management plans to be written that will deliver enhancements on the ground.

3.7. Enable Open Space

3.7.1. The strategy provides a policy that will allow officers to work with developers, landscapers and others to provide high quality, new open space. This will primarily be on new developments; however there may be opportunities to work with other partners to provide public access to open space that is not associated with development.

3.7.2. The Open Spaces Strategy will seek to ensure that new open space is appropriate, integrated with existing open space, and is accessible to communities. It will also ensure that open space is managed by the most appropriate and locally accountable organisation. We will seek, through the Open Spaces Strategy, to work proactively with Parish Councils and partner organisations to ensure they have the skills, knowledge and capacity to take responsibility for management of open space.

3.7.3. Needs assessments of existing open space have been undertaken and this data will be used to secure new open space sport and recreation facilities where appropriate. The 2004 needs assessment for open space can be found here, Open Space Assessment 2004, and will form Appendix A of the Open Spaces Strategy.