Parks and Open

Spaces Strategy
2012-2022
www.portsmouth.gov.uk
Contents
1.  Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 5 
Purpose of the Parks and Open Spaces Strategy................................................................................ 7 

2.  Links to other policy....................................................................................................... 9 

Local development framework.......................................................................................................... 10 
Other local policy ............................................................................................................................. 11 
Regional policy ................................................................................................................................. 16 
National policy ................................................................................................................................. 17 

3.  Scope of the strategy ................................................................................................... 22 

What this includes: ........................................................................................................................... 23 
What is not included ......................................................................................................................... 24 

4.  Value of parks ............................................................................................................... 25 

Economic value................................................................................................................................. 26 
Impact on physical and mental health .............................................................................................. 26 
Benefits for children and young people ............................................................................................ 27 
Reducing crime and fear of crime..................................................................................................... 27 
Social dimension of public space...................................................................................................... 27 
Movement in and between spaces ..................................................................................................... 27 
Value from biodiversity and nature .................................................................................................. 28 

5.  Vision and aims of the strategy................................................................................... 29 

Vision................................................................................................................................................ 30 
Aims of the strategy .......................................................................................................................... 30 
Objectives of the strategy.................................................................................................................. 31 

6.  Setting local standards ................................................................................................ 35 

7.  City wide quantity standards ....................................................................................... 37 

Quantity audit of open spaces........................................................................................................... 38 
National quantity standards ............................................................................................................. 41 
Portsmouth’s accessible green space quantity standard .................................................................. 42 

8.  City wide quality standards ......................................................................................... 44 

Quality audit of open spaces............................................................................................................. 45 
Quality design in parks and open spaces.......................................................................................... 47 
Grounds maintenance and horticultural quality............................................................................... 48 
Cleanliness........................................................................................................................................ 49 

9.  City wide accessibility standards ............................................................................... 51 

Accessibility standards: An overview ............................................................................................... 52 
Distance standards ........................................................................................................................... 53 
Physical access ................................................................................................................................. 55 
Barriers to visiting parks and open spaces....................................................................................... 56 
Equality of Access to minority groups .............................................................................................. 56 
Joining up Portsmouth’s green spaces ............................................................................................. 57 
10.  Parks and Gardens ....................................................................................................... 59 
Parks and gardens: An overview ...................................................................................................... 60 
Quantity standards............................................................................................................................ 61 
Quality standards ............................................................................................................................. 61 

11.  Amenity green space.................................................................................................... 63 

Amenity green space: An overview ................................................................................................... 64 
Quantity standards............................................................................................................................ 64 
Quality standards ............................................................................................................................. 64 

12.  Playing Fields................................................................................................................ 65 

Playing fields: an overview............................................................................................................... 66 
Quantity standards............................................................................................................................ 66 
Quality standards ............................................................................................................................. 68 
Accessibility standards ..................................................................................................................... 69 

13.  Sports Pavilions............................................................................................................ 70 

Sports pavilions: an overview........................................................................................................... 71 
Summary of public sports pavilions and changing facilities ............................................................ 72 
Quality standards ............................................................................................................................. 72 

14.  Golf courses .................................................................................................................. 73 

Golf courses: an overview ................................................................................................................ 74 
Quantity standards............................................................................................................................ 74 

15.  Play spaces ................................................................................................................... 75 

Play spaces: an overview.................................................................................................................. 76 
Quantity standards............................................................................................................................ 76 
Quality standards ............................................................................................................................. 77 
Accessibility standards ..................................................................................................................... 79 

16.  Allotments .....................................................................................................................80 

Allotments: an overview ................................................................................................................... 81 
Quantity standards............................................................................................................................ 81 

17.  Cemeteries & churchyards .......................................................................................... 83 

Cemeteries & churchyards: an overview.......................................................................................... 84 
Quality standards ............................................................................................................................. 84 

18.  Conservation and wildlife areas.................................................................................. 85 

Conservation and wildlife areas: an overview ................................................................................. 86 
Quality standards ............................................................................................................................. 87 

19.  Green corridors............................................................................................................. 88 

Green corridors: an overview........................................................................................................... 89 

20.  Trees............................................................................................................................... 90 

Trees: an overview............................................................................................................................ 91 

21.  Schools grounds........................................................................................................... 93 

School grounds: an overview............................................................................................................ 94 

22.  The Seafront .................................................................................................................. 95 

23.  Planning issues............................................................................................................. 97 
Creating new parks and open spaces................................................................................................ 98 
Protection of Portsmouth’s open spaces........................................................................................... 99 
Enhancing parks and open spaces.................................................................................................... 99 

24.  Making open spaces safe places to visit..................................................................100 

Antisocial Behaviour ...................................................................................................................... 101 

25.  Ensuring sustainability and protecting biodiversity...............................................103 

Sustainability .................................................................................................................................. 104 
Climate Change .............................................................................................................................. 105 
Biodiversity and natural green spaces............................................................................................ 106 
Sustainable Planting....................................................................................................................... 111 

26.  Health and wellbeing benefits of green space.........................................................114 

Active recreation............................................................................................................................. 116 
Passive recreation .......................................................................................................................... 117 

27.  Community involvement ............................................................................................119 

Volunteers and friends groups........................................................................................................ 120 
Allotment Associations.................................................................................................................... 121 
Sports groups.................................................................................................................................. 121 
Community gardens ........................................................................................................................ 121 
Events in parks................................................................................................................................ 121 
Portsmouth in Bloom ...................................................................................................................... 122 

28.  Value for money ..........................................................................................................123 

Parks service – savings................................................................................................................... 124 
Parks service – budget.................................................................................................................... 125 
Value for money review .................................................................................................................. 125 
Transfer of maintenance liabilities ................................................................................................. 127 
Income generation .......................................................................................................................... 127 

29.  Consultation – what you’ve told us ..........................................................................129 

Parks and open spaces surveys....................................................................................................... 130 
Local Development Framework consultation ................................................................................. 136 

30.  Equality impact assessment......................................................................................138 

31.  Action Plan ..................................................................................................................139

Appendix 1 – Audit scoring sheet – general.....................................................................155

Appendix 2 – Audit scoring sheet – wildlife sites ............................................................158

Appendix 3 – Audit scoring sheet – play areas................................................................161

Appendix 4 – Maps ..............................................................................................................162

References ...........................................................................................................................174 
1. Introduction

St Thomas’s Cathedral, Old Portsmouth

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Parks and open spaces are important to the city and people of Portsmouth.
They provide valuable ‘breathing space’ within our densely populated city, and
are vital to the success of urban communities. Green spaces are places to
enjoy the natural environment, places to relax, and to spend time away from
the stresses of urban living and working. Our parks and open spaces are
integral to our quality of life as places to enjoy sport and recreation, to gather,
and appreciate the benefits of being outdoors and for children to play. Green
spaces are also important for our health and wellbeing, for our natural flora
and fauna, for conserving biodiversity, and for mitigating the effects of climate
change. They play an important part in encouraging greener transport options,
and can have a role in developing the city’s economy and encouraging
investment.

Portsmouth has a wide range of parks, gardens, and open spaces which are
valued by the many thousands of people who use them every day. The range
includes beautiful formal parks, sports pitches, ball courts, local parks, small
pocket parks, children’s play areas, natural spaces, wildlife habitats, and small
informal grassed areas. The parks and open spaces in Portsmouth are rightly
protected from development and are maintained in the main by Portsmouth
City Council. We know that parks and open spaces are important to the
people of Portsmouth – 91% of people in Portsmouth use their local parks or
playgrounds1. Nationally 87% of people living in towns and cities used their
local park or open space in the last year2. When asked (in 2009), 95% of
people thought it was very or fairly important to have green spaces near to
where they live2. Levels of satisfaction with Portsmouth’s parks and open
spaces are consistently high.

In towns and cities across the country there has been a trend of decline in
funding and investment in green spaces, and Portsmouth is no different. This
strategy identifies what Portsmouth City Council is currently doing, and what
we aspire to do to resist this trend, and to make sure that Portsmouth is
provided with the quantity and quality of accessible green space that meets
the needs of a sustainable city.

Parks and open spaces are the most frequently used service of all the public
services tracked as part of the government’s Place survey, with respondents
reporting higher use of parks than the other cultural and leisure services such
as sports and leisure facilities and libraries.

In order to safeguard the future of our parks and open spaces we need a
parks and open spaces strategy with a clear action plan, which is linked to
Portsmouth’s Local Development Framework and Portsmouth’s Sustainable
Communities Strategy, as well as other local, regional and national policies.
The strategy needs the support and involvement of the people of Portsmouth.

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Purpose of the Parks and Open
Spaces Strategy
The overriding purpose of the Parks and Open Spaces Strategy is to consider
how Portsmouth’s open spaces are planned, managed, protected, designed,
and maintained and to set out a series of objectives to ensure that
Portsmouth’s parks and open spaces are of a consistent high standard, fit for
purpose, and meet the needs of Portsmouth’s residents and visitors.

Setting out a strategic approach to the provision, protection and maintenance

of Portsmouth’s green spaces allows the identification of links with other local
objectives where green spaces play a part in their delivery. This includes
those objectives concerned with planning, regeneration, encouraging greener
forms of transport, recreation, tourism, education, environmental issues,
social care, and children’s services. Management of green spaces in
Portsmouth must take these wider objectives into account.

Other benefits of a parks and open spaces strategy are:

• a demonstration of a commitment to overarching regional and national
policies
• a means of informing people of existing provision and longer term
plans
• a means of assessing provision and setting up a cycle of audit
• useful for obtaining Green Flag Awards and external funding sources
• helps to protect standards of maintenance
• generates political and public support for green spaces, and may help
protect current budget levels
• supports the promotion of wider objectives such as
o urban renaissance and regeneration
o physical activity as a healthy lifestyle choice
o health and wellbeing
o social inclusion, community development, citizenship
o environmental and ecological protection
o education

Planning policy for the protection of existing open spaces from development
and for provision of public open space as part of new development is clear,
and is covered by Portsmouth’s Local Development Framework. The purpose
of the Parks and Open Spaces Strategy is to put in place a framework for the
management of Portsmouth’s open spaces in order to meet the objectives of
The Portsmouth Plan and other local, regional and national policies. 
 
The strategy specifically links to the PUSH Green Infrastructure Strategy and
sets out local initiatives which link with the strategic initiatives set out in that
strategy. This sub-regional strategy in tandem with local strategies such as
this one ensure that there is a co-ordinated, well planned and high quality
network of green spaces across South Hampshire.

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Having an open spaces strategy seems to be a factor in people’s levels of
satisfaction with their council. Satisfaction with their neighbourhood strongly
influences people’s perception of council performance, and of those
authorities that have shown the greatest improvement in satisfaction, nearly
three quarters have an open space strategy in place2.

This strategy was prepared following the PPG17 open space assessment
(undertaken for Portsmouth City Council by Kit Campbell Associates in
2008).The open space assessment was used and built on in preparing this
strategy.

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2. Links to other policy

Floral troughs, Guildhall Square

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Local development framework
The Portsmouth Plan
The parks and open spaces strategy will implement a large amount of the
‘Greener Portsmouth’ section of the Portsmouth Plan3 regarding the
management and improvement of the city’s parks and open spaces. The
Parks and Open Spaces Strategy has heavily informed the Portsmouth Plan,
including the quantity standard for open space in new developments (see
section 23 on planning issues).

The audit which informed this strategy will also inform the Site Allocations
Plan, which is currently in development. The results of the audit will be used
to identify those areas of open space in the city which should be protected
from development.

Policy PCS13 – A greener Portsmouth

The city council will work collaboratively to protect, enhance and develop the
green infrastructure network in the following ways:

Protect green infrastructure by:

• Refusing planning permission for proposals which would result in the net
loss of existing areas of open space, as shown on map 21, and those
which would compromise the overall integrity of the green infrastructure
network in the city, unless there are wider public benefits from the
development which outweigh the harm.

Enhance green infrastructure by:

• Improving the quality and multifunctionality of the city’s green
infrastructure assets, particularly those of low value, so that they cater
for the needs of wildlife and a broad section of the community;
• Working to improve linkages in the green grid wherever possible by
improving accessibility to parks and gardens by foot, cycle and public
transport and providing wildlife corridors;
• Ensuring the highest play value of sites, whether they are designed
specifically for play or whether they are shared open space for the whole
community;
• Encouraging the provision of green roofs and green walls where
appropriate as part of meeting the requirements of PCS15 Sustainable
Design and Construction; and
• Improving Southsea seafront for recreational users, visitors and wildlife.

Provide new green infrastructure by:

• Requiring pocket parks on development sites of 50 dwellings or more to
a standard of 1.5ha per 1,000 population; and
• Creating the Horsea Island Country Park at the Paulsgrove Landfill site.

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Other local policy
Vision for Portsmouth 2008-2018
Portsmouth’s Local Strategic Partnership’s overall aim is to improve the
quality of life for people who live, work or visit Portsmouth by delivering
outcomes through improved partnership working. Its 10 priorities comprise its
Vision for Portsmouth4 – the Sustainable Community Strategy.
By 2018 we will endeavour to make Portsmouth a city where:
• green and open spaces are well maintained and available to all, with
public play space that is safe but also exciting and stimulating (priority
4)
• there are greenways through the city, more trees and a greater sense
of more personal space around them. The natural environment and
habitats are protected and enhanced, and are fully integrated into
urban planning, using green spaces and encouraging the
development of green roofs (priority 5)
• levels of physical and mental well-being are improved by providing
increased, and more affordable, opportunities to exercise, play sport
and participate in well-being activities, with play and public play space
being seen as an essential characteristic of a healthy community
(priority 7)
• walking and cycling are seen as popular choices, and are made
easier and safer (priority 7)
• there are spaces where people can be quiet and those where people
can mingle and have fun together (priority 8)
• the number, variety and quality of … sporting venues is extended to
give greater and more affordable access to local groups (priority 8)
• there are more spaces and places where people of all backgrounds
and generations enjoy being together and can participate in activities
… community gardens and open spaces are used to create more
opportunities for people to be together, especially those who are
vulnerable (priority 9)

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Corporate Plan 2008-2011
Portsmouth City Council’s Corporate Plan5 sets out its priorities and identifies
what it aims to achieve in the three-year period 2008-2011. The overall aim is:
‘We will make Portsmouth a premier waterfront city, so that now and in
the future it is a place where people want to live, work and play, are
healthy, have high aspirations, and can fulfil their potential.’

Planned activity for this period, where relevant, is outlined below against the
relevant corporate priorities.

Corporate priority 6: regenerate the city

Planned activity
• start up three additional community gardening schemes
• promote the city’s sporting facilities and successes
How this contributes
• creates a city with pleasant public spaces encouraging individuals,
communities and organisations to develop a sustainable city
• increases participation in the cultural services with strong benefits to
the health and well-being of individuals and communities

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 Corporate Priority 7: cleaner and greener city
Planned activity
• protect the city’s green infrastructure through planning policy and in
accordance with the recommendations of the PPG17 open space
assessment
• continue with recently implemented sustainable planting policy [The
Green Planting policy]
• sustain or increase the area of land proactively managed for nature
conservation
• produce a parks and open spaces strategy
• develop libraries/ parks partnerships working on events in open
spaces
• continue arts service partnership on events in open spaces
• maintenance of the city’s parks and open spaces through the grounds
maintenance and arboricultural contracts
• implement the five year sustainable planting strategy [The Green
Planting Policy]
• maintain a programme of parks and open space improvements
through use of section 106 funds
• develop voluntary participation in the management of parks and open
spaces by continuing to support and encourage conservation
volunteers and existing ‘friends’ groups and by establishing three
additional parks friends groups
• protect and enhance biodiversity in Portsmouth by sustaining and
where possible increasing the area of land actively managed for
wildlife
• continue to take an active role in the Hampshire Biodiversity
Partnership
How this contributes
• enables the continued development of the city whilst ensuring
protection of the green infrastructure
• approximately £1m is used to enhance existing open spaces so they
can take more intensive use
• ensures the appropriate management of the green environment in a
way that reflects the aspirations of Portsmouth’s residents
• well-maintained recreational spaces create a cleaner, greener and
attractive city
• greener and more sustainable management of parks and open
spaces using less natural resources and chemicals and being more
wildlife friendly
• more attractive green spaces with better infrastructure to reflect the
needs of Portsmouth’s residents and visitors
• ensures a sense of community ownership and responsibility for the
city’s green spaces
• sustains a green and wildlife friendly city
• ensures the protection and enhancement of the city’s biodiversity

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Cultural Strategy – From the Hill to the Sea
This strategy6 sets out a number of key objectives for ‘invigorating and
enhancing the cultural health and diversity’ of Portsmouth.
Objectives 2 and 3 refer to Portsmouth’s open spaces and natural
environment.

Objective 2: to make Portsmouth’s urban environment a beautiful, vibrant

place based on the principles of sustainability, accessibility and
inclusiveness:
• by increasing the quantity of high quality shared space in both public
and private domains throughout the city
• by increasing the use of inside and outside space for free public
performance, events, exhibitions and festivals across the city

Objective 3: to safeguard, extend, enhance and encourage the sustainable

use of Portsmouth’s natural environment:
• by raising awareness of the meaning and value of the natural
environment
• by encouraging appreciation, enjoyment, care and responsible use of
Portsmouth’s natural environment
• by protecting sites of scientific and natural interest

Sustainability Strategy
Portsmouth City Council’s Sustainability Strategy7 outlines a vision ‘where
individuals, communities and organisations recognise the impact their
activities have on the world we live in both now and for future generations and
make choices that respect economic, social, and environmental limits’.

Objective 1: Promote sustainable use of energy and water and increased

use of renewable energy sources.

Objective 4: Reduce use of material resources and increase reuse and

recycling of waste materials.
Progress: parks and gardens continuing to recycle organic waste.

Objective 5: Ensure that the city’s built environment is developed and

managed sustainably, through sustainable use of land and sustainable
design and construction practices.
Progress: 100% of developments on brownfield sites

Objective 6: Protect and enhance Portsmouth’s natural environment

including safeguarding local biodiversity and improving air and water quality.
Progress: Sites designated for biodiversity have continued to be maintained
Biodiversity walks and talks have been given and promoted through the
PCC website. School visits have also been carried out.
10,000 volunteer hours on two sites, Portsdown and Hilsea.

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Green Planting Policy
Portsmouth’s Green Planting Policy8 puts forward a more sustainable
approach to the management of the ‘soft landscaping’ in the city’s parks and
open spaces. See the section on sustainability for more information on this
policy.

