16.1 These policies aim to enhance and, wherever possible, retain the district’s recreational, sporting, cultural and community facilities and services which contribute towards improving the health and lifestyles of residents.
16.2 There is also a policy to support the provision of public art to maintain Harlow’s status as a Sculpture Town and to improve the environmental and cultural quality of the district.
16.3 This chapter and the policies contained within it will help deliver the following Corporate Priority:
16.4 This chapter and the policies contained within it will help deliver the following Local Plan Strategic Objective:
L1 Open Spaces, Play Areas, Allotments and Sporting Provision and Facilities in Major Development
In major development and depending on demonstrable need, public open space, play space, allotments and sporting facilities are required to be provided (or upgraded in the case of existing facilities), along with their ongoing management and maintenance.
16.5 National planning policies and guidance place emphasis on the important contribution that high quality open spaces can make to the health and wellbeing of communities.
16.6 One of the fundamental aims of Sir Frederick Gibberd’s master plan for Harlow was to ensure the district was designed with sufficient areas of multi-functional open space, located close to residential areas to which residents have easy access.
These spaces form part of the Green Infrastructure in Harlow and offer a range of formal and informal activities. The Green Infrastructure network provides well-connected footpaths, cycleways and bridleways which can be used by visitors and residents, thereby encouraging sustainability and promoting healthier lifestyles.
16.7 The adopted Open Space, Sport and Recreation Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) (or successor) and the Harlow Design Guide SPD set out the requirements for the provision and design of open space. Where it can be demonstrated that provision cannot be met on-site, the Open Spaces SPD sets out the method for calculating off-site contributions for alternative provision.
16.8 Satisfactory long-term management and maintenance arrangements must be secured as part of the planning permission. This may include the creation of a management company, a maintenance plan and/or an agreed commuted maintenance sum.
L2 The Provision and Loss of Recreational, Sporting, Cultural and Community Facilities
16.9 National planning policies and guidance state that in order to deliver recreational, sporting, cultural and community facilities and services the community needs, policies should plan positively and guard against the unnecessary loss of valued facilities and services, particularly where this would reduce the community’s ability to meet its day-to-day needs.
16.10 This policy aims to protect the district’s recreational, sporting, cultural and community facilities including playing pitches, play spaces, allotments and sporting facilities. It also provides the criteria for which new facilities will be provided.
16.11 Recreation can include formal or informal activities and includes open spaces, play spaces, buildings and other facilities used by people for enjoyment in their free time. Sporting uses/and or facilities include sports pitches and associated buildings.
16.12 This policy also considers a range of different community and cultural buildings and uses, including places of worship, healthcare and education facilities, libraries and social facilities such as community halls. These uses can provide the necessary infrastructure that underpins a healthy and prosperous community, and a range of activities that help to engage and connect the public. These lists are not exhaustive and the Council has the discretion to decide what constitutes recreational, sporting, cultural and community facilities.
16.13 Developers may need to satisfy the Council that satisfactory management and maintenance arrangements are in place before planning permission is granted.
16.14 Marketing of a use or facility that is surplus to requirements, as appropriate for the condition and existing use of the facility, must be undertaken by a suitably competent person. The Council will determine how long a marketing exercise should be on a case-by-case basis.
L3 Development Involving the Provision or Relocation or Loss of Public Art
16.15 Since the designation of Harlow New Town in 1947, the district has been collecting and creating works of art for the enjoyment of the residents and visitors to the district in order to enhance the public realm. Most of the pieces are sculpture based, hence the branding of Harlow as a Sculpture Town. These sculptures are located in public spaces including the Town Centre, Neighbourhood Centres, Hatches, Green Wedges, employment areas and residential areas. Over the years the collection has grown to almost 100 works, giving the town the highest percentage of public sculpture per head of population in the country. Most pieces of art are maintained and owned by the Harlow Arts Trust, although some are owned by the Council or privately through development.
16.16 The purpose of this policy is to continue the legacy of Harlow as a town of public art and sculpture and it is expected that major new developments will contribute towards this. This policy will also manage the relocation and loss of public art and will give due consideration to the historic significance of the artwork or its setting. The Council will prepare a Public Art Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) to help guide applicants on the inclusion of public art in their development and what information must be submitted alongside a planning application.
16.17 If providing public art in major development would not be achievable or viable, developers will be required to demonstrate this by submission of an independent viability appraisal or report.
16.18 Detailed guidance on the provision, relocation and loss of public art will be set out in the Public Art SPD.
L4 Health and Wellbeing
The Council will seek to deliver development and growth which has a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of residents, and address issues of health deprivation and health inequality in the district in accordance with the objectives of the Harlow Health and Wellbeing Strategy and in response to the various Evidence Base sources.
When promoting development, applicants should consider the impact on the health and wellbeing of new and existing residents, having regard to the following principles:
Applicants may be required to prepare a Health Impact Assessment to determine the extent of potential health impacts from development proposals and set out appropriate mitigation measures.
16.19 The Council wants all residents to live in environments that support good health and wellbeing and is committed to ensuring that residents benefit from the positive impacts that development and infrastructure growth can have on health and wellbeing. This is further supported through the outcomes of the Harlow Health and Wellbeing Strategy. Along with policies in the Local Plan as a whole, this policy ensures that development proposals have considered measures that will improve the health and wellbeing of residents and not contribute towards further worsening health issues across the district.
16.20 The principles set out in this policy have been informed by the Town and Country Planning Association’s Guide 8: Creating health promoting environments, which states that good living environments can have a positive impact on health equalities. This policy has also been developed having regard to health and wellbeing issues identified in Harlow, as evidenced by the Essex Joint Strategic Needs Assessment and Public Health Profiles produced by Public Health England.
16.21 The Harlow and Gilston Garden Town partners are also developing a health framework using the NHS Healthy Towns Criteria, which will set out projects or interventions that could be enhanced in proposed developments and other opportunities for improving health and wellbeing across the Garden Town.
Once complete it will be endorsed by the Garden Town local authorities and the Health and Wellbeing Boards.
16.22 This policy refers to the Essex Design Guide which addresses health and wellbeing through the following sections:
16.23 The Essex Design Guide, alongside the Harlow Design Guide and the Harlow and Gilston Garden Town Vision and Design Guide, should be used to help design good quality schemes that limit adverse impacts on and promote health and wellbeing in the first instance. These will help ensure that health and wellbeing are addressed at the earliest possible, conceptual / design stage of any development. This is necessary to help enable smoother and timelier progress through the development and planning application process. Accordingly, supporting master-planning work for larger developments will be required to ensure that these matters are addressed from the outset.
16.24 Where appropriate, this policy supports the use of Health Impact Assessments (HIA) for certain types of developments. HIAs allow the Council to assess the impact that the proposed development will have on the health and wellbeing of residents. These assessments ensure that the Council can work with developers to optimise the positive impacts on the health and wellbeing of potential development and reduce, remove or mitigate any identified unintended consequences that may arise on health from the submitted proposal.
16.25 Applicants should refer to the Essex wide HIA guidance, updated and agreed by the Essex local authorities, which assists in the preparation of HIAs.
16.26 This policy also refers to active design principles which have been produced by Sport England in partnership with Public Health England and is embedded in the Essex Design Guide. Active design is about designing and adapting where we live to encourage activity in everyday lives. It is a combination of ten principles that promote activity, health and stronger communities through built design and is an important consideration for new development proposals.
16.27 To support the Local Plan objective of improving the overall health and wellbeing of residents, the Harlow Health and Wellbeing Strategy and the Essex Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy will be a material consideration in the determining of planning applications.
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