Part One: Spatial Strategy and Policies (Regulation 19)

11.68. The principles of national planning policy on open space, sport and recreation need to be applied in a Dudley context to support the vision for urban renaissance and environmental transformation and in particular deliver opportunities for safe, attractive, functional, linked, and accessible green spaces for people to exercise, connect to nature and play sport in and enjoy. These areas also promote the enhancement of the natural environment to support greater biodiversity, maximises benefits for health and wellbeing, helps to mitigate and adapt to climate change and promotes economic regeneration.

11.69. All open spaces and sport and recreation facilities in the borough, both existing and proposed, are subject to the policies and requirements of national planning guidance and also to detailed policies in the local plan. These policies apply to existing sites that have an open space, sport or recreation function, regardless of whether they are shown on the Policies Map. The NPPF sets out national policy for the protection of existing open space, sports and recreational buildings and land, which should be read alongside Policies DLP37 and DLP38. It should be noted that Policy DLP37 relates to the strategic approach to open space and recreation, whereas Policy DLP38 relates specifically to playing fields and built sports facilities.              

11.70. Up-to-date local need assessments (for open space, playing pitches and built sports facilities) are central to the implementation of national policy. Local standards for different types of open space and recreation facilities have been developed for Dudley, based on robust audits, and needs assessments. These standards will form the basis for the application of national planning guidance.

11.71. To promote healthy living, it is important that open space and sports facilities, and places that people visit every day such as shops and schools, are located and designed so that people are encouraged to walk or cycle to them from their homes. This can be achieved through:

11.72. The provision of high-quality open space to serve new residential developments and the improvement of existing open spaces is critical to the overall aims of urban renaissance and environmental transformation across the borough. Policy DLP37 therefore identifies the functions of open space that are of particular importance to Dudley, in addition to those set out in national guidance. Policy DLP37 does not relate to playing fields and formal sports facilities, DLP38 should be referred to for these provisions and any applications that will impact upon them.

11.73. Greenways are defined as linear features of mostly open character, including paths through green spaces, canal corridors and disused railway lines (although some of these could be brought back into rail use in the future), which act as wildlife corridors and provide attractive and safe off-road links for pedestrians and cyclists. They form an important network throughout the borough and beyond, but in some cases are of poor quality or are severed by other infrastructure or barriers. The restoration of towpaths, bridges, public rights of way and the creation of cycle and pedestrian links to enhance the greenway network will be sought through planning conditions and obligations, transportation funding, and the support of other organisations such as the Canal & River Trust. Blue infrastructure features such as rivers and streams also provide opportunities for physical activity.

11.74. Open space and recreation standards and detailed local policies on open space and recreation, including planning obligations for new housing development, will be set out in Supplementary Planning Documents and will be subject to review as evidence is updated over the Plan period.

11.75. Communities greatly value local open spaces, however, quantity and accessibility for each type of open space and facility varies considerably from area to area, and an increasing population in certain areas over the Plan period will further affect these imbalances. In general terms, prosperous areas have low levels of provision but of a higher quality, whereas deprived areas may have sufficient quantities of open space but of limited quality and function.

11.76. Publicly accessible urban open space, play and sports facilities all have a vital role to play in helping to promote healthy lifestyles. As sports participation rates in borough are below the national average, needs assessments for sports facilities will consider the need to increase sports participation and improve health as well as meet existing needs. Existing and potential cross-boundary effects will also be considered when developing proposals which would affect sports facility provision. Cross-boundary issues particularly affect facilities with large catchment areas, such as swimming pools.

11.77. Low quality is a particular issue for playing pitch sites across the borough, which would benefit from improved changing facilities and a shift towards more small pitches. Increasing community access to school sports facilities would also help to address shortfalls in some areas.

11.78. A Playing Pitch & Outdoor Sport Strategy (PPOSS) was carried out and adopted by the Dudley Council in June 2023. This document presents a supply and demand assessment of playing pitch and outdoor sports facilities in accordance with Sport England's Playing Pitch Strategy (PPS) Guidance. Overall, the PPOSS highlights that pitches and facilities should be protected and enhanced where possible and set out there will be an increased demand in the future particularly in relation to the supply of grass pitches for football and 3G pitches for training purposes.

11.79. This will be updated as appropriate during the Plan period and therefore new priorities may emerge over time.

11.80. Policy DLP38 recognises that, in some circumstances where there is a significant gap in provision of natural turf playing pitches or built sports facilities such as courts and swimming pools, it may be necessary for housing developments to contribute towards improvements to such facilities over and above general open space and recreation contributions. In such cases, the Sport England Playing Pitch and Sports Facilities Calculator tools will be used to determine an appropriate level of contributions. The high capital and revenue costs of such facilities and the challenges of securing appropriate, long-term management and maintenance for them are recognised. Contributions will be considered alongside requirements for other infrastructure in line with Policy DLP6, in the context of scheme viability.