Parks Pledges
Portsmouth City Council’s parks department have made a series of pledges9
that explain what people can expect when they visit a park.
A clean park
• litter bins to be emptied before they are full up
• regular litter picking
• dog bylaws enforced
A safe park
• play area checked by 10am every day and any glass and litter removed
• technical inspections of play equipment every week
• regular community warden patrols and liaison with the police when
appropriate
• a warden service to respond to your concerns
An interesting park
• a variety of entertainment throughout the summer
• something to do for all the family
• a balance of passive and active entertainment
A pleasant place to visit
• for all the community
• a good standard of park maintenance
• a place to walk, to play, to meet friends, to sit and relax, to exercise the
dog, to appreciate trees, shrubs, flowers, nature, open space and fresh
air

Additional local policy links

• Seafront Strategy
• Playing Fields Strategy
• Portsmouth Play Strategy
• Sport and Physical Activity Strategy
• Children and Young People Plan
• Rights of Way Improvement Plan 2007-2017
• Tree Charter
• Guidance on Open Space Contributions
• Portsmouth Children and Young People Plan
• Safer Portsmouth Partnership
• Climate Change Strategy
• Healthy Weight Strategy

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Regional policy
PUSH Green Infrastructure Strategy
This strategy10 sets out a strategic framework to improve the green
infrastructure offer in South Hampshire and address Solent wide issues
relating to access to green space and the preservation of internationally
designated nature conservation sites. The strategy contained a number of
projects in Portsmouth:
• the proposed country park at Horsea Island (U10)
• improvements to Southsea seafront (project C10)
• pocket parks for Portsmouth (U11)
• creating and enhancing links around Portsdown Hill (F3)
• foot/cycle network for Portsmouth to key GI assets (U9)

An implementation plan for the strategy is currently being put together by

PUSH in collaboration with all the local authorities in South Hampshire. This
will set out more detail about those projects which were in the strategy which
are considered to be strategic in scale and address issues wider than the
local level. The two projects in Portsmouth which will be included in the
implementation plan are the Horsea Island Country Park and Southsea
seafront.

This strategy has been designed to help implement the 17 objectives of the
PUSH strategy and the local level initiatives in the PUSH Green Infrastructure
Strategy relevant to Portsmouth. Overall, this strategy helps to implement
objectives 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 16 and 17 at a local scale. The pocket
parks for Portsmouth project is being implemented through requiring larger
developments to provide on-site open space (see section 23 on planning
issues). Sections 9 and 19 on accessibility standards and green corridors
give more details on improvements to accessibility and improvements to links
along the coast and to parks and open spaces.

Solent Waders and Brent Goose Strategy

The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust undertook a study of Brent
Goose populations and habitats in the Solent area between 2006 and 2009,
and have outlined a series of issues concerning the birds, particularly in
relation to the planning system11. The resulting document is titled the Solent
Waders and Brent Goose Strategy.
The strategy group recommended that the strategy is treated as a ‘material
consideration’ when considering planning proposals. The strategy aims to
protect grazing habitats to ensure the long term survival of the Brent Goose
by:
• encouraging planning authorities to consult with the Solent Waders and
Brent Goose Strategy Steering Group with regard to development
which may affect Brent Goose grazing sites
• designating major and high importance sites as Sites of Importance for
Nature Conservation (SINC) (now known as local sites) or Local Nature
Reserves (LNR)

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 • requiring mitigation measures to be put in place if developments do
impact Brent Goose sites
• integrating the needs of Brent Geese with those of people in sites with
multiple uses

Biodiversity Action Plan for Hampshire

Arising from the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) and in response to a
growing concern for biodiversity in the UK the Biodiversity Action Plan for
Hampshire12 aims to ensure that national targets are translated into effective
action at the local level.
Portsmouth City Council is signed up to the Biodiversity Action Plan for
Hampshire, which identifies species and habitats that require special attention
across the county. The council actively contributes to this BAP by protecting
and enhancing areas where these habitats and species occur within the city,
wherever possible.
A Biodiversity Action plan for Portsmouth is in the process of being prepared
by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust.

National policy
The Urban Task Force
In 1998, the new government commissioned the Urban Task Force, chaired
by Lord Rogers, to examine the causes of urban decline, and to recommend
actions to bring people back into cities. Their report – Towards an Urban
Renaissance13 – was published in 1999.
The Urban Task Force argued that there is a shared sense of ‘dissatisfaction
and pessimism about the state of our towns and cities’, and ‘a widely held
view that our towns and cities are run-down and unkempt’. The report
recommended better-design-led urban regeneration, targeted use of brown
field sites for new development, and greater involvement of local people in
decision-making. The Urban Task Force recommended that local authorities
should be assigned a strategic responsibility for the whole of the urban
environment.

The Urban White Paper

In 2001 the government set out its proposals for this ‘urban renaissance’ in
the ‘Urban White Paper’ - Our Towns and Cities: the Future - delivering an
urban renaissance14. This proposed a change in the way towns and cities are
planned and managed based on the principles of sustainable development. It
also emphasised engaging local people in a partnership and consulting widely
before drawing up strategies to guide development.
The Urban White Paper recognised that access to safe, clean, well
maintained parks and open spaces is important for promoting wellbeing and
healthier living. People should have access to quality green spaces close to
where they live and work.
The paper proposed developing the Green Flag Awards scheme to recognise
excellence and define quality service standards. It also proposed revising

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Planning Policy guidance 17 (PPG17 - see later) to give local authorities a
clearer framework to assess need for open spaces, and to protect valued
green spaces.

The Urban Green Spaces Taskforce

Following the publication of the Urban White Paper, the government set up
the Urban Green Spaces Taskforce in 2001 to take forward its proposals. The
taskforce published its final report the following year – Green Spaces, Better
Places15. The report contains 52 recommendations to improve provision,
design, management and maintenance of urban parks and green spaces.
Green spaces, Better Places makes the case that the provision of quality
parks and green spaces should be made a priority by government and local
authorities, and should be at the heart of regeneration programmes. Open
spaces and recreation should have greater prominence in wider strategies for
addressing health, community safety and care of children, the elderly and
disadvantaged groups. It recommends that partnership work and involvement
of voluntary and community organizations should be promoted in this area to
ensure high quality design and maintenance of open spaces.
The report also recommended the establishment of a new national agency to
champion the case for urban green spaces. Local authorities should produce
green space strategies and park management plans in consultation with the
public.

Cleaner, Safer, Greener

In 2002, partly in response to the Urban Green Spaces Taskforce final report,
the government published Living Places: Cleaner, Safer, Greener16 in which it
committed itself to making public spaces cleaner, safer, greener places that
enhance the quality of life in our neighbourhoods, towns and cities. It
acknowledges the complex overlapping responsibilities for public open space
and identifies key components for success – committed leadership, strong
partnerships, active community involvement, desire for quality, and better
communication of ideas.
A number of initiatives emerged from this document. CABE (the Commission
for Architecture and the Built Environment) set up a specialist unit (CABE
Space) for providing guidance for best practice in the management of urban
green spaces, including implementing green space strategies. The
government pledged to work with strategic partners (including the Urban
Parks Forum (now GreenSpace), and the Green Flag Award scheme) for the
development of quality standards, best practice, and partnership working to
improve the quality of urban green spaces.

The Sustainable Communities Plan

In 2003 the government launched its sustainable communities plan –
Sustainable Communities: building for the future17. The plan sets out a long-
term programme of action for delivering sustainable communities in both
urban and rural areas. It aims to tackle housing supply issues in the south
east, and to ensure the provision of a safe and healthy local environment with
well-designed public and green space. A number of documents targeted at

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England’s regions were published at the same time, including Sustainable
Communities in the South East: building for the future.
The sustainable communities agenda placed Local Strategic Partnerships at
the heart of the strategic approach to planning, with two of the aims being
protecting green belt land and revitalising deprived neighbourhoods. The
document places emphasis on quality management of green spaces: ‘every
authority should have green spaces that achieve the Green Flag standard for
care of parks’, and restated government’s support of CABE Space and its
agenda of championing urban green space: ‘We will promote … networks of
green spaces within towns and cities. 'Green wedges' and 'green corridors'
will be given further protection through the planning system.’

Living Places
In 2004, following on from the Cleaner, Safer, Greener agenda and the
Sustainable Communities Plan, the government published Living Places:
caring for quality18. This document presents evidence and recommendations
for more innovative approaches for management of public spaces and, using
case studies, provides a framework for moving towards more integrated public
space management.
Also part of the Cleaner, Safer, Greener policy, the government published a
series of guides as part of Communities and Local Government’s ‘How to’
scheme. The document How to Create Quality Parks & Open Spaces was
published in 2005 and updated in 2007.
Among the recommended actions in this document are steps to develop a
shared vision, and a strategy for fulfilling it by: consulting the community;
working with partners; providing evidence for resource management; using
the Green Flag Award scheme as an indicator of success; and finally striving
to create spaces that are high quality and fit for purpose.

World Class Places

In 2009, the government published World Class Places: the government's
strategy for improving quality of place19, a joint publication between
Communities and Local Government and the Department for Culture, Media
and Sport. This emphasises the importance of ample high quality green space
and green infrastructure to providing ‘quality of place’. Its objectives include
putting the public and community at the centre of ‘place-shaping’, and revising
planning guidance to reflect the vital and multifunctional role of the green
infrastructure.

Planning policy
The government’s national policies are laid out in a series of planning policy
statements (PPS) and planning policy guidance notes (PPG). Under the
provisions of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, PPG’s are
gradually being replaced by PPS’s.
• PPS1: Delivering Sustainable Development20 sets out the
government’s key principles for sustainable development and includes
guidance to improve the natural environment in urban areas, and
provide good quality open space.

Page 19
 • PPS3: Housing21 states that housing developments should provide, or
enable good access to, community and green and open amenity and
recreational space (including play space).
• PPS9: Biodiversity and Geological Conservation22 requires planning
policies to aim to maintain and enhance biodiversity. It encourages the
promotion of opportunities to incorporate beneficial biodiversity
features within developments, and states that where the potential for
harm to biodiversity exists this should be mitigated against or
compensated for.
• PPG17: Planning for Open Space, Sport and Recreation23 puts forward
the government’s planning objectives for open spaces, sports and
recreation in line with the broader objectives of supporting urban
renaissance, promotion of social inclusion and community cohesion,
health and wellbeing and promoting more sustainable development.
PPG17 recognises that open spaces for sports and recreation underpin
people’s quality of life. Local authorities are required to undertake a
robust assessment of existing and future needs of their communities
and to audit their current provision. They should set local standards
based on their assessments in terms of quantity, quality and
accessibility of open spaces and sports and recreation facilities. This
assessment can form the basis of a local strategy for open space.

Page 20
 Urban Task Force PPS12: Local
“Towards an Urban Office of the Deputy Prime PPS1: Delivering Spatial Planning
Renaissance” Minister Sustainable PPS3: Housing
Office of the Deputy National Regional
1999 Sustainable Development
Prime Minister Policy Policy
Communities – Building
“Sustainable
for the Future
2003 Communities in the
South East”
Department of the Environment, 2003 Local Specialist
Transport and the Regions Policy Guidance
“Our Towns and Cities: The
Future - Delivering an Urban HM Government
Renaissance”
Portsmouth City Council
Localism Act
(The Urban White Paper) 2011 “The Portsmouth Plan”
2000 Portsmouth Local Strategic
Partnership
(Core Strategy)
PPS9: Biodiversity
“Vision for Portsmouth 2008-2018” and Geological
(Sustainable Community Strategy) Conservation
Office of the Deputy
Prime Minister Urban Green
“Living Places: Spaces Taskforce
“Green Spaces, PPG17: Planning for
Cleaner, Safer, Open space, Sport
Greener” Better Places” Portsmouth Local
2002 and Recreation
2002 Strategic Partnership
“Vision into Reality”
(Local Area Agreement
Partnership for
2008-2011) Urban South
Office of the Deputy Hampshire
Prime Minister Green Partnership for
Communities and Local “Living Places:
Caring for Quality” Infrastructure Urban South
Government Hampshire
2004 Strategy
“How to create quality (PUSH)
parks & open spaces”
2007
Parks and Portsmouth City

Open Spaces
Council
Communities and Local Biodiversity Action
Government Plan for Portsmouth
“World class places: The
Government's strategy for
improving quality of place”
2009
Strategy Portsmouth City
Council
Corporate Plan

Play England Natural England GreenSpace CABE Space

Tools for The Park Life
Portsmouth City Portsmouth City Portsmouth City
evaluating local Nature Nearby: Report Open Space
2007 Council Council Council
play provision Accessible Natural Strategies
2009 2009 Sport and Physical
Greenspace Portsmouth City Council
Guidance Activity Strategy Seafront Strategy Play Strategy
Keep Britain Tidy Hampshire Biodiversity Rights of Way
Design for Play 2010 The Value of Public Improvement Plan
Partnership
2008 Space 2007-2017 Portsmouth City Portsmouth City Portsmouth City
The Sensory Trust Raising the Biodiversity Action Plan
2004 Council Council Council
Standard for Hampshire
Managing Risk in Green Planting Children & Young Climate Change
By All Reasonable 2004 1998
Play Provision Community Green Policy People Plan Strategy
2008 Means 2010
2005 National Association
Fields in Trust for Allotments and Hampshire and Isle of Portsmouth City Portsmouth City Portsmouth City
Sport England Urban Green
Leisure Gardeners Wight Wildlife Trust Council Council Council
Nation
Planning and Solent Waders and Countryside and Open Space Healthy Weight Sustainability
Accessible Sports 2010 HM Government
Design for Outdoor Allotments and the Brent Goose Rights of Way Act Contributions Strategy Strategy
Facilities Biodiversity: The
Sport and Play Law Strategy 2000
2010 UK Action Plan
2010 2009 2010
1994

Page 21
3. Scope of the strategy

View from Portsdown Hill

Page 22
This strategy is concerned primarily with green spaces within the city of
Portsmouth to which there is legitimate public access, and which serve a
recreational purpose. Portsmouth City Council owns almost all of these
spaces, but there are a small number of sites in other hands such as the
University of Portsmouth and the Ministry of Defence. Where these have
public access they are included.
In order to exclude the great majority of inconsequential green spaces with
little or no recreational value, spaces included are larger than a threshold of
1000 square metres. In some areas of the city, smaller sites are included
where they are of significant value to the local community. The majority of
these are equipped play areas in and around housing developments, but 11
other open spaces smaller than 1000 square metres are included.
Green spaces without public access are also acknowledged as they can
provide a valuable visual amenity.

What this includes:

• Formal parks and gardens – spaces designed and laid out for aesthetic
enjoyment. This includes large formal parks (such as Victoria Park and
Milton Park), which are visited by people from across the city all the
way down to small ‘pocket parks’, which serve a local street or
neighbourhood.
• Informal green spaces – also known as amenity green spaces, these
are not formally laid out and generally have few facilities, but serve a
valuable purpose for informal recreation and dog walking.
• Natural green space – sites which allow enjoyment and experience of
nature, including woodland, grassland, scrub, and wetlands. Examples
are Portsdown Hill, Hilsea Lines, and Milton Common.
• Outdoor sports spaces – areas used mainly (but not exclusively) for
organised sports, such as King George V Playing Fields and Bransbury
Park.
• Young people’s spaces – equipped play areas, ball courts, BMX tracks,
skate parks and informal play areas. These provide opportunities for
children and young people to play and meet safely in dedicated areas.
• Allotments – sites given over to small plots leased to tenants. While
public access is restricted, allotments are available to all, and serve an
important recreational purpose.
• Cemeteries and churchyards – these sites are not intended for
recreation, but are enjoyed by many as places to spend time outdoors
and to enjoy nature.
• Highways landscapes – including verges, traffic islands, central
reservations. These either have no legitimate recreational use, or are
of a narrow linear shape which affords little opportunity for recreational
use. They are however important for their visual amenity and are
covered briefly in this strategy.
• School grounds – while some schools make their sports facilities
available to outside bookings, the grounds are for the most part not
publically accessible for recreational use. Their involvement in this
strategy is limited.

Page 23
What is not included
• council owned land used as paddocks – these open spaces have value
as amenity green space in that they generally provide visual interest
and a sense of open space but they are not accessible by the public
• space left over after planning (SLOAP) – small areas of land with
minimal recreational opportunities
• private land

While these areas are not included when applying standards for quantity,
quality and accessibility, they do provide an important contribution to the
visual amenity of the city. As PPG17 states even without public access,
people enjoy having open space near to them to provide an outlook, variety in
the urban scene, or as a positive element in the landscape.

In practice it can be difficult to decide whether some spaces should be

included or not. In particular, some green spaces are accessible only some of
the time (e.g. private or MOD owned spaces which are open occasionally to
the public), or only to some people and not others (e.g. spaces within housing
areas). These spaces are still valuable, and contribute to Portsmouth’s green
infrastructure.

Page 24
4. Value of parks

The Bandstand, Southsea

Page 25
The British Household Panel survey asked respondents the reasons why their
area is a good or bad place to live. 44 per cent of the reasons given related to
quality of public space2.
The Survey of English Housing asked respondents to list the three main
things that would improve their local area. Issues relating to aspects of public
space are cited as many times as factors relating to employment, health and
housing2.
CABE Space (the government’s former advisor on public open space)
identified a range of benefits of parks and open spaces under the following
headings24.

Economic value
Good quality parks and open spaces contribute a clear economic benefit to
Portsmouth. As cities compete to attract investment, public open spaces play
an important role in marketing Portsmouth as a place to invest. Companies
are drawn to places with good quality open spaces as they in turn attract
customers, employees, and services.
Well-managed, high quality open spaces have a significant positive impact on
commercial property prices and domestic house prices. People are willing to
pay to live near desirable green space. This positive impact on property prices
benefits the local economy of Portsmouth.
The seafront is an important tourist attraction that brings visitors and their
money into the city. The seafront is a special case and has its own strategy.
The results from the Solent Disturbance and Mitigation Project household
survey25 identify Portsmouth seafront (from South Parade Pier to Fort
Cumberland) as the most heavily visited section of the Solent Coast, receiving
some 3.2 million annual visits.

