Policy BG1 - Local Green Space Designation / Development on Green Spaces

Justification:

Green and blue spaces in the Hoe Neighbourhood Area serve the citizens of the city as well as local residents and visitors, providing space for activities that bring people together for sporting, recreational and informal leisure uses that enhance health and well-being, and strengthen collective identity. The Hoe and waterfront are also a focal point for spectator events that capitalise on the natural amphitheatre of Plymouth Sound and for entertainment and civic gatherings that make use of the congregational capacity of the Hoe Promenade.

The Hoe foreshore is a County Wildlife Site that is part of Plymouth’s Biodiversity Network, a citywide network of local wildlife sites and wildlife corridors, links and stepping stones between areas of natural green space (see Biodiversity Network Creation Process, p 8). The marine space along the Hoe foreshore is designated as a Special Area of Conservation and is part of the Plymouth Sound and Tamar Estuaries Marine Protected Area, which is jointly managed through the Tamar Estuaries Consultative Forum. The County Wildlife Site provides valuable habitats for flora and fauna that should be conserved and enriched through the actions set out in the County Wildlife Site Management Plan, which alongside the ‘Sound and Estuaries’ section of the Plymouth's Green Infrastructure Delivery Plan, and the Plymouth's Green Space Strategy 2008-2023, provide evidence of the special value of the foreshore and inter-tidal zone.

This combination of landscape quality and varied public use is highly valued by local people and should be protected and enhanced.

It is anticipated that the National Marine Park will continue to be developed during the lifetime of the Hoe Neighbourhood Development Plan, providing more opportunities for marine business innovation, education and conservation. Development of a National Marine Park is strongly supported by local people, who recognise the benefits that this will bring economically and environmentally.

The community recognises that the climate and nature emergencies will have a profound impact on the blue and green environment. The community supports Plymouth City Council’s declaration of climate emergency and associated Climate Emergency Action Plan, as well as Plymouth and South West Devon Joint Local Plan Policy DEV26 and Policy DEV28 that aim to mitigate climate impacts on biodiversity, trees, woodlands and hedgerows. The Hoe Neighbourhood Development Plan seeks to strengthen protections for local blue and green spaces wherever possible.

The local community supports the designation of local and neighbourhood green spaces within the Plymouth and South West Devon Joint Local Plan. The community has identified green and open spaces of local significance that are of particular importance and fulfil the requirements of the National Planning Policy Framework (paragraphs 105 and 106) for Local Green Space designation as demonstrated in the Local Green Space Audit for the Hoe Neighbourhood Plan. There is support to resist development on these spaces, particularly if the development would result in an unacceptable conflict with the diverse amenity functions described above, and to ensure that green and blue spaces are not polluted by litter and waste.

The foreshore is especially highly valued by local people. It is the point at which green and blue spaces meet, and where the demands of tourism and leisure come into direct contact with some of our most sensitive ecology. As an integral aspect of the character of the Hoe Neighbourhood Area and a place where tourism, commercial, leisure and ecological interests all overlap, the foreshore presents a particular challenge to balance the needs of businesses and tourism facilities with the need for free public access and the need to protect habitats and biodiversity.

The Plymouth Hoe Design Guide describes the townscape of the foreshore as “a juxtaposition of man-made and natural forms along the foreshore. The Tinside Lido is an Art Deco open air saltwater swimming pool which is built into a rocky promontory on the waterfront, which extends out into the Plymouth Sound and therefore open and exposed to the sea. There are various bathing and recreational facilities built along the foreshore that provide access to the water, additionally, cafés, beach huts and terraces of varying architectural style and quality are built into to rock face along the waterfront; some buildings are unused, in a poor state of repair or undergoing restoration” (Plymouth Hoe Design Guide, p 40).

The foreshore is the site of Priority 1 habitats, with special biodiversity value evidenced by Plymouth Hoe and Madeira Road County Wildlife Site Management Statement, the ‘Sound and Estuaries’ section of Plymouth's Green Infrastructure Delivery Plan, and the Biodiversity Network Creation Process document. The Plymouth Sound and Estuaries Special Area of Conservation is a European site of international importance protected by the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 and the Conservation of Offshore Marine Habitats and Species Regulations 2017.

