'The Local Green Space designation has become a cornerstone of local democracy and is unique in protecting land according to its importance to the community"
The quote above is from a recent (February 2022) report from CPRE on Green Spaces. Through our first Neighbourhood Plan we already have a number of designated Local Green Spaces in our town and villages. As part of the process of reviewing the Neighbourhood Plan we are exploring whether there are other green spaces that are suitable for this designation called Local Green Space. Local Green Space is a planning designation that provides the same level of protection as a Green Belt to areas of green space that are particularly valued by their local communities.
During July, the Steering Group for the Calne Community Neighbourhood Plan conducted a survey on Local Green Spaces. The aims of the Local survey were to:
Share work to date on identifying possible spaces that can be designated as Local Green Space in both the town and the rural areas;
Gather information on how these spaces meet the criteria necessary for designation – in particular on whether they can be shown to be ‘of particular local significance’; and,
Ask people for nominations of green spaces that can be assessed to see if they meet the criteria for Local Green Space Designation.
A report of the Local Green Spaces survey has been put together and you can download it from the end of this post. We also put together a news post which answered some questions people had raised about the designation. You can read it by clicking here.
Evidence of support and the particular local significance of the proposed Local Green spaces gathered from this and other surveys will be used as part of the process of assessment.
Another key part of the process of assessing these potential Local Green Spaces, will be the responses from landowners who are being contacted during August/September 2022. Their responses are an important part of the process and will need to be taken into account in considering the suitability of a site for designation as Local Green Space - so there can be no final decisions as yet.
Local community members of the Calne Community Neighbourhood Plan Natural Environment Group will also assess the additional spaces nominated as a result of the this survey and suitable spaces will be progressed through to consultation with landowners and designation. We’ll keep people updated on this.
A final overall report will set out which spaces are being proposed for designation (including information on those not considered suitable) and a policy will be included in the updated Calne Community Neighbourhood Plan which should be shared with the community sometime in 2024.