Impact on physical and mental

health
13 percent of children aged five-six and 22 percent of children aged 10-11 in
Portsmouth are obese26. Both these figures are worse than the national
average. The increase in levels of obesity is linked to more sedentary
lifestyles and reduced outdoor activity. Patterns of exercise in adults are set
early in life, so obesity and inactivity in childhood can lead to poor health later
in life.
Access to good quality public open space can lead to healthier lifestyles by
encouraging walking and cycling as alternatives to cars and public transport.
Provision of recreation opportunities encourages more active lifestyles.
Portsmouth is one of nine ‘Healthy Towns’ which were the target of
government funding as part of its Change4Life programme. This aims to
provide opportunities for people to be more physically active. Parks and open
spaces are integral to giving people access to opportunities to walk more and
partake in sport and other recreational activities.
The benefits of open spaces to mental health and wellbeing are also
important. The presence of green spaces in providing natural views and
places to get away from stresses of urban living can be an important factor in

Page 26
reducing stress related illnesses and the consequent social and economic
impact of mental ill health.

Benefits for children and young

people
Children have the right to play, recreation and culture under the UN
Convention on the Rights of the Child. Play is vital for children’s physical,
emotional and social development. As a densely populated city, Portsmouth
has a relative paucity of open spaces; yet open spaces are crucial in providing
opportunities for fun, exercise and learning, as well as encouraging children to
understand how to manage risk and challenges.
Portsmouth’s Play Strategy recognises that equipped play areas need to be
complemented by a range of attractive parks and open spaces that are
welcoming and accessible.
Play helps deliver the outcomes of the Portsmouth Children and Young
People Plan – the ‘Portsmouth 8’, and the five outcomes from the
government’s publication Every Child Matters.

Reducing crime and fear of crime

Fear of crime (to a greater extent than actual crime itself) can deter people
from using parks and open spaces. Physical changes where necessary, and
better design and management of public spaces can allay these fears and
encourage people to use open spaces.
Places that are well used throughout the day (from dog walkers in the morning
and evening, to people enjoying lunchtime outdoors) make people feel safer,
and encourage others to use the space.

Social dimension of public space

Parks and open spaces bring people together, and encourage groups of
society (whether along ethnic, age or gender lines) to interact when they may
otherwise not meet. This can foster social ties that help define
neighbourhoods and make them better places to live. Spaces are used more
when they are green and natural rather than man made24.
High quality public spaces have the potential to be venues for social events
that re-enforce Portsmouth’s civic society and give a sense of identity to the
city, for example the Great South Run.

Movement in and between spaces

A well maintained network of green spaces encourages walking and cycling;
provides green buffers between buildings; improves access to areas of the
city and improves biodiversity. Portsmouth’s Rights of Way Improvement Plan
recognises that open spaces need management to ensure that a balance is
maintained between access, safety, security and the environment.
The Partnership for Urban South Hampshire (PUSH) Green Infrastructure
Strategy10 identifies the need for a foot/cycle network for Portsmouth.

Page 27
Value from biodiversity and nature
Increases in the area of hard surfaces in cities lead to higher temperatures
compared with the surrounding countryside. This effect is reduced by green
spaces (and trees in particular), which reduce air temperature (and possibly
improve air quality) and make cities more comfortable places to live.
Urban open spaces (especially when left as natural or wild green spaces)
encourage biodiversity and provide wildlife habitats. The presence of these
areas in cities provides the opportunity for people to be close to nature, which
in turn brings pleasure and benefits to human physical and mental health.

Page 28
5. Vision and aims of
the strategy

Swans and cygnets on Baffins Pond

Page 29
Vision
Taking into account all the associated local, regional and national policy
outlined above, in particular the requirements of PPG17, and acknowledging
the benefits of parks and open spaces, the vision of the Parks and Open
Spaces Strategy is:

To provide, protect enhance and maintain good quality open spaces in

Portsmouth that:
• provide a diverse range of open spaces and recreational opportunities
• reflect the needs of Portsmouth’s residents and visitors
• ensure the safety of those who visit the open spaces
• encourage a healthy lifestyle, and enhance quality of life
• maximise access to all groups of society
• protect nature conservation areas and biodiversity
• link, wherever possible, the city’s nature conservation and biodiversity
areas
• represent good value for money
• encourage communities to value and care for Portsmouth’s parks and
open spaces
• encourage community involvement in the management of the open
spaces

Aims of the strategy

In order to achieve the vision as set out above, the aims of the strategy are:
1. To set standards for provision of the quantity and type of green space,
and to ensure these match the needs of Portsmouth’s residents and
visitors.
2. To set and achieve high standards of quality of green space.
3. To identify and act on measures to ensure that Portsmouth’s residents
and visitors have easy access to parks and open spaces.
4. To ensure that green spaces are safe places to visit.
5. To take measures to ensure sustainability of green spaces, and to
identify areas of natural open space and biodiversity, and ensure their
protection.
6. To promote green spaces as a resource for exercise and healthy
living.
7. To encourage and promote community involvement in the care of
parks and open spaces.
8. To provide a basis for investment in open spaces; to ensure money is
spent on the right things in the right places, maximising service user
satisfaction (value for money).

Page 30
Objectives of the strategy
The objectives of the strategy are set out in detail in the following pages, and
are reflected in the action plan towards the end of the document.

To provide a single reference point for the strategy’s objectives, they are listed
here.

Objective 1 – Portsmouth’s accessible green space quantity standard.

To provide and protect 3.64 ha per 1000 population of non-specialised
accessible open space, and to maintain the balance between formal, informal
and natural green space.

Objective 2 – Quality design

To ensure that the principles of design as set out in PPS1, CABE Space
publications and Green Flag Award criteria are applied to Portsmouth’s open
spaces.

Objective 3 – Grounds maintenance and horticultural quality

To ensure that grounds maintenance is performed to high levels of quality.

Objective 4 – Cleanliness
To ensure that open spaces have effective measures in place to combat dog
fouling, graffiti and littering.

Objective 5 – Distance standards

Distance standard Distance Estimated walking

(as the crow flies) (m) time (minutes)
Pocket park 300 5
Local park 600 10
Principal park 900 15
Equipped play area 900 15
Allotments 1200 20

Objective 6 – Accessibility standards.

To apply the standards of the Sensory Trust guidelines on inclusive access to
Portsmouth’s parks and open spaces.

Objective 7 – Equality of access standards

Parks and open spaces in Portsmouth should be accessible to all regardless
of age, gender, sexuality, disability, religion or ethnic origin.

Objective 8 – The green grid

To protect and enhance the green grid

Page 31
Objective 9 – Green Flag Awards
It is intended that Green Flag Awards will be won by the following sites by
2018:
• Hilsea Lines
• Baffins Pond
• Milton Park
• Canoe Lake
• Victoria Park
• Southsea Rock Gardens
• Southsea Rose Gardens
• Bransbury Park

Objective 10 – Portsmouth’s playing pitch provision

To ensure that playing pitch provision is sufficient and suitable to meet local
needs.

Objective 11 – Outdoor sports facilities

To maintain and protect 0.47 ha per 1000 population of open space for
outdoor sport (excluding golf courses).

Green space type Standard (hectares per 1000 population)

Outdoor sports facilities 0.47

Objective 12 – Quality of playing fields

To ensure that sports pitches are fit for play through as much of the season
as possible, and that standards do not fall year on year due to overuse.

Objective 13 – Sports pavilions and changing rooms

To ensure that changing facilities are fit for purpose, safe and accessible.
When designing new changing facilities, these will be in accordance with
Sport England’s design guidance.

Objective 14 – Portsmouth’s play space quantity standard

Standard (hectares per 1000

Green space type
population)
Combined equipped and informal
0.88
play space

Objective 15 – Play quality

To maintain the city’s play areas to high standards of quality, safety and
accessibility
To develop play areas with the acknowledgement of risk benefit through the
provision of informal or natural play.
To make adjustments as necessary to comply with the Equality Act.

Page 32
Objective 16 – Portsmouth’s allotment quantity standard
To provide 20 allotment plots per 1000 households in Portsmouth.

Green space type Standard (hectares per 1000 population)

Allotments 0.14

Objective 17 - Trees
To maintain a healthy, balanced, mixed-age tree stock throughout the city.
To increase the quantity of trees in the city and increase woodland cover
where possible

Objective 18 – Safety in parks and open spaces.

To work with partners towards reducing antisocial behaviour and crime in
green spaces.

Objective 19 – Sustainability.
To apply the principles of sustainability within the parks and open spaces in
Portsmouth, and meet the objectives of the emerging Biodiversity Action Plan
for Portsmouth.

Objective 20 – Climate change.

Take measures to adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change.

Objective 21 – Existing natural green space

To promote, develop and protect existing natural green space by the following
measures:
• continuing to manage existing natural green spaces in accordance with
adopted site specific management plans to develop and protect their
wildlife value
• ensuring that sites without management plans have plans developed
and implemented to develop and protect their wildlife value
• working in partnership with volunteer groups to develop a skilled
workforce to help manage the city’s natural green spaces
• working to ensure natural green spaces are promoted as foci for
community involvement in green space management – friends groups
and volunteer groups
• using native species when creating new natural planting areas within
existing sites
• promoting links between existing natural green spaces

Page 33
Objective 22 –New natural wildlife habitats
To create new areas of natural wildlife habitats within existing green spaces
by:
• recognising, assessing and designating as local wildlife sites those
areas which meet Portsmouth’s criteria for selection
• creating new areas of natural planting within parks and gardens
• planting more native trees in Portsmouth’s open spaces
• selecting species that are beneficial to wildlife when planning new
areas
• converting suitable areas of mown grass to environmental meadow
areas where this does not impact on the balance of shorter grass for
amenity use
• using new natural habitats to link existing natural green spaces

Objective 23 – Threatened species and habitats

To protect, and enhance where possible, the habitats of threatened species.

Objective 24– Health and Wellbeing

To work with partners to promote new and existing ways in which
Portsmouth’s green spaces can be used as a resource for improving health
and well being.

Objective 25 – Community involvement

To support greater community involvement in the design and management of
green spaces. To encourage and support friends groups of important green
spaces.

Objective 26 – Value for money

To achieve high standards of value for money in the provision of parks and
open spaces.

Objective 27 – Fees and charges

To ensure charges for using our facilities are fair and affordable, while
maximising income.

Page 34
6. Setting local
standards

Page 35
Planning Policy Guidance 17 (PPG17)23 has the following to say about local
standards:

‘The Government believes that open space standards are best set
locally. National standards cannot cater for local circumstances, such
as differing demographic profiles and the extent of existing built
development in an area.
‘Local authorities should use the information gained from their
assessments of needs and opportunities to set locally derived
standards for the provision of open space, sports and recreational
facilities in their areas. Local standards should include quantitative
elements, a qualitative component, and accessibility.’

Consequently, standards are set, where appropriate, for quantity, quality and
accessibility in the sections which follow. Standards that apply to all (or most)
of the green spaces regardless of type are set out first, then standards are set
in later sections for the main specialist types of green space.

Aim 1: To set standards for provision of the quantity and type of green space,
and to ensure these match the needs of Portsmouth’s residents and visitors.

Aim 2: To set and achieve high standards of quality of green space.

Aim 3: To identify and act on measures to ensure that Portsmouth’s residents

and visitors have easy access to parks and open spaces.

Page 36
7. City wide quantity
standards

Victoria Park

Page 37
The table below gives totals for distinct open spaces in the various categories
defined in the PPG17 typology. With the exception of a small number of sites
identified in the scope of this strategy, these are above a threshold of 0.1 ha
(1000 square metres). Numbers are for open spaces that are publically
accessible. Details of the quantity of open space not accessible to the public
are outlined later on.

Table 1
PPG17 type Number of distinct spaces
Principal parks 14
i. Parks and gardens Local parks 41
Pocket parks 30
ii. Natural and semi-natural urban greenspaces 9
iii. Green corridors spaces not distinct
iv. Outdoor sports facilities 15
v. Amenity greenspace 49
vi. Provision for children and teenagers 104
vii. Allotments and community gardens 10
viii. Cemeteries and churchyards 8
ix. Accessible countryside in urban fringe areas 4
x. Civic spaces 5

Quantity audit of open spaces

Portsmouth’s green spaces can be broken down into types of green space
according to the typology set out in PPG17:

i. Parks and gardens - including urban parks, country parks and

formal gardens;
ii. Natural and semi-natural urban greenspaces - including
woodlands, urban forestry, scrub, grasslands (e.g. downlands,
commons and meadows) wetlands, open and running water,
wastelands and derelict open land and rock areas (e.g. cliffs,
quarries and pits);
iii. Green corridors - including river and canal banks, cycleways,
and rights of way;
iv. Outdoor sports facilities (with natural or artificial surfaces and
either publicly or privately owned) - including tennis courts,
bowling greens, sports pitches, golf courses, athletics tracks,
school and other institutional playing fields, and other outdoor
sports areas;
v. Amenity greenspace (most commonly, but not exclusively in
housing areas) – including informal recreation spaces,
greenspaces in and around housing, domestic gardens and
village greens;
vi. Provision for children and teenagers - including play areas,
skateboard parks, outdoor basketball hoops, and other more
informal areas (e.g. 'hanging out' areas, teenage shelters);

Page 38
 vii. Allotments, community gardens, and city (urban) farms;
viii. Cemeteries and churchyards;
ix. Accessible countryside in urban fringe areas; and
x. Civic spaces, including civic and market squares, and other
hard surfaced areas designed for pedestrians

The figures for open space quantities below are derived from a detailed
mapping exercise using a geographical information system (GIS).
Overall there are 760 hectares of publically accessible green space in
Portsmouth. In addition there are 289 hectares of green space which are not
publically accessible. This non-accessible space is comprised of schools
grounds, MOD land, private sports clubs, Portsmouth Water land, horse
paddocks, the land around the IBM / Lakeside site at Northarbour, the
Paulsgrove landfill site (which will be reclaimed as Horsea Island Country
Park) and pocket parks in housing developments.
None of these totals include private gardens.
Using the 2009 estimate for Portsmouth’s population of 197,00027 this
amounts to 3.86 hectares of publically accessible open space per 1000
people.
This compares unfavourably with neighbouring towns and cities and with
comparable cities elsewhere (e.g. Southampton has 4.71 ha/100028; Plymouth
has 5.09 ha/100029). It is not surprising that Portsmouth, which has the
highest population density of any local authority in the UK outside London30,
has a shortfall in terms of green space.
The situation in Portsmouth is such that the distribution of open spaces is very
uneven. While it is true that the amount of open space city wide is low, there
are large areas of the city where open space provision is considerably lower
still – e.g. Buckland, Fratton, North End, Somerstown and central Southsea.

Page 39
 The areas of open space in Portsmouth according to the PPG17 typology are
summarised in the table below. There is some overlap, as many sites are
multifunctional. The total area is the true total not simply a sum of each of the
PPG17 types.

Table 2
PUBLICALLY NOT PUBLICALLY TOTAL
ACCESSIBLE ACCESSIBLE
Green PPG17 Area Hectares Area Hectares Area Hectares
space type type (Hectares) per 1000 (Hectares) per 1000 (Hectares) per 1000
population population population
Parks and
i 115 0.58 6 0.03 121 0.61
gardens
Natural and
semi-natural
ii 128 0.65 96 0.49 224 1.14
urban
greenspaces
Outdoor
sports iv 147 0.74 107 0.54 254 1.29
facilities
Amenity
v 81 0.41 80 0.41 161 0.82
greenspace
Provision for
children and vi 15 0.08 0 0 15 0.08
teenagers
Allotments vii 28 0.14 0 0 28 0.14
Cemeteries
and viii 41 0.21 <1 <0.01 41 0.21
churchyards
Accessible
countryside
ix 217 1.10 0 0 217 1.10
in urban
fringe areas
Civic
x 5 0.02 0 0 5 0.02
Spaces
TOTAL 760 3.86 289 1.47 1050 5.33

Category iii of the PPG17 typology covers green corridors. Green corridors
provide valuable visual amenity but are not used for a specific function. The
figures for green corridors are provided below, but are not included in the
totals above.

Table 3
PUBLICALLY NOT PUBLICALLY TOTAL
ACCESSIBLE ACCESSIBLE
Green PPG17 Area Hectares Area Hectares Area Hectares
space type type (Hectares) per 1000 (Hectares) per 1000 (Hectares) per 1000
population population population
Green
iii 54 0.27 30 0.15 84 0.42
Corridors

Page 40
The conversion of the former landfill site at Paulsgrove is expected to be
complete in 2014, and this will provide 52 ha of new publically accessible
open space of PPG17 type II (natural and semi-natural urban green space) –
Horsea Island Country Park. This area is not included in the totals in the table
above.

National quantity standards

Fields in Trust
While PPG17 recommends that local authorities should set locally derived
standards, national standards continue to be applied in some instances –
almost invariably the ‘six-acre standard’. A comparison of Portsmouth’s open
spaces with this standard is included below.

Fields in Trust (formerly the National Playing Fields Association, NPFA)

published their guidance on provision of active recreation space over 50 years
ago – The Six-acre Standard (now called Planning and Design for Outdoor
Sport and Play31) –which recommends that local authorities should provide
2.4 ha (6 acres) of open space per 1000 population.
Roughly speaking this should comprise 1.6 ha of outdoor sports and 0.8 ha
for children's play (of which 0.25 ha should be equipped play areas).
This standard refers only to open space used for active recreational purposes.

In arriving at totals for Portsmouth, PPG17 category iv corresponds to outdoor

sports provision but does not include golf courses as these are not included in
the Fields in Trust definition. The total for outdoor sport includes two spaces
that are not publically accessible on a day to day basis, but can be booked by
local sports clubs and schools to play matches – Governor’s Green and
Eastney Playing Fields.
Category vi corresponds to publically accessible outdoor equipped play
space.
Assessing the extent of casual or informal play space is less clear cut, as
many types of open space can legitimately be used by children for play. By
adopting a wide definition of informal play space as at least a grassed area
where children can kick a ball around or run and play freely, the figure for this
category is 0.80 ha/1000 population and includes parts of parks and gardens
and all amenity green space. Were the city’s wildlife sites to be added to this
definition, the figure for informal play space would be 2.55 ha/1000
population.

Table 4
Six-acre standard Standard Portsmouth’s total
type (ha/1000) (ha/1000)
Outdoor sport 1.6 0.52
Informal play space 0.55 0.80
Equipped play space 0.25 0.08
Total 2.4 1.4

Page 41
What is clear from this exercise is that Portsmouth has a much smaller area
given over to playing fields than the Fields in Trust standard. However the
number of playing fields in Portsmouth is matched to demand.
The total area given over for play is just above the standard, but the
proportion of this which is equipped play space is much lower. It is clear that
Portsmouth’s play provision is skewed towards informal play when compared
with the standards above. Standards for play in Portsmouth are determined by
accessibility rather than area. Very few households fall outside these
accessibility standards.