Evidence points towards increasing developmental pressure on the waterfront. The Plymouth Plan's Waterfront Evidence Base reports that ‘it is currently expected there will be increased demand on waterfront areas due to a predicted increase in population to 300,000’ (Waterfront Evidence Base, p 6). Whilst the Plymouth Waterfront Strategic Masterplan seeks to ‘encourage greater use of the Hoe Foreshore by opening up disused buildings to allow water related activities and food and drink’ (Plymouth Waterfront Strategic Masterplan, p 83), the Plymouth Hoe Design Guide warns that ‘numerous retail and food outlets are distributed throughout the area that lack quality and attention to detail. Additionally these facilities include low quality signage and outdoor furniture that does not represent the grandeur or maritime characteristics of the area’ (Plymouth Hoe Design Guide, p 40).

Poor quality development has a detrimental impact visually, environmentally, and in terms of the city’s reputation. The Waterfront Evidence Base notes that ‘design quality is at risk at times of economic recession, but is essential on waterfront sites linked to the image of the city’ and it underlines ‘the importance of design excellence in the waterfront public realm as well as the requirement for a strong mechanism to protect waterfront land from unsuitable development’ (Waterfront Evidence Base, p7 and p10).

Given the potential for development pressures to override environmental protections, Policy BG1 aims to hold these interests in balance for the benefit of the neighbourhood, the city, and its ecology.

Policy BG1 also helps meet objectives identified in Plymouth’s Green Space Strategy 2008 to 2023, which sets out Plymouth City Council’s aim to achieve a quantity standard of 5.09 hectares of accessible green space per 1000 population. In addition, the strategy sets out objectives to achieve 0.08 hectares per 1000 population of play space, 0.63 hectares per 1000 population in Plymouth South, 0.12 hectares per 1000 population of allotments, and to enhance existing local green spaces. Objective GSS06 sets out how Plymouth City Council intends to improve access to green space at a local level. The objective sets out the need to ‘look at opportunities to utilize existing inaccessible green space by opening it up for public access’ and ‘enhance the quality of existing accessible green space provision and access to it.’ There is further justification for increasing the provision of green space in this part of Plymouth compared to other areas. The Plymouth Green Space Strategy 2008 to 2023: Background Report notes that the Plymouth South Sub-Area has less green space per person than the rest of the city (3.64 hectares/1000 population) compared to an average of 5.21 hectares /1000 population. This means provision per capita in the area is currently just 70% of average.

Intent:

The purpose of Policy BG1 is to ensure that designated Local Green Spaces do not experience land use changes that would fundamentally erode or impact their character and function or harm biodiversity and habitats. These green spaces serve both local residents and visitors by providing areas for leisure, sporting and recreational activities. Green spaces are a focal point for events and gatherings, notably the Hoe Park, which overlooks the Plymouth Sound. Local Green Spaces are land that has been identified as a green area of particular importance in a Local or Neighbourhood Plan. These Local Green Space designations meet the requirements of National Planning Policy Framework, paragraphs 105 and 106.

Table 7: List of Green Space Designations

Key Evidence Sources:

• Local Green Space designations (see Table 7 above and Figure 11 below)
• Blue and Green Sub-Group discussions
• Stepping Stones and Core Sites within the Biodiversity network of the Plymouth and South West Devon Joint Local Plan
• Plymouth’s Green Space Strategy 2008 to 2023
• Plymouth’s Green Space Strategy 2008 to 2023: Background Report
• Plymouth’s Green Infrastructure Delivery Plan
• Plymouth Hoe and Madeira Road County Wildlife Site Management Statement
• Waterfront Evidence Base informing the Plymouth Plan
• Plymouth Play Assessment 2017
• Biodiversity Network Creation Process 2017
• Revised Plymouth Greenspace Policy Development Process
• Plymouth Policy Area Tree Canopy Cover Assessment
• Appendix 3: Local Green Spaces Audit for the Hoe Neighbourhood Plan
• National Planning Policy Framework