Portsmouth’s accessible green

space quantity standard
Setting local standards for the overall provision of open space can only be
meaningful to Portsmouth’s residents and visitors if the open space is
publically accessible. Consequently the following standards are proposed in
terms of area of accessible open space per 1000 population.

Standards are generally set to reflect the status quo (i.e. they match current
provision). Whilst it would be desirable to set standards higher than current
levels with the aim of adding new open spaces, there is realistically very little
prospect of creating any significant additions to the current provision.
The aim of any aspirational standard would be to increase the provision of
open space where it is most needed (i.e. the high density housing areas of
Buckland, North End, Somerstown and central Southsea) but this is not
achievable without drastic measures such as demolishing houses – not
something that would be considered.

The standard for natural and semi-natural urban greenspace has been set
higher than the current levels of provision to reflect the expectation that the
reclamation of the Paulsgrove landfill site will be complete in 2014, and the 52
hectare site will be opened to the public as Horsea Island Country Park.

Individual quantity standards for outdoor sports facilities, play spaces, natural
sites and allotments are detailed later. Quantity standards for cemeteries and
churchyards are not appropriate in this context as standards relate to burial
space.

Standards are set for total accessible green space as well as for the individual
type components of this total to ensure that the balance between formal,
informal and natural green space is maintained. It is acknowledged that many
green spaces are multifunctional – for example playing fields are used as
amenity green spaces when games are not being played and churchyards
and cemeteries are similarly used as informal green spaces when funerals are
not taking place – and so the total for amenity green space includes sports
pitches (if publically accessible), cemeteries and churchyards.

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 Objective 1 – Portsmouth’s accessible green space quantity standard.
To provide and protect 3.64 ha per 1000 population of non-specialised
accessible open space, and to maintain the balance between formal,
informal and natural green space.

Green space type Standard (hectares per 1000

population)
Parks and gardens (formal green 0.58
space)
Amenity (informal) green space 1.05

Natural and semi-natural urban 0.91

green space
Accessible countryside in urban 1.10
fringe areas
Total non-specialised open space 3.64

The provision of this accessible open space standard is met by definition as

(with the exception of the future Horsea Island Country Park) the standard
reflects current provision.
The protection of the open space will be secured through The Portsmouth
Plan (see later section on protection of Portsmouth’s open spaces).
The Parks and Open Spaces Strategy vision statement states there should be
a diverse range of outdoor open spaces and recreational opportunities. Not
every open space can have flowerbeds or a play area for example, nor should
it. The quality of a space should be judged against whether it is fit for its
purpose.

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8. City wide quality
standards

South Parade Gardens, Southsea

Page 44
The higher the quality of a green space, the more likely it is to be used2. This
correlation is supported by research which found that parks restored with
money from the Heritage Lottery Fund have seen average visitor numbers
rise by 68%2.

Quality audit of open spaces

Standards for quality of any green space need to reflect the purpose of that
space, and across the range of open spaces in Portsmouth standards of
quality vary according to their type and function.
Planning Policy Guidance 17 (PPG17) recommends that any assessment of
quality of open spaces needs clear benchmarks related to stated standards
and a scoring system.
Portsmouth City Council parks department conducted a quality audit of all the
publically accessible open spaces and play areas during 2010. This audit
used the Green Flag Award criteria32 for judging the quality of open spaces,
and spaces were judged according to their fitness for purpose, as well as for
their features and facilities.

The Green Flag Award criteria are:

• a welcoming place
• healthy safe and secure
• well maintained and clean
• sustainability
• conservations and heritage
• community involvement
• marketing
• management

The Green Flag categories for sustainability, marketing and management

were not used for the purposes of this quality audit. The principles and
policies of sustainable planting and resource management are applied across
all of Portsmouth City Council’s open spaces.

See appendices 1-3 for the full scoring sheets.

The findings of the audit are summarised in the relevant sections on the types
of green spaces below. Findings with a more general or city wide application
are detailed below.

Main findings
• Signage (part of ‘a welcoming place’) scored low across the board.
Good, clear, consistent signage is valued highly by the Green Flag
Award as a means to ‘announce the park’ and to reflect the quality of
the management of the park. There is scope to improve signage in
most of Portsmouth’s parks, however any improvements will have to
take into account the fact that signage contributes to the ‘clutter’ in a
park (due to signs, lights, bins etc) and can detract from the
attractiveness of the green space.

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 • Standards of grounds maintenance and of litter and waste
management (part of ‘well maintained and clean’) scored well, with
principal and local parks scoring particularly well. This reflects their
importance, but also the amount of resources directed at them. These
scores very much reflect the standards set within grounds maintenance
contracts. These in turn are influenced by available resources. The
challenge in the coming years will be to maintain the high standards in
the face of likely budgetary constraints.
• With the exception of natural sites, sports fields and cemeteries, scores
for health and wellbeing (part of ‘healthy safe and secure’) were below
average. This score reflects the level of opportunity for outdoor
exercise and fitness activities as well as for opportunities for shelter
and places to sit quietly. This may be due to the fact that sports
development activities are concentrated in a few sites where sport
provision is very good (e.g. the Mountbatten Centre or Bransbury
Park). This could be addressed by providing signed fitness routes
around parks, or installing fitness equipment – this has already
happened in a number of locations, particularly on Southsea seafront.
• In amenity green spaces and outdoor sports facilities scores for
conservation and heritage were lower than average. This reflects the
fact that these areas are generally given over to mown grass and
shrubs only. Introduction of more wildlife habitats in these areas would
increase the visual variety as well as the nature value of these spaces.
• Scores for control of dogs (part of ‘healthy safe and secure’) was
consistently very high across all types of green space.
• The smaller the space, generally speaking the lower the score for
community involvement. Smaller sites are less likely to have active
friends groups (although this is not uniformly the case), and are less
likely to have a range of facilities to interest a wide cross section of the
community.

The findings from the audit will be considered when identifying which sites
and which services are targeted for improvement from available funding.

• The scores can be used to identify sites which could reasonably be

expected to win a Green Flag Award. The threshold for an award is a
score of 66%. From the scores above the following sites could
realistically win a Green Flag Award with a moderate amount of
investment, sufficient community involvement and specific
management plans:

Victoria Park Kingston Cemetery Cumberland Gardens

Hilsea Lines Milton Cemetery Alexandra Park
Baffins Pond St Thomas’ Cathedral Kingston Recreation Ground
Milton Park Southsea Common Castle Field / Bandstand
Canoe Lake Bransbury Park Ladies Mile / Ave de Caen
College Park

See the section on Green Flag Awards under the Parks and Gardens
heading.

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Table 5
No of sites scoring
Type
GOOD FAIR POOR
I. Parks and gardens: principal parks 12 2 0
I. Parks and gardens: local parks 34 7 0
I. Parks and gardens: pocket parks 19 10 1
II. Natural green spaces and 4 7 2
IX. Accessible countryside
V. Amenity Green Space 11 30 8
VI. Outdoor Sports Facilities (golf courses 9 4 0
not assessed)
VIII. Cemeteries and Churchyards 6 2 0
TOTALS 95 62 11
PERCENTAGES 56% 37% 7%

66% or more = GOOD

50% to 65% = FAIR
Below 50% = POOR

Quality design in parks and open

spaces
The quality of a green space is strongly influenced by the design principles
that are applied to its layout and facilities. Good quality design ensures
attractive, durable, functional and adaptable spaces. Improvements in design
will help meet many of the objectives in this strategy document – in particular
in terms of quality, accessibility and security.

Planning Policy Statement 1: delivering sustainable development (PPS1)

places design at the heart of its policies, and a number of other prominent
publications emphasise the importance of design in open spaces.

Good design should:

• enhance the connections between people and places
• integrate places into the existing natural and built environments
• create safe and inclusive spaces
• consider the impact of development on the natural environment

Quality of design is important to Portsmouth City Council. One of the council’s

priorities is to improve the percentage of residents identifying the council as
successful at maintaining and developing the quality and design of buildings
and public spaces in the city. When this question was asked in 2009, 54%
agreed that this was the case33.

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 Objective 2 – Quality design
To ensure that the principles of design as set out in PPS1, CABE Space
publications and Green Flag Award criteria are applied to Portsmouth’s open
spaces. Well-designed spaces should be:
• welcoming – entrances and signage work to draw people into the
space
• accessible – there are no barriers to prevent access to pedestrians,
cyclists, and those with disability
• promoted – to ensure that interpretation and information is available
to enhance the experience of those who use the space
• safe – designed to enhance busyness and informal surveillance from
outside the space
• easy to navigate – through routes are suitably positioned and routes
within the site promote access to all areas
• places to be active – sport and physical activity are encouraged
• places to relax – shelter, shade and seating are available for people
to enjoy being outdoors
• well integrated into the surrounding environment
• sustainable – designed to minimise impact on the natural
environment and to adapt to climate change

These standards will be applied to all newly created green spaces in

Portsmouth, and when improvements are made to existing spaces. Funding
from ‘section 106’ contributions and Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)
contributions will be used where appropriate to address deficiencies in design
in existing green spaces.

Grounds maintenance and

horticultural quality
The standard of grounds maintenance and horticulture has a great influence
on the overall quality of green spaces in Portsmouth. The quality audit that
was carried out for this strategy showed that standards of grounds
maintenance were high. This situation is threatened by budgetary constraints,
and maintaining standards of quality will require partnership work between all
agencies that undertake grounds maintenance operations.

Objective 3 – Grounds maintenance and horticultural quality

To ensure that grounds maintenance is performed to high levels of quality.

Horticultural quality is delivered through grounds maintenance contracts, PFI

contracts and in-house services. Grounds maintenance operations in
Portsmouth are carried out by a number of agencies depending broadly on
ownership of the land in question, although there is a degree of overlap for
operational reasons. Broadly speaking parks, gardens and recreational green
space maintenance is carried out by external contractors on medium to long
term contracts; highways green spaces are maintained through a long term

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PFI arrangement with an external partner; green spaces around housing sites
are maintained by Portsmouth City Council staff. Tree maintenance is carried
out by external contractors on a medium to long term contract, with the
exception of trees on highway land which are maintained by the highways PFI
partner.
There are a number of measures that are taken to ensure standards are high:
• detailed specification on all work undertaken by contractors, to specify
the highest quality standards within the budgets available
• applying city wide standards to externally contracted grounds
maintenance provision
• regular monitoring of quality, and audit of performance indicators
• application of Green Flag Award criteria when designing and
maintaining a space

Grounds maintenance of housing sites is performed by city council staff, and

so is not undertaken to a contracted specification – instead the service works
to the purpose ‘to keep the local area clean and tidy’.

There are opportunities to improve quality of grounds maintenance as well as

value for money by increasing cross-departmental working between the
various departments which undertake grounds maintenance operations in the
city, and potentially to undertake partnership working with other councils.

In addition, consideration could be given to alternative ways of achieving high

quality grounds maintenance, including opportunities offered by the Big
Society and involvement of social enterprises.

Cleanliness
The quality of an open space is greatly affected by standards of cleanliness.
In the 2009 MORI survey33 commissioned by Portsmouth City Council 65% of
respondents thought that the council was successful at keeping the city clean.
The quality audit found that larger parks in Portsmouth had very good levels of
cleanliness as measured by litter, graffiti and dog fouling. Smaller parks,
amenity green spaces and natural spaces scored slightly lower, but still of a
fair to good level. The cost to Portsmouth City Council of maintaining high
levels of cleanliness is significant, and is a direct result of antisocial behaviour
by people littering, fly-tipping, not clearing up after their dogs and painting
graffiti.

Dog fouling and litter are major barriers to use and enjoyment of parks and
open spaces, and it is important that these issues are tackled. 46% of people
in Portsmouth reported that litter was a problem in their area1.

Objective 4 – Cleanliness
To ensure that open spaces have effective measures in place to combat dog
fouling, graffiti and littering.

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The problem of dog fouling can be tackled in three ways:
• Education – parks and open spaces should have dog bins with clear
signage informing people of the requirement to clear up after their
dogs.
• Enforcement – Portsmouth City Council enforcement officers will patrol
areas that are known to be prone to dog fouling and issue fixed
penalties to dog owners who allow their dogs to foul parks and open
spaces.
• Segregation – all play areas are designated as spaces where dogs are
banned as is Victoria Park. Eastney Beach and Southsea Beach have
dog bans during summer months, and the Tangier Field Brent Goose
enclosure has a dog ban in effect between October and March. At
other sites many spaces are designated as areas where dogs must be
kept on a lead. Where this is the case, there should be clear signage
directing dog walkers to spaces where dogs can be let off the lead.

The control of dogs by segregation (i.e. having separate area for dogs on
lead, dogs off lead, and areas where dogs are banned) was laid out in local
byelaws and the Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996. In 2010/11 this
arrangement was reviewed, and the byelaws replaced by Dog Control Orders.
The effect of these new orders is much the same, but the orders are more
flexible, and less costly to enforce.

There are similar approaches to the management of litter in Portsmouth’s

open spaces. It is an offence to drop litter, and enforcement officers can issue
fixed penalties to people who do not dispose of their litter properly. Litter bins
are provided and are emptied regularly. Portsmouth’s Parks Pledges state
that parks will be litter picked regularly, and standards for cleanliness are
based on the DEFRA Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse34.

Graffiti is addressed by the City Council’s parks department and by Clean City
Services through PFI partners. Graffiti will be removed from all public property
(including play equipment) where possible. Offensive or racist graffiti will be
removed within 24 hours.

The government requires local authorities to submit data on graffiti, litter and
fly tipping through best value performance Indicator BV199 (although this
requirement is under review).

Page 50
9. City wide
accessibility standards

New pond margins, Baffins Pond

Page 51
Accessibility standards: An
overview
Where we are now
Portsmouth is a city with a high population density; however some form of
green space is within a short walk of all residents.
In the last large scale survey in 2008, 91% of respondents had used a park or
open space in Portsmouth in the previous 6 months1.
The road network provides good access across Portsmouth, but is easily
congested. There are good bus services, one main train line into and across
the north of the city and an established cycle path network.
The infrastructure of our parks and open spaces has been built over many
decades. Whilst improvements are ongoing to existing means of access,
further changes could be made to ensure equal access to all.

Where we want to be
We want to establish aspirational distance standards that are realistic and
achievable for the types of open spaces provided.
We aspire to provide alternatives where physical barriers exist (such as train
lines and main roads) to improve pedestrian access to our green spaces.
We want to encourage visitors to use ‘green’ means of travel to our open
spaces – walking and increased use of cycle routes and public transport as an
alternative to the car.
We aim to ensure that the facilities within our green spaces are as accessible
to disabled and impaired people as able bodied people, including the more
difficult natural spaces.
We aspire to provide clean and safe parks and open spaces where a variety
of amenities will appeal and cater for a range of ages and users to enjoy,
without detriment to others.
We want to ensure our open spaces are accessible to all members of society,
regardless of race, disability or gender.

How we will get there

Where a shortfall is recognised in distance standards, identify where
improvements can be made to existing open spaces to reduce this shortfall.
Where open space becomes available, to make use of this open space to
make up for a shortfall, if appropriate to its surroundings.
Look to achieve aspirational distance standards using existing budgets,
alternative methods of maintenance or external funding.
Work with other council services to improve and encourage alternative means
of travel and access to our green spaces.
Undertake equality impact assessments on new projects.
Act upon results of independent surveys and inspections to prioritise
improvements within existing maintenance budgets (i.e. play areas).

Page 52
Maintain the existing level of amenities on offer that provide a good level of
passive and active facilities.
Consult with users and more importantly non-users to determine the barriers
to use (i.e. improving safety, reducing dog nuisance).
Make all our information available in a range of formats to increase its
availability.

Accessibility can be considered in three ways:

Firstly, green spaces should be close to where people live, and this can be
reflected in distance standards. The standards must reflect the size and type
of the green space, as catchment areas for large well-equipped spaces are
larger than those for small green spaces.

Secondly, physical access to and within a green space should enable people
to enter and move around the site without hindrance – including people using
wheelchairs, motorised chairs and children’s pushchairs. It is unlawful under
the Equality Act for 'service providers' to discriminate against disabled people
in providing access to the outdoors. These standards are based in part on The
Countryside Agency’s publication By All Reasonable Means: inclusive access
to the outdoors for disabled people35.

Thirdly, there are a number of non-physical barriers that prevent people from
visiting open spaces – such as dog fouling, antisocial behaviour, fear of crime
and feelings of social exclusion within certain groups of the population. Lack
of knowledge that green spaces exist is in itself a barrier to their use.
Measures should be taken to reduce the impact of these barriers, and
eliminate them where possible. This theme is very much about equality –
ensuring accessibility for all groups of society.

Distance standards
Research carried out for Portsmouth City Council36 showed that the majority
of people walk to parks and open spaces, and that walking time is around 10
minutes to a local park. This correlates with national findings conducted by the
charity GreenSpace37 which found that 69% of people visit parks and green
spaces on foot and 67% walk for 10 minutes or less. Using this information,
along with published standards from Natural England38 (ANGSt), from
Portsmouth’s Play2000 standards and other research allows Portsmouth
distance standards to be set. The purpose of distance standards is to protect
and promote a network of accessible green space so that the distribution of
the green spaces in Portsmouth reflects where people live and work.

The following standards are proposed for the different types of green space.
When calculating estimated walking times, the conservative assumption is
that an ‘as the crow flies’ distance of 300m can be covered in 5 minutes – this
is an average and takes into account all abilities and ages. Clearly the actual
distance walked will in most cases be more than 300m.

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 Objective 5 – Distance standards

Distance standard Distance Estimated walking

(as the crow flies) (m) time (minutes)
Pocket park 300 5
Local park 600 10
Principal park 900 15
Equipped play area 900 15
Allotments 1200 20

See maps 1-5 in appendix 4 for buffer zones derived from the standards
above.

The maps have not taken into consideration barriers to walking such as major
roads and railway lines, and these will need to be considered when looking at
provision for any particular area.

In areas where distance standards are not met, measures to address this
deficiency could be taken by converting a site of another type either wholesale
or adapting it to be multifunctional. It should be noted that changing a site for
the benefit of one user group could potentially reduce its use by another. In
some areas there may be open space that is not currently accessible, and in
these cases the preferred option would be to seek to provide public access to
these green spaces for recreation. A good example of this is Portsmouth
University’s Ravelin Park, which for many years was overgrown and not open
to the public. After a programme of improvements this park is now available to
all members of the public, not just university staff and students.

While the majority of people travel to open spaces on foot, a significant

number will visit the larger open spaces by other means. People with limited
mobility in particular will use their own transport or public transport.
Accessibility to open spaces by non-pedestrians is affected by availability of
public transport and availability of car parking facilities.

Map 6 shows accessibility zones for public transport by rail and bus. This map
is based on the Local Plan which uses slightly more demanding walking times
(400m in 5 minutes rather than the 300m used elsewhere in this document).
This shows that there are some areas, particularly in the north and east of the
city that have low accessibility. These low accessibility areas are those which
typically have large open spaces – not surprising as public transport routes
run through areas where people live and work, and in such a densely
populated city these residential and commercial areas have few open spaces.
This puts pressure on those parks and open spaces in these high density,
high accessibility areas – places like Victoria Park, Milton Park and Southsea
seafront.

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Physical access
Physical access to and around green spaces is determined in part by the type
and nature of barriers (steps, styles, hedges), paths (surface, width), slopes
(gradients, ramps), and opportunities to rest and opportunities to pass
obstacles.

The Equality Act states that where a ‘physical feature’ makes it impossible or
unreasonably difficult for disabled people to make use of any service which is
offered to the public, a service provider must take reasonable steps to:

• remove the feature – e.g. steps, stairways, kerbs

• alter it, so that it no longer has that effect; or
• provide reasonable means to avoiding the feature; or
• provide a reasonable alternative method of making the service
available to disabled people

The Sensory Trust publication (commissioned by the Countryside Agency) By

All Reasonable Means: inclusive access to the outdoors for disabled people35
sets out clear guidelines for accessibility to and within open spaces. The
guidelines are defined with people with mobility impairment in mind, and
ensure access to and within open spaces is based on the principle of ‘least
restrictive access’.

Standards from the Sensory Trust are arranged in terms of zones with zone A
sites requiring the highest standards of accessibility.
• Zone A includes sites that have access for most people, especially
those with mobility impairments. All Portsmouth’s principal parks, local
parks and most outdoor sports areas should be in zone A.
• Zone B includes sites that provide access for many people, especially
those with mobility impairment. Portsmouth’s pocket parks, some
outdoor sports areas, cemeteries and churchyards should fall into zone
B.
• Zone C includes sites with access to some people, especially those
with mobility impairment. Portsmouth’s amenity green space, natural
and wildlife areas and allotments will be in zone C.

Objective 6 – Accessibility standards.

To apply the standards of the Sensory Trust guidelines on inclusive access
to Portsmouth’s parks and open spaces.

These standards are very detailed, and in order to move towards their
successful application across the city an audit process will have to be
completed to identify spaces where work is needed to improve accessibility.
This was last done in 2002, and is now out of date.
Improvements to less accessible open spaces will be expensive, and so
external funding will be needed to undertake major improvements. Where
necessary changes are minor, they may be achievable within existing
budgets.

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Barriers to visiting parks and open
spaces
Accessibility of parks and open spaces in Portsmouth is high, and nine out of
ten people in the city use Portsmouth’s parks. Some of the remaining 9% of
people who don’t use parks or open spaces may be discouraged from using
them when they otherwise would.
Results of consultation exercises for Portsmouth City Council consistently
reveal that antisocial behaviour and the resulting perceived lack of safety is
the key barrier preventing greater use of parks and open green spaces in
Portsmouth. The most commonly cited issue is that of gangs of teenagers
hanging around in public places, followed by drunk or rowdy behaviour. Other
barriers include uncontrolled dogs, dog fouling, litter, and drug use. See the
sections on cleanliness for details of dog control and litter management and
the section on making parks safer places to visit for details of antisocial
behaviour.

Apart from these deterrents to using green spaces, it seems that better
information on what is available would encourage greater use – lack of
knowledge of what is available appears to be a barrier in itself. Greater
promotion of the city’s parks and open spaces, perhaps by publicising the
events that take place through the year, and by encouraging schools to visit
as part of their educational programme would introduce more people to parks
and open spaces.

When asked, there was a positive response from parents to the suggestion of
more toys and games in parks. This could be extrapolated to suggest that
park usage would be greater in these target groups if there were more to do at
a park – particularly in the realm of play. The Play Pathfinder improvements
are directed at providing alternative forms of play that encourage greater risk
taking and use of imagination, which will encourage use among young people
and their parents.

Equality of Access to minority

groups
It is apparent nationally that people from minority ethnic groups tend to have
less green space available to them, and it is of a poorer quality2. This is
intimately related to what CABE Space called the ‘circularity of disadvantage’.
That is nearly all minority ethnic groups are less likely to be in paid
employment that white British people. This circularity also applies to other
minority groups, whether based on disability, poor health or unemployment as
they share the factors of low income and living in areas of deprivation. It is the
case nationally and in Portsmouth that the provision in terms of quantity of
parks in deprived areas is worse than in affluent areas.
The 2001 census found the non-white population of Portsmouth to be 5.3%
with just under 10,000 people; however figures from 2005 suggest that

Page 56
Portsmouth's population of non-white ethnic groups was 15,900 or 8.1% of the
population.
In Portsmouth, the largest ethnic group is the Bangladeshi community with
around 2,500 people. Other minority groups include Chinese, Vietnamese,
African, Caribbean, Asian, Arab, and many more – the minority community is
characterised as being a small proportion of the population and spread across
a considerable number of ethnic groups (around 60). As a consequence,
these minority communities do not have the level of impact on the local
cultural life of the area as is often the case in other conurbations.

It is important not only that minority groups are not discouraged from using
Portsmouth’s parks, but also that where excluded groups are identified they
are engaged and encouraged to use parks and open spaces so that they may
benefit from the positive health and wellbeing effects of being in contact with
nature.

Evidence from Portsmouth

In 2002 the MORI Residents survey39 revealed that people of BME (black and
minority ethnic) background were more likely to report that they were
dissatisfied with the parks and open spaces in Portsmouth. In 20081 this was
again the case with net satisfaction levels (% satisfied minus % dissatisfied) at
56% among white people and 32% among BME groups.

It appears that if the aim is to improve satisfaction and participation in parks

and open spaces among ethnic minority groups, then efforts should be made
to improve the quality of green spaces in the most deprived and densely built
up areas of Portsmouth. The challenge will be to identify excluded groups and
to engage them appropriately in order to ensure that accessibility is equal.

Objective 7 – Equality of access standards

Parks and open spaces in Portsmouth should be accessible to all regardless
of age, gender, sexuality, disability, religion or ethnic origin.

Joining up Portsmouth’s green

spaces
The Partnership for Urban South Hampshire (PUSH) Green Infrastructure
Strategy10 details a number of projects under the sub-regional headings of
‘The Green Grid’ and ‘Greener Urban Design’ which affect Portsmouth. The
aims of the strategy include maximising multifunctional use of open space and
promoting connectivity of all types of green space.
The seafront
The proposed PUSH project aims to enhance seafront green spaces through
landscaping which responds to coastal character, increasing access routes
and the provision of a range of differing high quality facilities in order to create
valued and attractive recreational spaces which address the deficiency of
open space within the urban fabric of Portsmouth.

Page 57
Creating and enhancing links around Portsdown Hill
This project aims to promote and improve existing foot/cycle links from
Portsdown Hill to the North of Fareham SDA, the Meon Valley, Portsea Island,
and Havant.
Foot / Cycle Network for Portsmouth to Key Green
Infrastructure assets
This project seeks to create a network of cycle and footpath routes which link
to Portsmouth’s green infrastructure assets.
A Country Park for Portsmouth
This project refers to the former Paulsgrove landfill site, including the area of
Horsea Island south east of Port Solent which will be allocated as a
recreational resource (Horsea Island Country Park). The project intends to
create an informal country park to overcome the deficit of public open space
for Portsmouth’s residents.
Pocket Parks for Portsmouth
A substantial deficit of green space exists within urban Portsmouth. The
project aims to establish and promote an improved network of pocket parks
with better linkages across Portsmouth. This could include promoting the
public use of school playing fields or negotiations with other institutions’ land
such as MOD land or cemeteries. Pocket parks and green spaces could
potentially be linked up by a better network of trees across the city.

Objective 8 – The Green Grid

To protect and enhance the green grid

Page 58
10. Parks and Gardens

The Japanese Garden, Lumps Fort, Southsea

Page 59
Parks and gardens: An overview
Where we are now
There are 85 green spaces, totalling 115 hectares, laid out as parks and
gardens in Portsmouth, ranging from very small areas of land serving a local
community to the large principal parks that attract people from all over the city
and beyond.
The larger the park is, the more features are generally present. The largest
parks are really multifunctional spaces with play areas, flowerbeds, trees and
shrubs, sports facilities, amenity grassed areas, and landscaped formal
gardens.
Parks and gardens in Portsmouth are protected from development, in most
part due to the fact that the overall amount of green space in the city is low.
Parks are important assets to the city and are managed by the parks
department and maintained by external grounds maintenance contractors.
The first two Green Flag Awards in Portsmouth were won by Hilsea Lines and
Baffins Pond in 2010 and 2011 respectively.
Parks host a number of events through the year, from walks and talks to live
music and opera, fireworks displays, circuses, fairs and sports tournaments.
They draw communities together and provide a focus for healthy living and
outdoor exercise and recreation.
Financial restraints have reduced the amount of money available for
maintaining and improving parks, and as a result, changes have been made
to how they are managed with the loss of some features.
Parks are also foci for some forms of antisocial behaviour and this can act as
a barrier to their use by parts of society.

Where we want to be
The aim of Portsmouth City Council remains the provision of good quality
open spaces where people can enjoy being outside in a clean, safe secure
and interesting place.
We will continue to strive to maintain our parks to high levels of horticultural
standards.
We will keep parks clean and tidy, with low levels of litter and graffiti.
We aim to provide a variety of features and attractions for people to enjoy a
mix of active and passive enjoyment of the outdoors.
We want to encourage greater community involvement in the way our parks
are managed.

How we will get there

We will look for opportunities to make improvements to our parks through
existing budgets and by seeking external funding for improvement works.
We will work with police, community wardens, social services and outreach
agencies to address the antisocial behaviour in parks.
We will publicise our parks to attract more people into them, and aim to get
the best parks in the city recognised with Green Flag Awards.

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We will look to encourage and develop friends groups for the city’s parks and
open spaces.

Quantity standards
The standard for provision of accessible green space (objective 1, above) puts
the standard for quantity of formal parks and gardens (PPG17 category i) as
0.58 ha per 1000 population. This reflects current provision, and the fact that
there is realistically little prospect of creating new open space of this type
within the city.

Quality standards
Green Flag Awards
Green Flag Awards were established in 1996 to reward excellence in green
spaces. They are owned by Communities and Local Government and
managed by a consortium of Keep Britain Tidy, the British Trust for
Conservation Volunteers, and the charity GreenSpace. They are recognised
by the government as the benchmark for quality in open space, and are
included in the vision for urban renaissance set out in the Urban White Paper,
the Cleaner Safer Greener initiative and the Sustainable Communities Plan.

Green Flag Awards are important for achieving improvements through

external funding as the Heritage Lottery Fund requires that Green Flag
standard management plans are in place for any funding for improvement
projects, and require that a Green Flag Award is held for five years after any
funded project.

The number of urban parks receiving a Green Flag Award rose from 487 in
2008/09 to 594 in 2009/102. This growth is expected to continue in 2010/11.

Parks and open spaces are assessed by the Green Flag Award’s eight criteria
which concentrate on what makes a good quality space – somewhere that is
welcoming, safe, uplifting and which involves the local community.

Portsmouth City Council is committed to achieving Green Flag Awards for a

number of green spaces in the city as a validation of their quality and with a
view to building on this success by seeking external funding to improve these
spaces.
Selection of sites
In order to qualify for a Green Flag Award, parks and open spaces must have
a site-specific management plan, and must have a certain degree of
community involvement. As part of the entry process, management plans will
be written for those places that don’t currently have them. It will also be
necessary to encourage the development of a friends group or volunteer
group for those sites without them. This will not happen overnight, and so the
target of 6 Green Flag Awards will need to be achieved in a phased approach

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with those sites already with a friends group and a management plan targeted
for entry in the first years.

Those sites which score high for quality and those with an active friends group
will be most likely to sustain a successful bid for a Green Flag Award without
requiring a large commitment in terms of funding for improvements or
establishing a friends group where one does not exist.
Portsmouth’s first Green Flag Award was won in 2010 by Hilsea Lines; this
was followed in 2011 by Baffins Pond. Both of these are high quality green
spaces with an active friends group or volunteer group.
The remaining high quality spaces do not have active friends groups, so will
require significant investment of officer time and some funding to establish a
friends group prior to an application.

Objective 9 – Green Flag Awards

It is intended that Green Flag Awards will be won by the following sites by
2018:
• Hilsea Lines
• Baffins Pond
• Milton Park
• Canoe Lake
• Victoria Park
• Southsea Rock Gardens
• Southsea Rose Gardens
• Bransbury Park

The Green Flag Award is used as a benchmark of achievement by the

Heritage Lottery Fund when giving grants for improving parks and open
spaces under their Parks for People programme. Opportunities will be sought
to apply for funding under this scheme, and any others that may arise.

A bid for HLF funding is in its early stages for Canoe Lake park.

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11. Amenity green
space

Rugby Camp, Hilsea

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Amenity green space: An overview
Where we are now
There are 81 hectares of green space that are not laid out as parks or
gardens, but are of a sufficient size to provide a valuable amenity to the
people who live near to it.
Southsea Common is a special case as it makes up part of the larger
Southsea Seafront.
These spaces are typically not well equipped, but are given over to grass,
trees and shrubs and are well used by people for informal recreation such as
dog walking, ball games, walking, or just enjoying being outdoors.
Many, but not all of these spaces are protected from development.
Few homes in Portsmouth are more than five minutes walk from a piece of
amenity green space, although the most densely built up areas have a paucity
of even this type of open space.
Amenity green spaces are maintained by a variety of agencies – parks
department contractors, highways department PFI partner Colas, housing
department clean and green teams, housing associations, developers,
Portsmouth University and the Ministry of Defence.

Where we want to be
To ensure that the city’s amenity green spaces are maintained to a
consistently high standard regardless of who manages the land.
To ensure that there is no significant loss of amenity green space in the city,
and that if any is lost to development, arrangements are made to provide
alternatives elsewhere, or to improve the remaining green spaces nearby.

How we will get there

By working with all the grounds maintenance teams in the city to ensure high
standards across the board, and to undertake regular monitoring of standards
to address any deficiencies.

Quantity standards
The standard for provision of accessible green space (objective 1 above) puts
the standard for quantity of amenity green space (PPG17 category v) as 1.05
ha per 1000 population. This reflects current provision, and the fact that there
is limited prospect of creating significant new open space of this type within
the city.

Quality standards
Quality standards for amenity green spaces are the same as the city wide
standards, and are outlined in objectives 2 and 3 and 4 above.

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12. Playing Fields

Football at King George V Playing Fields, Cosham

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Playing fields: an overview
Where we are now
Portsmouth City Council manages 41 senior football pitches, three junior
football pitches, 10 mini football pitches, seven cricket tables, four rugby
pitches, 12 bowling greens, 12 grass tennis courts, and four softball courts.
Monitoring the patterns of usage of football pitches and cricket tables has
resulted in a reduction in numbers of pitches in recent years. Provision
currently meets demand at the most busy times of the week – Sunday
mornings.
Improved levels of maintenance of the remaining pitches has allowed for
increased usage and enhanced playing surfaces.

Where we want to be
We want to maintain and where possible enhance levels of maintenance.
We want to match provision to demand.

How we will get there

As a minimum, we will need to maintain levels of existing revenue to fund
grounds maintenance.
We will seek to apply for external funding where possible to carry out
improvements to playing surfaces.
If there are no further sources of funding we will continue to scrutinise pitch
usage and if found overprovided rationalise the number of pitches.
Where appropriate we will transfer the responsibility for maintenance of
outdoor sporting facilities to user groups or associations. Examples where this
has already happened is at St Helen’s Cricket Field and Eastney Playing
Fields which are now managed by Portsmouth Cricket Club and Cockleshell
Community Sports Club respectively. There are proposals to extend this
policy to include the council’s bowling greens.

Quantity standards
Standards for playing fields can be expressed both in terms of number of
pitches and in terms of area of land used as playing fields. Both methods are
useful.
Current provision is detailed for publically accessible and bookable pitches,
and so does not include pitches managed by schools, colleges, Portsmouth
University, Moneyfields Football Club, Portsmouth Football Club or the
Ministry of Defence.
There are 4 additional pitches at Great Salterns that are not used for
organised games, and so are not included in the totals. The total for mini
pitches is for those on publically accessible land (as well as the pitches at
East Lodge, which are bookable for games at the weekend, but not accessible
at other times). However, some schools mini pitches are available to be
booked by clubs – these are not included here.

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 There is currently adequate provision of playing pitches for adult football,
rugby and cricket to meet the needs of the various sports leagues in
Portsmouth. Consequently, the standard in terms of number of pitches reflects
the status quo. Consultation with Portsmouth Football Association as part of
the PPG17 assessment revealed that there is an adequate supply of mini
pitches in Portsmouth due to some schools pitches being available to mini
football teams. The charge for schools’ pitches is typically higher than for
Portsmouth City Council public pitches, and this has the potential to create
pressure on the 10 public mini football pitches.
If demand for outdoor sport were to fall, sports fields could be converted to
amenity green space. If demand were to increase, there is capacity to
increase provision for football, rugby and cricket at Great Salterns Playing
Field, and capacity to increase provision for cricket at King George V Playing
Field. The need to maintain this flexibility means that current provision in
terms of area given over to predominantly outdoor sport use (playing fields)
should be protected and maintained at the current status quo. This view is
supported by Sport England in their publication ‘Toward a Level Playing
Field’40:
‘Disposal of pitches should not be contemplated or permitted except in
very limited, qualified circumstances’.

Data on pitch usage

Playing pitch usage is monitored by the parks department, and is used to
assess the demand for pitches. Demand fluctuates throughout the football and
rugby seasons (which run from August to April) due to public holidays and the
weather. Pitches are occasionally declared unfit for play due to water logging
or snow during the winter months, and the resultant cancelled games will
normally be rebooked later in the season, creating pressure at the end of the
season, and pressure for the season to be extended.
The busiest day for football is Sunday (especially Sunday morning), and so if
demand can be met for Sunday, provision is presumed to be sufficient for
other days of the week; one proviso is that pitches are normally not booked for
more than 3 games per week.

Table 6
Sevenoaks Field
Bransbury Park
Alexandra Park

Sunday football
King George V

Drayton Park
Rugby Camp

pitch usage
Paulsgrove
Langstone
Farlington

2009/10
Total

Booked and played 109 281 291 102 64 117 109 7 0 1080 44.5
Booked but declared unfit 53 172 169 82 25 57 60 7 0 625 25.7
Not booked (or booked
32 123 98 166 47 106 103 46 2 723 29.8
but teams didn’t turn up)
TOTAL 194 576 558 350 136 280 272 60 2 2428 100

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The data show that demand for football pitches is being met with the current
level of provision. It also reveals that a considerable number of pitches are not
used on a Sunday. Further work is needed to determine whether there is an
overprovision of pitches, and if there is whether removing pitches to
rationalise the provision would have an excessively detrimental effect on the
remaining pitches.

Objective 10 – Portsmouth’s playing pitch provision

To ensure that playing pitch provision is sufficient and suitable to meet
local needs.

Objective 11 – Outdoor sports facilities

To maintain and protect 0.47 ha per 1000 population of open space for
outdoor sport (excluding golf courses).

Green space type Standard (hectares per 1000 population)

Outdoor sports facilities 0.47

Quality standards
The objective, in terms of quality of playing pitches, is to ensure that pitches
have as good a coverage of grass as possible through the playing season;
that deficiencies in terms of drainage are addressed where possible; and that
pitches are able to be played for as many weekends as possible during the
football, rugby and cricket seasons.

Objective 12 – Quality of playing fields

To ensure that sports pitches are fit for play through as much of the
season as possible, and that standards do not fall year on year due to
overuse.

Public pitches in Portsmouth are not subject to restrictions on access and

consequently many are used throughout the week on a casual basis. This
situation means that the pitches are under considerable stress from overuse,
and establishing good grass coverage is difficult at some times of the year.
This will be addressed by maintaining the balance and distribution of informal
kick about areas in parks and amenity spaces to relieve pressure on the
sports pitches (there are 20 sets of informal goals in parks and amenity green
spaces); by removing nets from goalposts that are over used to discourage
casual play; and also by investigating new practices to improve grass
coverage and reduce compaction on the pitches. In recent years this has
included additional sand dressing of the heavily used parts of the pitches and
trialling new polymer technology as part of goalmouth renovation.

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Accessibility standards
No standard for accessibility has been set for outdoor sports provision
because participants in organised sports are generally willing to travel
significant distances for games and often do so by forms of transport other
than on foot.
Some spaces, which have outdoor sport as their primary purpose, have a
significant secondary purpose and are true multi-functional green spaces.
Where these include play areas or significant areas of formally laid out
gardens these have been included in the principal park category assessment
of accessibility. Those included in this way are Allaway Avenue Playing Field,
Anchorage Park, Bransbury Park and Drayton Park.

Page 69
13. Sports Pavilions

Rugby Camp club house, Hilsea

Page 70
Sports pavilions: an overview
Where we are now
The standard and quality of changing room facilities varies considerably
across the city’s playing fields. With the exception of the pavilions at Rugby
Camp, most are over 30 years old, and while they meet requirements in terms
of number of changing rooms, they are dated in design and condition. In
particular, many do not meet the Sport England design guidance standards on
accessible sports facilities41.

Where we want to be
We expect to maintain, as a minimum, existing levels of repair and
maintenance.
It would be desirable to modernise and in some cases replace some of the
changing facilities, but this would be dependent on external funding. Where
grants are available, these will be sought.
We hope to demonstrate the importance of having improved sports facilities
and gain support to carry out modernisations.

How we will get there

Timescales for replacement or modernisation are uncertain as where external
grants are awarded, the levels of the council’s match-funding are now
required to be much higher, typically 50%.

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Summary of public sports pavilions
and changing facilities
Table 7
Farlington A 1950s style brick-built facility with small changing rooms,
Sports Field no heating, and communal showers / WCs
King George V A 1950s style brick-built facility with small changing rooms,
Playing Field no heating, and communal showers/ WCs
A wooden building, approximately 50 years old, with small
Bransbury Park changing rooms and no heating. Communal showers /
WCs
Changing facilities are approximately 50 years old and are
Paulsgrove an integral part of Paulsgrove community centre. Large
changing rooms with communal showers / WCs
Portable purpose built facilities that are approximately 30
Langstone
years old. Large changing rooms with communal showers
Harbour
/ WCs
Very small changing rooms primarily used for cricket with
Drayton Park 'home and away’ changing rooms on the first floor and the
showers / WCs on the ground floor; no heating
Approximately 40 years old. Primarily used for cricket with
St Helens 'home and away’ changing rooms. En suite shower / WC
facilities; no heating.
Rugby Camp Modern changing rooms built in 2000 compliant with Sport
(football) England criteria.
Rugby Camp Modern changing rooms built in 2000 compliant with Sport
(rugby) England criteria.

Quality standards
Standards in terms of quality and specification for sports facilities are clearly
set out in detail by Sport England’s design guidance note. This must be the
standard to which Portsmouth’s sports pavilions aspire. However, the cost of
making alterations to the majority of Portsmouth’s pavilions and changing
rooms which do not meet these standards would be prohibitively expensive.

Objective 13 – Sports pavilions and changing rooms

To ensure that changing facilities are fit for purpose, safe and accessible.
When designing new changing facilities, these will be in accordance with
Sport England’s design guidance.

Page 72
14. Golf courses

The 18th green at Great Salterns Golf Course

Page 73
Golf courses: an overview
Where we are now
There is one golf course within the city at Great Salterns. There are many
other courses within a short drive of Portsmouth, in particular Portsmouth Golf
Course just outside the city on the northern slopes of Portsdown Hill (owned
by Portsmouth City Council, but in Havant).
The course at Great Salterns is managed by Portsmouth City Council, and is
a source of income for the council.
Course maintenance is carried out by external contractors.

Where we want to be
We want to maintain and improve on the current standards of maintenance at
the course.
We aim to maximise income from the course, while maintaining accessibility
to golf for all members of society.

How we will get there

Maintain levels of inspection and monitoring of the course.
Make improvements to drainage to reduce the time the course is closed
during the winter
Continue to offer discounts to leisure card holders

Quantity standards
Portsmouth’s outdoor sports facility quantity standard of 0.47 ha per 1000
population does not include golf courses. Similarly, the Fields in Trust Six-acre
Standard does not include golf courses. Golf courses have a wide catchment
area and so provision of golf for the population of Portsmouth relies to a
significant extent on courses outside the city. Setting standards for access to
sporting facilities falls outside the scope of this document.

There is one 18-hole full size course and two pitch and putt courses in the city
with a combined area of 54 ha (0.28 ha per 1000 population). Setting a
standard for this provision is not necessary, but the presumption is that Great
Salterns Golf Course (52 ha) should be protected from any development or
change of use.

Portsmouth Golf Course, whilst owned by Portsmouth City Council, does not
come under its authority as far as planning is concerned. However it is
expected that similar resistance to development or loss of this open space
would be exerted by Havant Borough Council. The course is operated by a
private company that pay a rent under a 25 year lease which expires in 2030.

Page 74
15. Play spaces

Victoria Park play area

Page 75
Play spaces: an overview
Where we are now
There are 104 play areas and ball courts in Portsmouth.
All homes have a play area within 15 minutes walk. Most have one much
closer than this. The total area of equipped play space in Portsmouth is lower
than the only published standards – those of Fields in Trust (0.08 ha per 1000
people compared with the standard of 0.25 ha per 1000 people).
Through the Play Pathfinder programme we have provided new play areas or
upgraded existing ones in 28 sites across the city.
Play value of sites is variable, with larger and newer areas having higher
value. Play Pathfinder sites offer a significantly different type of play value.
Levels of inspection and maintenance of play sites are high and is carried out
by a team of Portsmouth City Council staff.

Where we want to be
Maintain good coverage of play sites across Portsmouth.
Continue to achieve a good level of inspection and maintenance of play sites.
Maintain Play Pathfinder sites appropriately.
If the Play Pathfinder philosophy proves successful to extend this theme
further.
We would like to target for replacement the play areas that are nearing the
end of their life.

How we will get there

At least maintain existing levels of funding for play maintenance.
We will need additional resources to maintain the new Play Pathfinder areas,
and to replace older play areas.

Quantity standards
The provision of equipped play spaces (0.08 ha/1000 population) falls well
below the standard in terms of area set by Fields in Trust (formerly NPFA) of
0.25 ha per 1000 population. Relying too heavily on this Fields in Trust
standard means that the overall number and distribution of play spaces is not
taken into account. This will not reflect the fact that in dense housing areas
the number of play spaces is high, and while the total area may be low, these
are valuable in areas where there may be little other open space.

Fields in Trust’s standards for play suggest 0.80 ha/1000 population for play
(both equipped play areas and informal play combined). While the standards
outlined in the Citywide quantity standards in Portsmouth section (above)
compare equipped and informal play space separately, standards are set here
for a combined figure. Portsmouth’s play provision is skewed towards informal
play when compared with the Fields in Trust standards. In fact this approach
is reflected in the Play Pathfinder programme of play area design which

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places a greater emphasis than has been historically the case on informal or
natural play.

Objective 14 – Portsmouth’s play space quantity standard

Standard (hectares per 1000

Green space type
population)
Combined equipped and
0.88
informal play space

Quality standards
There are 104 equipped play areas in Portsmouth that are accessible to the
public (this includes the five supervised adventure playgrounds). All but five of
these are owned and maintained by Portsmouth City Council (the others are
part of MOD or private housing developments).

The quality of play offered by a play area is dependent on a number of factors.

In Design for Play: A guide to creating successful play spaces42 published by
Play England, the following factors are identified as contributing to a
successful play space:

Successful play spaces:

• are ‘bespoke’
• are well located
• make use of natural elements
• provide a wide range of play experiences
• are accessible to both disabled and non-disabled children
• meet community needs
• allow children of different ages to play together
• build in opportunities to experience risk and challenge
• are sustainable and appropriately maintained
• allow for change and evolution

The quality of play areas in Portsmouth is variable. Generally speaking, older

sites score lower when judged against the criteria above. When play areas are
redeveloped, the design principles above are taken into consideration, so that
the redeveloped play area offers greater play value than before.

Portsmouth City Council redeveloped 28 new or existing play areas during

2009 and 2010 as part of the Play Pathfinder scheme, a country wide initiative
resulting from the government’s Play Strategy published in 2008. Portsmouth
was one of 30 towns and cities which won funding to create 28 free play areas
for children aged 8-13. The aim was to create innovative and adventurous
play spaces. The programme was completed in 2010, and consequently
Portsmouth has a new batch of play areas that have been designed taking
into account Play England’s guidance publications Design for Play42 and
Managing Risk in Play Provision43. As a result, the new play areas offer a

Page 77
different type of play, allowing children to experience risk and challenge, and
provide a wider range of play experiences than was previously offered in
Portsmouth.

Portsmouth’s play areas scored well in the Tellus4 survey in February 2010 in
which satisfaction with Portsmouth’s play areas was 57.7% - above the
national and south east average for this national Indicator 199.

Audit of play areas

During 2010, Portsmouth City Council parks department undertook a quality
audit of the play areas maintained by the council. The audit looked at location,
play value, maintenance and several other factors to come up with an overall
score for the play area. See appendix 3 for the scoring sheet. The scoring
criteria are based on Play England’s publication ‘Tools for evaluating local
play provision: A technical guide to Play England local play indicators’44.
Main findings
• Sites that have been developed as part of the Play Pathfinder
programme score higher than those sites which have not:

Average Play Pathfinder area = 69%

Average Non-Play Pathfinder area = 62%

• This difference is more marked when play value is considered alone:

Average play value for Play Pathfinder area = 65%

Average play value for Non-Play Pathfinder area = 44%

• Larger sites score higher than smaller sites:

Average for play areas in a principal park (average area is 0.24ha) =

75%
Average for play areas in a local park (average area is 0.11ha) = 64%
Average for play areas in a pocket park (average area is 0.05ha) =
62%
Average for standalone play areas (average area is 0.01ha) = 60%

The new Play Pathfinder play areas include challenging play equipment, and
also include areas of informal play (landscaped green areas). The audit shows
that this approach results in higher levels of play quality. If this approach
proves enduringly popular, this new approach to play area design will be
extended further when older sites are redeveloped.

The Equality Act

In October 2010 the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) was replaced by the
Equality Act. This act brought together the various acts and regulations which
formed the basis of anti-discrimination law in the UK. The requirements of the
DDA with respect to play areas have not changed under the Equality Act.

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The law requires play facility providers to consider the needs of people with
disabilities and to make reasonable adjustments to overcome barriers to
access. All council owned play areas comply with the requirements of the act.
However, the act is only explicit with regard to access, and does not set out
requirements in terms of movement around a site or quality and suitability of
play equipment.
During the programme of improvements under the Play Pathfinder scheme
newly developed play areas were designed to exceed the requirements of the
Equality Act by making movement around a play area easier for people with a
disability, and by providing more suitable play equipment for children with
disability.
This approach is reflected in the scores for ‘play opportunities for disabled
children’ in the play area audit. Newly developed Play Pathfinder play areas
scored 64% in this category; non-Play Pathfinder play areas scored 50%.
It is worth noting that the law is not restricted to meeting the needs of disabled
children using a play area, it also covers the needs of disabled adults
accompanying children (whether the child is able bodied or not), and so
accessibility needs of disabled adults must be considered in the design of play
areas.
Portsmouth City Council will continue to aim to improve its play facilities to
accommodate all abilities of children and adults when improvements or
redevelopments occur.

Objective 15 – Play quality

To maintain the city’s play areas to high standards of quality, safety and
accessibility
To develop play areas with the acknowledgement of risk benefit through the
provision of informal or natural play.
To make adjustments as necessary to comply with the Equality Act.

Accessibility standards
Since Portsmouth City Council’s Play2000 programme was completed,
standards relating to play spaces have been set by accessibility measures
rather than by provision in terms of area. Any child’s home in the city should
have a play area no more than 15 minutes walk away (see distance standards
in objective 5)
See appendix 4, map 4 for buffer zones according to the distance standard of
15 minutes walking time from an equipped play area.

Page 79
16. Allotments

Longmeadow Allotments

Page 80
Allotments: an overview
Where we are now
There are around 1600 allotment plots available at 8 sites across the city
The waiting list is high – around 60 people waiting per 100 plots
Distribution of sites means that there are several areas with no allotments
within a 20-minute walk. These are Southsea, Portsea, North End, Fratton,
Paulsgrove, Drayton and Farlington.

Where we want to be
We want to increase the number of plots to accommodate demand; to ensure
all allotment plots are let and in use; and to eliminate the waiting list.
We aim to re-let all vacated plots quickly.

How we will get there

To meet the aims, we will offer 3-rod plots as standard, and will divide any
vacated large plots into 3-rod plots before being re-let. This policy of letting
smaller plots as standard will continue while there is still demand for
allotments.
We will increase the frequency of inspections to pick up uncultivated plots
earlier.
We will consider the creation of new allotment sites if land becomes available.
Increase in staff time will be needed to accommodate increased programmes
of inspection and plot division.
We will work more closely with the allotment associations to pick up on
neglected plots earlier, and to encourage plot holders to utilise their land to
the full.
We aspire to seek new sites that could be used for allotments, and will look for
land that could be changed to accommodate allotment plots.

Quantity standards
There are around 1650 allotment plots in 8 sites within Portsmouth. The
demand for allotments is very high and the size of waiting lists suggests that
this demand is not being met.
National standards set by the National Society of Allotment and Leisure
Gardeners45 recommend that there should be 20 allotment plots per 1000
households. In order to meet this standard Portsmouth would need to have
1713 allotment plots at the present population level and the average
household of 2.3 people. This standard is derived from the report of the
Thorpe Committee of Inquiry into Allotments from 1969 (which recommended
15 allotments per 1000 households) and makes the assumption that plots are
10 rods in size (approx 250 m2), however this is not legally binding. This
standard will be adopted with the proviso that it refers to plots as units
regardless of size. The standard will be met in two ways: firstly by dividing

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larger plots into smaller ones and secondly by creating new plots on land
within current allotment sites that is not being used for allotment plots.

In terms of area of open space given over to allotments, there is little scope to
increase provision. Consequently the standard in terms of area per 1000
population is set at the current status quo. As Portsmouth’s population rises,
new allotment sites might be needed to maintain this level of provision.
Any decision to provide new allotment sites will need to be taken with
consideration of other demands for types of open space and the demands for
allotments at the time. The conversion of an open space into allotments may
not be granted planning consent for this change of use as it would result in the
net loss of publically accessible open space (it may be considered that an
allotment site is not accessible to all – only to those with a plot there).

Objective 16 – Portsmouth’s allotment quantity standard

To provide 20 allotment plots per 1000 households in Portsmouth.

Green space type Standard (hectares per 1000

population)
Allotments 0.14

Page 82
17. Cemeteries & churchyards

Kingston Cemetery Chapel

Page 83
Cemeteries & churchyards: an
overview
Where we are now
Portsmouth has 3 main cemeteries, one of which is closed to new burials.
The cemeteries are maintained by experienced staff trained in all aspects of
the operation.
The chapel buildings are up to standard for funerals, and other buildings are
also up to standard for continued safe use.
We have increased supervision of contractors to ensure good standards of
groundwork are maintained. We have carried out extensive arboricultural work
to improve sites.
An audit of grave capacity for general use and specific to faith requirements is
carried out and updated regularly.
A number of churchyards as well as the main cemeteries are valuable as
green spaces – as a secondary role.

Where we want to be
We need our cemeteries to be fit for purpose through sufficient supply of
graves for years to come.
We must also maintain a constant readiness for any sudden increase in
deaths whether by natural demographics or unexpected situations (i.e. virulent
flu strain or similar)
The cemeteries are also valuable open spaces where all city residents can
benefit from the peaceful surroundings in safety, and as such must be clean,
tidy and well maintained sites as befitting a final resting place.

How we will get there

We will continue to manage the spaces to achieve as many burials as
possible from the existing cemeteries.
We will continue to ensure both grounds maintenance contractors and
stonemasons maintain the highest standards.
We will need adequate resources to complement income.

Quality standards
While standards for quantity are not set (as this relies much more on the need
for burial space), standards for quality can be set, and are the same as for
parks and gardens (see objectives 2,3 and 4 above). The fact that these
spaces are cemeteries and churchyards does not preclude them being Green
Flag Award winners – several such sites have already won Green Flag
Awards across the country.

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18. Conservation and wildlife
areas

Volunteers on Portsdown Hill

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Conservation and wildlife areas: an
overview
Where we are now
Portsmouth has 14 significant wildlife areas (12 local wildlife sites and 2
SSSI’s), along with a number of incidental areas that are managed for the
promotion and protection of wildlife.
Eight of these are included in the national target for biodiversity (NI197).
Five are proactively managed for the benefit of wildlife.
Increasing the measures aimed at wildlife benefit would significantly enhance
the remaining sites, and in some cases the wildlife value will be lost without
targeted action.
There are a number of sites that have significant wildlife value that has not yet
been registered and these sites would benefit from more sympathetic
maintenance regimes.
Access to wildlife sites does not meet the Natural England standards in many
areas of the city. This is because the sites are located at the periphery of
Portsmouth, and because the standards do not take marine environments into
consideration.
Portsmouth and Langstone Harbours are both internationally and nationally
designated because of the large amount of Brent geese which come to the
harbour during the winter. Langstone and Chichester Harbours alone support
6.5% of the global population during the winter. Langstone Harbour also
supports internationally important wintering wader species.
A number of areas of public and private land are also recognised as important
Brent goose feeding sites or high tide wader roosts and so are functionally
linked to the harbours and the species they support

Where we want to be
We would like all 14 sites to be appropriately managed to protect and
enhance their wildlife value.
We also hope to increase the area given over to wildlife spaces within the
other parks and open spaces in Portsmouth.
We would like both Portsmouth and Langstone Harbours to be in favourable
or recovering condition.
We would like all sites which have nature conservation value outside of
nationally and internationally protected sites to be assessed and protected if
appropriate.

How we will get there

These targets are realistic if a combination of the following is achieved: -
Grant aid from Natural England, amended management regimes, support
from partner organisations and assistance from volunteers.
Continue to subject all local development framework documents and major
planning applications close to the harbours to a Habitats Regulations

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Assessment to ensure that they would not have an adverse effect on the
integrity of the harbours or other internationally designated nature
conservation sites.
Continue to protect identified important Brent goose feeding sites and high
tide wader roost sites so that they continue to support the species which use
the harbours during the winter months.
Continue to improve our local parks and open spaces – doing so may help to
divert recreational pressure away from the internationally designated nature
conservation sites to less sensitive areas.
Ensure that the Horsea Island Country Park and Southsea Seafront provide a
high quality visitor experience as part of a package of integrated measures
across South Hampshire intended to improve the green infrastructure offer
Continue to survey sites which have nature conservation value and designate
them as local wildlife sites through the Site Allocations Plan in the Local
Development Framework

Quality standards
See the section below on ensuring sustainability and protecting biodiversity for
more information on natural sites, and standards for sustainability and
biodiversity.

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19. Green corridors

Museum Road, Portsmouth

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Green corridors: an overview
Where we are now
There are a total of 84 hectares of green space associated with highways and
coastal paths in Portsmouth.
A great deal of this land is in small incidental areas, and long linear strips of
grass and shrubs with some visual amenity value, but little recreational value.
The green space most associated with highways is however of great visual
amenity value – providing attractive surrounds to the roads throughout
Portsmouth.
This land is maintained along with the rest of the highways infrastructure by
Colas – the council’s PFI partner – under a long-term arrangement.
There are also 30 hectares of land associated with the M275 motorway in the
north of Portsmouth that provides attractive green approaches to the city.
These are managed and maintained by the Highways Agency.

Where we want to be
To maintain and protect this land for its visual amenity value.
To ensure high levels of maintenance and cleanliness of the highways green
spaces.

How we will get there

Continue to monitor the standards of maintenance, and work with Colas to
maintain the attractiveness of the highways land.

Green corridors are valuable for their visual amenity while moving from one
place to another. They are often made up of a number of small patches of
green land which on their own are inconsequential – if they were present in
residential developments they would not be considered here. When these
small patches of green are combined in a linear arrangement as road verges,
they take on a greater significance as they change the nature of a road from
that of a built environment to a more green environment. There is the sense of
green around the traveller as he or she moves from one place to another. This
category also includes areas of a non-linear arrangement at major road
junctions (e.g. roundabouts). Where larger green spaces lie alongside roads,
they provide the same function - that of visual amenity to the traveller – which
is clearly distinct from their primary function as a green space in which to
spend time.

Green corridors also have potential benefits as wildlife corridors or as green

travel routes.

The total area of land whose primary function is as a green corridor is 84

hectares. This is made up of 54 hectares within the city’s streets and 30
hectares around the M275 motorway approaches to Portsea Island (which is
maintained by the Highways Agency and is not publically accessible).

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20. Trees

Victoria Park

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Trees: an overview
Trees contribute enormously to the beauty and quality of parks and open
spaces. They provide structure, shape and height to spaces, provide shade,
filter pollutants, screen undesirable views and provide valuable habitat for
wildlife. Trees are highly valued by many people and in such a dense urban
environment as Portsmouth it is particularly important that they are actively
cared for.

Tree lined streets provide the same effect as green corridors (a sense of
green as you travel) and are also very important as a visual urban amenity.
Street trees are not considered here except to point out that one of
Portsmouth’s Local Strategic Partnership’s aims is for Portsmouth to be a city
where ‘there are greenways through the city, more trees and a greater sense
of more personal space around them’.

Trees growing in the urban environment need careful management to ensure

they are kept in a healthy condition. However management of urban trees also
needs to have consideration for their social impact. Trees can stimulate high
emotions in people. A tree that adversely impacts on where a person lives
may cause that person to resent the tree, whereas other people living nearby
will greatly value it. Therefore management of trees such as this must have
balanced long term consideration of the overall benefits of the tree and the
budget available for its management.

Where we are now

Portsmouth City Council owns and maintains over 25,000 trees.
Trees are maintained by external arboricultural contractor, and are managed
with a proactive programme designed to ensure that trees are pruned on a 4
yearly cycle.

Where we want to be
We aim to ensure public safety by having a healthy, balanced, mixed-age tree
stock throughout the city.
We would like to improve the quantity, quality and variety of the city’s tree
stock by programmes of new planting, and by replacing trees that die or are
removed.
We intend to maintain trees by using a system that ensures maintenance is
carried out when only necessary rather than on a rigid cyclical regime.

How we will get there

We will maintain trees on a risk management regime. To achieve this we are
introducing an accurate map based tree management system to ensure that
trees are maintained and protected properly. Therefore trees will be managed
in accordance with their assessed level of potential risk rather than through a
cyclical regime.

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More than 3000 trees of particular importance in the city are subject to Tree
Preservation Orders (TPOs), and the council will continue to make TPOs when
necessary.

Over the next 2-3 years the parks department aim to develop a tree strategy
based on the risk management policy.
Portsmouth City Council will support volunteer tree wardens in helping to
ensure appropriate protection of trees (particularly in conservation areas) and
in developing tree planting events and other activities that promote the value
of trees.

Objective 17 - Trees
To maintain a healthy, balanced, mixed-age tree stock throughout the city.
To increase the quantity of trees in the city and increase woodland cover
where possible

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21. Schools grounds

Solent Infant School, Farlington

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School grounds: an overview
Where we are now
School grounds represent a sizeable resource in terms of green space in
Portsmouth, occupying around 7% of the total open space in the city.
At present, due to safety and security considerations, the school grounds are
closed to public access – except in a few cases where sports facilities can be
booked. As far as ad hoc public access for recreation (dog walking etc)
schools are not available.
There are 37 local authority-run schools in Portsmouth with some green space
within their grounds (more than the threshold of 0.1 ha). Of these, 24 are of a
size that might be useful for providing public open space. The majority of
these have a suitable public open space nearby, but in a few cases (fewer
than 5) the school ground is the only green space for some distance.
The majority of these spaces are maintained by the council’s external grounds
maintenance contractors.

Where we want to be
To maintain the current standards of grounds maintenance.
To make schools grounds available to the public where they represent the
only green space for some distance.

How we will get there

Continue the current use of council external contractors for grounds
maintenance
Where it is the case that school grounds are the only local green space, and
there is no scope for creating new publically accessible open spaces nearby,
the opening up of schools grounds for public access will be assessed with the
school and pursued if feasible.
Strict access times would need to be enforced – evenings and weekends –
and the grounds secured to prevent access during school hours.
If school grounds were to be made available, the security of the school
buildings would need to be ensured, and financial contributions would have to
be made to the school’s grounds maintenance budget to accommodate the
increased maintenance required.

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22. The Seafront

The Dell, South Parade, Southsea

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Southsea seafront is a major open space and visitor destination. The
individual open spaces that make up the outdoor portion of the seafront
attraction are covered in the policies outlined above. This document does not
aim to provide a joined up strategy for management of the seafront, this is
covered in detail in the Seafront Strategy46.

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23. Planning issues

Guildhall Square and Victoria Park

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The planning system has a vital role to play in protecting and enhancing the
city’s parks and open spaces as well as creating new ones where the
opportunity exists. In the past the Portsmouth City Local Plan has been used
to identify and protect existing open spaces and set standards for new open
space in developments. In the future, the Local Development Framework,
made up of a suite of planning policy documents, will do this. The Portsmouth
Plan will set out the blueprint for how the city will develop and change over the
next twenty years and the Site Allocations Plan will identify specific areas for
development or preservation.

Creating new parks and open

spaces
Whilst the opportunities to create new parks and open spaces are extremely
rare, there is an opportunity to do so when a larger development is permitted,
which is defined in the Portsmouth Plan as more than 50 new homes. The
standard for new public open space in developments is based on the
standards for the types of space that developers might reasonably be
expected to provide. It would, for example, be unreasonable to expect
developers to provide natural open space, fringe countryside or allotments. It
is however reasonable to expect a larger development to include parks and
gardens, amenity green space, equipped play areas and outdoor sports
facilities as part of new developments.
The quantity standard is based on these types of open space set at the
existing level of provision as shown in table 2 in section 7. Please note that
the outdoor sports standard is lower than that in the local standards table as it
does not include golf courses, which would not be expected as part of new
developments. Also, the Amenity (informal) green space total in table 8 below
is the figure for all discrete spaces defined as amenity green space according
to the PPG17 typology. This figure differs from the one in the table for
objective 1 in section 7. This is because the figure used in objective 1includes
not only these spaces, but also spaces given over to playing fields and
cemeteries as these spaces are used as amenity green space when not in
use for their primary purpose.

Table 8
Green space type Standard (hectares per 1000
population)
Parks and gardens 0.58
Amenity (informal) green space 0.41
Equipped play space 0.08
Outdoor sport 0.47
Total 1.5

New developments of more than 50 dwellings should therefore provide a

pocket park at a standard of 1.5ha per 1000 population. Pocket parks
provided in new developments must be laid out in order to tie in with existing
standards and the specifications we use. So as to ensure that the park will be
able to be adopted by the city council as public open space, developers

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should make sure they discuss the intended design and specifications of the
park with the parks service at the earliest opportunity.

Protection of Portsmouth’s open

spaces
Our level of publicly accessible open space per head of population is poor,
lower than comparable cities and the national average (see section 7 on
quantity standards). The State of the English Cities database estimates that
the impact of proposed population growth will result in a further 15% decrease
in the amount of open space per head of population in the ‘Portsmouth urban
area’. As a result, ensuring that no further open spaces are lost to
development is essential to maintaining the city as a pleasant and healthy
place to live.

The Portsmouth Plan includes a specific policy on ‘A Greener Portsmouth’

(PCS13) which states that “The city council will…protect green infrastructure
by refusing planning permission for proposals which would result in the net
loss of existing areas of open space…and those which would compromise the
overall integrity of the green infrastructure network, unless there are wider
public benefits from the development which outweigh the harm”. In the past,
policy DC20 of the Local Plan contained an equally strong policy protecting
the city’s open spaces from development.

The designated open space themselves and their boundaries were identified
as part of the preparation of the Local Plan. These will be revisited as part of
the Site Allocations Plan, based on the results of the audit which informed this
strategy.

See map 7, appendix 4 showing the protected open spaces in Portsmouth.

Enhancing parks and open spaces

In the future, the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) will allow us to raise
funds from developers to pay for infrastructure that is needed to support new
development. Almost all development has some impact on the need for
infrastructure, including parks and open spaces. So it is only fair that such
development pays a share of the cost. It is also right that those who benefit
financially when planning permission is given should share some of that gain
with the community which granted it. By paying a contribution, developers will
help fund the infrastructure that is needed to make development acceptable
and sustainable.

Given the extremely limited opportunities to create new parks and open
spaces in the city, most of the additional pressure on green spaces will be
absorbed be enhancing our existing spaces, helping to improve their quality
and multifunctionality. Our Infrastructure Delivery Plan took a broad view of
the types of open spaces, including parks, footpaths, the seafront and access
to Portsmouth and Langstone Harbours.

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24. Making open
spaces safe places to
visit

Bransbury Park skate ramp

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Aim 4: To ensure that green spaces are safe places to visit

The charity GreenSpace, in their Park Life Report37 found that one in six
respondents feel unsafe when they visit their local park or green space. This
is the main barrier to people using open spaces in Portsmouth.

What causes a park or open space to be unsafe?

• nuisance caused by the behaviour of other users of the park
• physical or verbal abuse from others
• accidents caused by the park infrastructure, including play equipment
or by grounds maintenance operations.
• health hazards due to dog fouling and soil contamination

Tackling these issues is a complex and difficult job, and requires involvement
of a number of groups. When these groups work together, particularly when
there is community involvement, many of these issues can be reduced or
eliminated.

Antisocial Behaviour
Where we are now
Generally the incidence of antisocial behaviour (ASB) in parks and open
spaces is not high; however there are significant 'hot spots'.
Most significant ASB is associated with areas where young people gather,
particularly at night.
Much youth ASB is alcohol fuelled.
Levels of vandalism seem to be increasing, particularly in play areas.
City wide low level ASB (i.e. littering, dog fouling, motor cycling on open
spaces etc.) can significantly affect quality of green spaces.

Where we want to be
Noticeable reduction in vandalism.
Significant reduction in low level ASB.
Quicker resolution of noise nuisance and general youth related ASB hot spots.
Sufficient diversion activities for young people.

How we will get there

Continue with the current multi-agency approach with regular attendance of
CTG meetings by parks department staff.
Better reporting to appropriate agencies through improved joined up
processes.
Adequate, proactive, timely and targeted action by appropriate agencies.
Better control of under aged drinking.
Improved understanding of the consequences of ASB, i.e. effects on others, to
enable better self regulation.
Provision of appropriate places for young people to 'hang out'.

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 Objective 18 – Safety in parks and open spaces.
To work with partners towards reducing antisocial behaviour and crime in
green spaces.

The presence of people who are perceived to be custodians of a park acts as

a strong deterrent to antisocial behaviour, and also as a reassurance to park
users that a particular space is safe. This could be the presence of police
officers on the beat, but realistically this is not usual. Portsmouth City
Council’s community wardens however regularly patrol the parks and open
spaces and are able to disperse groups and issue fixed penalties. Gardeners
carrying out their work in the parks can also give a sense of security,
particularly when they wear a recognisable uniform. Even in the absence of a
‘custodian’, clearly displayed details of someone to contact to respond to
antisocial behaviour allow members of the public to take action against this
problem, and in most cases a community warden will respond quickly.

At a more strategic level, regular meetings take place between the police,
community wardens, parks department officers, social workers, the charity
Motiv8 (formerly Portsmouth Community Safety Partnership) and others to
discuss ways of tackling specific problems, and providing support to the
community by engaging young people who are often involved in antisocial
behaviour.

Aside from the various agencies above, a park that is well used and busy is
safer as a result of self-policing by the park users. Encouraging greater use of
parks and open spaces allows the community to take back its green spaces
from the minority who misuse them, and a greater sense of ownership and
responsibility brings a reduction in other forms of antisocial behaviour such as
graffiti and littering. Increased use of parks and open spaces can be achieved
by addressing barriers to their use and promoting them as places to go.

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25. Ensuring
sustainability and
protecting biodiversity

A bee orchid on Portsdown Hill

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Aim 5: To take measures to ensure sustainability of green spaces, and to
identify areas of natural open space and biodiversity, and ensure their
protection.

Sustainability
There is a clear commitment from the Sustainable Community Strategy, the
council’s Corporate Plan and the Sustainability Strategy to ensure that parks
and open spaces are managed more sustainably.

This commitment is implemented through the Green Planting Policy8, which

explains the approach that Portsmouth City Council is taking to reduce the
use of natural resources, to maximise the recycling of green waste, to reduce
the use of herbicides, to ensure that new trees and plants are suitable for their
situations and to enhance biodiversity.

Objective 19 – Sustainability.
To apply the principles of sustainability within the parks and open spaces in
Portsmouth, and meet the objectives of the emerging Biodiversity Action
Plan for Portsmouth.

The green planting policy addresses the issues of sustainability in the

following ways:
• Trees that have died or been removed will be replaced. Sites for
additional planting will be sought and choice of trees will aim to
maintain the balance between native and non-native species.
• Shrub beds and flower beds will have recycled organic waste added as
mulch to preserve water in the soil, suppress weeds, and so reduce the
need for residual herbicides.
• The amount of annual bedding plants will be reduced in a phased
programme, while increasing use of more sustainable herbaceous
plants, shrubs and bulbs that will use significantly less peat (by not
requiring replanting twice a year) and less water as species will be
selected for drought tolerance and will only require watering in their first
season until established.
• New plants and trees will be sourced where possible from nurseries
close to Portsmouth to reduce the environmental impact of transporting
plants long distances.
• Water use will be reduced by a number of measures to minimise use
and eliminate waste. Greater use, where feasible, will be made of ‘grey
water’.
• The aim is to reduce peat use to zero by the use of alternative growing
mediums.
• Green waste will be recycled by shredding and composting and then
returning the green waste to our flower and shrub beds. Play bark chips
are reused as mulch when they are no longer used in play areas.

In addition we will explore the possibility of recycling a proportion of the litter

cleared from parks and litter bins. One way of achieving this would be to

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introduce multi-use bins where people can sort their litter into recyclable and
non-recyclable refuse at the point it is disposed of.

Climate Change
Climate change is a reality, and continuing change is likely. Generally
speaking, we can expect to experience warmer, drier summers and milder,
wetter winters. There will also be increased likelihood of extreme weather
events – heat waves, long dry spells, heavy rain periods and storms.

Effects of climate change on parks and open

spaces
Increasing temperatures will mean that use of our parks and open spaces
may be more intense and over longer periods. Longer growing seasons may
mean that grass cutting and other maintenance regimes will need to be
extended longer into the year with resulting cost implications. Hotter longer
summers would put increased stress on grass, trees, shrubs and other plants.
The possibility of rising sea levels and intense bursts of rain may make flash
flooding more likely as existing drainage systems may not have the capacity
to deal with large volumes of rainwater over a short period of time.
Changing sea and river levels would change the ecology of costal margins,
with a different balance of species in these areas. Erosion from changing sea
levels would alter the coastal topology.
Some native species may not be able to adapt to climate change while other
non-native species may flourish
Consequently the character of our parks and open spaces will change to
include species that can cope with the different climate – new approaches will
need to be developed to take climate change into account when planning our
parks and open spaces.

Mitigating the effects of climate change

Green spaces will play an important role in the way Portsmouth adapts to
climate change.
Green spaces slow the passage of rainfall to drains by intercepting and
soaking up the water thereby reducing the risk of flash flooding. Protecting the
city’s open spaces from development and seeking new green spaces may
offset the loss of green space resulting from converting private gardens to
hard landscaping.
Tree planting will have a significant effect not only on the threat of flooding,
but also on the rise in temperature. Areas with plenty of trees are generally
cooler than surrounding urban areas due to the effects of the tree canopy
reflecting radiant heat and shading the air beneath. The Vision for Portsmouth
and the Green Planting Policy both advocate planting more trees. Trees also
help control soil erosion, noise pollution, and absorb air pollution, dust and
airborne particles.
The Vision for Portsmouth and sustainable building guidelines also
recommend the wider use of green roofs. These are found in a few sites in
Portsmouth and have a range of benefits such as providing wildlife habitats,

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reducing rain water runoff, insulating the building for temperature and noise
and provide an attractive green alternative to traditional roofs.
Use of ‘grey water’ in irrigation systems and in toilet flushing has the benefit of
storing rainwater thereby reducing flooding and reducing the use of mains
water for these activities.

Objective 20 – Climate change.

Take measures to adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change.

Portsmouth’s Green Planting Policy addresses climate change in the following

ways:
• planting more trees (see objective 17 – Trees, above)
• selecting more drought tolerant trees and shrubs
• replacing resource-intensive annual flowerbeds with drought tolerant
perennial planting schemes
• exploring the possibilities of capturing rainwater for irrigation systems
• using plumbing techniques that reduce water use, and re-use grey
water
• reducing water waste by detecting and repairing leaks

Planning to adapt to climate change is a priority in the Local Area Agreement,

and is also covered by national indicator (NI) 188. The national indicator set is
currently under review, so the requirement to report on plans to adapt to
climate change may cease.

Biodiversity and natural green

spaces
Natural green spaces are important habitats for plant and animal wildlife, and
are also places where people can enjoy the experience of being in close
contact with nature. Contact with nature, and spending time in green spaces is
strongly linked with beneficial health and wellbeing outcomes.
Portsmouth has a number of natural green spaces but these are generally
around the periphery of the city, and so are not necessarily close to where
people live and work. Accessibility to natural green space is low for large parts
of the city, and natural green space is generally concentrated in large sites to
the east and north of Portsmouth.

Natural green space standards

Natural England's Accessible Natural Greenspace Standard38 (ANGSt)
provides a set of benchmarks for ensuring access to places near to where
people live.
These standards recommend that people living in towns and cities should
have:
• an accessible natural green space of at least 2 hectares in size, no
more than 300 metres (5 minutes walk) from home
• at least one accessible 20 hectare site within two kilometres of home

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 • one accessible 100 hectare site within five kilometres of home
• one accessible 500 hectare site within ten kilometres of home
• statutory Local Nature Reserves at a minimum level of one hectare per
thousand population

Natural green space is defined in the original ANGSt model as ‘areas naturally
colonised by plants and animals’. This definition is now considered
unpractical, and a more inclusive definition proposed: ‘places where human
control and activities are not intensive so that natural processes are allowed to
predominate’47. By this definition Portsmouth has the following natural green
spaces:

Sites greater than 100 hectares:

• Portsdown Hill
• Farlington Marshes

Sites greater than 20 hectares

Above plus
• Farlington Triangle
• Hilsea Lines
• Milton Common
• Horsea Island Country Park (former Paulsgrove landfill site yet to be
reclaimed as public open space)

Sites greater than 2 hectares

Above plus
• Eastney Beach
• Fort Cumberland Open Space
• Great Salterns
• Tangier Field

Portsmouth has no site greater than 500 hectares within the city. However
Stansted Park, a 700 hectare estate on the West Sussex / Hampshire border
which is open to the public, is within 10km of parts of Portsmouth. Queen
Elizabeth Country Park is greater than 500 hectares but is situated more than
15km from the northernmost part of Portsmouth. West Walk (part of the Forest
of Bere) is within 10km of parts of Portsmouth but is less than 500 hectares.

Whilst not included in the ANGSt standards, there are also a number of small
natural sites within the city which are valuable to people living nearby, and
also as wildlife habitats. Examples of these are Highgrove Open Space off
Karen Avenue in Drayton, and land near Milton Locks (Hampshire Wildlife
Trust reserve west of the Thatched House).

Maps showing the areas of Portsmouth that fall within these accessibility
catchment areas are in appendix 4 (maps 8-11). They reveal that large areas
of Portsmouth do not meet Natural England's accessible natural greenspace
standards, particularly the 300m standard for a 2 hectare natural green space.
As Portsmouth is surrounded on three sides by water, there is little scope for

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the creation of any new natural open spaces to address this situation. Lack of
access to natural green space, and lack of wildlife habitats in these areas will
need to be met in other ways, but whatever measures are taken, Portsmouth
will never meet the distance standards above.

Blue spaces
The situation above does not take into account the ‘blue spaces’ (harbours
and coast) around Portsmouth which, by not being accessible on foot, are not
included in the ANGSt standards. As a result, Portsmouth’s provision of
spaces where people can be close to nature is undersold. The benefits of
being on the foreshore with the wide open spaces of Portsmouth Harbour,
Langstone Harbour and the Solent is clearly comparable in terms of benefits
to health and wellbeing with spending time in a natural green space.

Biodiversity in Portsmouth’s parks and open

spaces
The Portsmouth Planaims to improve value of green spaces by encouraging
biodiversity on sites across the city, while ensuring compatibility with meeting
people’s recreational needs

Most of the natural green spaces are (at least in part) designated as Sites of
Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC). The exceptions are Horsea
Island Country Park (the former Paulsgrove Landfill site), which is still in the
process of being reclaimed as public open space, and Farlington Marshes,
which has a higher level of designation (see below). They are designated as
such to increase awareness of their important habitats and ensure continued
public contact with nature, despite the predominantly urban nature of
Portsmouth. While these sites continue to be referred to as SINCs, they are
now referred to as ‘local wildlife sites’ within the Planning Policy Statement 9 –
Biodiversity and Geological Conservation (PPS9)22.

Portsmouth’s SINCs are:

• • Land surrounding Fort Widley (Portsdown Hill);
• • Land south of Fort Purbrook and adjacent to Farlington Redoubt
(Portsdown Hill);
• • Fort Southwick Ramparts (Portsdown Hill);
• • Meadow west of Farlington Avenue (Portsdown Hill);
• • Meadow south-east of the George Inn (Portsdown Hill);
• • Land east of Farlington playing fields;
• • Hilsea Lines (part);
• • Great Salterns;
• • Great Salterns Lake;
• • Milton Common;
• • Land south and west of Fort Cumberland
• • Eastney Beach.

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In addition, there are four candidate sites for SINC status:
• East of Lakeside
• Golf course north of Great Salterns Lake
• Part of Horsea Island
• Land near Milton Locks (Hampshire Wildlife Trust reserve west of the
Thatched House)

Part of Portsdown Hill is a site of special scientific interest (SSSI); Farlington

Marshes are part of the larger Langstone Harbour site of special scientific
interest, and are also a local nature reserve (LNR). Portsmouth Harbour is a
Special Protection Area (SPA) and Ramsar site. Langstone Harbour is part of
an SPA, Ramsar site and Special Area of Conservation (SCA).

Priority 5.6 of Portsmouth’s Local Area Agreement concerns national indicator

197 - improved local biodiversity. The target is to increase the proportion of
SINCs (local wildlife sites) where conservation management is being
implemented to 10 sites. Proactive management plans exist for five of the
sites. Nine sites are included in the NI 197 national indicator (target is 10).

Measures to improve local biodiversity and access to natural green space for
people in Portsmouth are concentrated in two areas. Firstly existing natural
green spaces should be developed and promoted to maximise their potential
both as places for people to experience nature, and as refuges for wildlife and
biodiversity.

Objective 21 – Existing natural green space

To promote, develop and protect existing natural green space by the
following measures:
• continuing to manage existing natural green spaces in accordance
with adopted site specific management plans to develop and protect
their wildlife value
• ensuring that sites without management plans have plans developed
and implemented to develop and protect their wildlife value
• working in partnership with volunteer groups to develop a skilled
workforce to help manage the city’s natural green spaces
• working to ensure natural green spaces are promoted as foci for
community involvement in green space management – friends groups
and volunteer groups
• using native species when creating new natural planting areas within
existing sites
• promoting links between existing natural green spaces

Secondly, by adding areas of natural planting and wildlife habitats to existing

parks and gardens, access to wildlife and biodiversity will be increased.
Where suitable this could include natural grass areas and meadows, bogs,
ponds, areas of native shrub planting, hedgerows and areas of woodland.
Portsmouth City Council’s Green Planting Policy explicitly proposes looking
for opportunities to create more wildlife habitats.

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The biodiversity action plan for Hampshire recommends that local authorities
ensure that new developments retain existing wildlife habitats and create new
opportunities for wildlife where possible. It also recommends that local
authorities review the management of parks and other local authority
controlled land to consider introducing additional measures for nature
conservation such as planting native trees and changing the regime for
maintaining grasslands. District and unitary authorities should also create new
habitats to provide additional areas for wildlife, particularly in areas of
deficiency.

Portsmouth’s green planting policy states that greater consideration will be

given to plants that have the potential to be beneficial to wildlife by providing
food (berries and seeds), attract beneficial insects (bees, butterflies etc) and
provide nesting habitats for birds.

Objective 22 –New natural wildlife habitats

To create new areas of natural wildlife habitats within existing green spaces
by:
• recognising, assessing and and designating as local wildlife sites
those areas which meet Portsmouth’s criteria for selection
• creating new areas of natural planting within parks and gardens
• planting more native trees in Portsmouth’s open spaces
• selecting species that are beneficial to wildlife when planning new
areas
• converting suitable areas of mown grass to environmental meadow
areas where this does not impact on the balance of shorter grass for
amenity use
• using new natural habitats to link existing natural green spaces

Brent Geese and Waders

The dark-bellied Brent Goose is the single most important bird species in
Portsmouth and the wider south Hampshire area from a conservation
perspective. The Brent Goose visits Portsmouth and the surrounding area in
winter (October – March). The Solent harbours and coast support 10-13% of
the world’s population of Brent Geese, around 30% of the UK population11.
The species is protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981. In
Portsmouth the Brent Goose is prevalent on flat, grassed amenity areas, such
as playing fields. It is felt that this move away from their traditional wintering
grounds of mud flats and harbour areas is due to the reduction since the
1930’s of eelgrass in harbours due to a fungal disease.

There are several spaces in Portsmouth which are important for Brent Geese.
The council’s planning service take this into account when considering
development of these sites. The sites are mainly not of wider nature
conservation importance, but they are important as Brent Goose grazing sites.

For further information, see the Solent Waders and Brent Goose Strategy11.

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Chalk downland flora and fauna
Portsdown Hill is the boundary between the city of Portsmouth and
Hampshire's rolling countryside to the north. Much of the site is designated as
a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) due to the rich chalk grassland flora
and fauna that is present.
To maintain public enjoyment of Portsdown Hill and safeguard the site’s
ecological value, the practical management of the site is carried out by the
Portsdown Hill countryside service with additional tasks being carried out by
contractors, volunteers and various community groups. The most appropriate
management is extensive grazing and scrub removal.
A continuing programme of grassland management and footpath improvement
is increasingly enhancing this area. A wide variety of plants and animals,
particularly butterflies, thrive on the chalk grassland and include some species
not commonly found elsewhere in Britain.
Coastal flora
Eastney Beach is just under 1.5 miles in length and is located at the south-
eastern end of Portsea Island.
It is recognisably different to the adjoining 2.5 miles of beach to the west by
the significant amount of vegetation that can be found here.
The vegetated shingle is recognised as an internationally scarce and valuable
habitat containing some nationally rare species. This part of the beach is
designated as a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC). Two
interpretation boards have been erected on the beach to help illustrate the
significance of this flora and fauna.
Amongst the typical species of plant normally found in coastal regions, there
are populations of many national rarities such as Nottingham Catchfly, Sea
Holly, Sea Kale, Yellow Horned Poppy, Sea Bindweed and Sea Radish.
The beach and the adjoining Eastney Lake are also valuable roosting and
feeding sites for bird life. Regular visitors are gulls, terns and waders such as
Dunlin, Sanderling and Ringed Plover.

Objective 23 – Threatened species and habitats

To protect, and enhance where possible, the habitats of threatened species.

Sustainable Planting
An overview
Where we are now
Portsmouth City Council has 272 flowerbeds in 36 sites across the city, most
being on the seafront, but also in the larger parks. These are replanted with
colourful bedding displays twice a year.
The council also puts up around 850 lamppost baskets and barrier troughs
across the city in the summer.

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These bedding displays are colourful and popular, but are also expensive and
utilise large quantities of water and some peat in their production and
maintenance.
The plants are supplied by external growers and maintained by the council’s
grounds maintenance contractors.
We are in the process of replacing many of these flowerbeds with planting
schemes that use a mixture of perennial plants, grasses and shrubs to create
displays that have year round interest, and are much more sustainable in their
use of non-renewable resources.
In 2008 and 2009 10% of the flowerbeds were replaced in this way.

Where we want to be
In 2011 we will extend this sustainable approach to replace over 50% of the
council’s annual flowerbeds.
Key sites will retain their colourful annual bedding displays, in particular the
seafront where they are popular with visitors and locals.

How we will get there

The initial replanting and landscaping of the sustainable beds will be carried
out in 2011.
There will need to be a programme of close monitoring to ensure that the
newly created sustainable beds are a success.

Flowerbeds
As a result of the Green Planting Policy, and efforts to reduce the costs and
environmental impact of traditional flowerbeds, some of Portsmouth’s
flowerbeds are being converted into sustainable planting areas.
This approach replaces the annual flowers, which are replanted twice a year,
with a mixture of herbaceous perennials, grasses and shrubs to provide a
display that is colourful and interesting but also much more sustainable in their
use of non-renewable resources.
For most of the year, the colour impact of these planting schemes is much
less than that of traditional flowerbeds, but this is offset in part by the addition
of a greater variety of plants and more height, texture and architectural appeal
of the plants which continues after flowering through the winter with seed
heads, and evergreen foliage.
The addition of bulbs to the schemes also provides periods of colour impact in
the spring and summer.
The benefits of a sustainable approach to planting come not only in terms of a
reduction in the use of water and peat, but also the significant wildlife benefits
of the plants used.

Other proposals of the Green Planting Policy

Many of these proposals have been incorporated into the objectives 19 and
20 above, but are elaborated on below.

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Trees
Continue to implement the long term management plan for trees. This plan
puts public safety as it highest priority. Other priorities are to consult local
residents prior to major tree works; to inspect mature trees on a risk-
management basis; to log all data and build up a history of our trees; to
continue with the cyclical maintenance programme; to ensure all work is
carried out to the relevant British standards or current best practice.
Continue to plant replacement trees where they have died or been removed.
To seek out new sites for additional planting.
To plant tree species that are appropriate for the location, and to maintain a
balance between native and non-native species.
Shrubs
To give greater consideration to shrubs that have the potential to be beneficial
to wildlife – as a source of food, to attract beneficial insects and as a site for
nesting.
To give consideration to climate change in species selection.
Continue to use recycled green waste and spent play bark as a mulch, in part
to reduce the use of residual herbicides.
To draw up a programme of shrub renewal for sites with inappropriate
species, or those which are old or past their best.
Bulbs
To plant more bulbs in grass areas, and within mixed planting areas.
To introduce more varieties of bulbs (in addition to the traditional crocus and
daffodils).
To feed the bulb areas regularly to maintain longevity and vigour.
Naturalised wildlife areas
Continue to use native species in creating naturalistic planting areas.
To source locally grown plants where possible.
To look for opportunities to create more wildlife habitats by creating ponds,
bog gardens, hedgerows, native planting areas and grass meadows.
Grass areas
To maintain the existing range of mowing regimes as appropriate for the
variety of grass areas.
To identify areas suitable for conversion to environmental areas.

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26. Health and
wellbeing benefits of
green space

Hilsea Lines

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Aim 6: To promote green spaces as a resource for exercise and healthy living

The links between an active lifestyle and good physical and mental health are
well recognised. Parks and open spaces have a vital role in providing people
with places to go to exercise that are near to where they live and are free to
use.

In November 2010, the government published its public health white paper
Healthy Lives, Healthy People48. This includes commitments to extend
physical activity later in life through protecting green spaces and launching
physical activity initiatives. The government also wants to protect and promote
community ownership of green spaces and improve access to land so that
people can grow their own food.

DEFRA will also lead a national campaign to increase tree-planting throughout

England, particularly in areas where increased tree cover would help to
improve residents’ quality of life and reduce the negative effects of
deprivation, including health inequalities.

The fact that the government are keen to promote the use of open spaces,
and the fact that they are committing £135 million of Lottery funding towards
mass participation and community sport reflects the strength of evidence that
access to open space and physical activity improves people’s health and
wellbeing.

The CABE Space publication Community ‘Green: Using local spaces to tackle
inequality and improve health’49 identifies compelling evidence from recently
published journals that access to (and use of) open spaces correlates with
demonstrable benefits to physical and mental health.

• Presence of green space is associated with reduced mortality.

• Green space can help reduce health inequalities between rich and
poor.
• Green space can reduce stress and anxiety.
• There is an association between green space and reduced risk for …
anxiety, depression and respiratory disease.
• Research has found systematic links between health and presence of
green space at large population levels
• Contact with nature can promote improved mood and improved
attention.
• Green space has been linked with reduced obesity in children and
young people.

This strong association makes the argument for protecting and enhancing
open spaces difficult to ignore. As the government says (in the Healthy Lives,
Healthy People white paper):

Improving the environment in which people live can make healthy

lifestyles easier. When the immediate environment is unattractive, it is
difficult to make physical activity and contact with nature part of

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 everyday life. Unsafe or hostile urban areas that lack green spaces and
are dominated by traffic can discourage activity.

Portsmouth City Council parks and recreation departments will continue to

work with other council departments, specifically the Health Improvement and
Development Service (HIDS)along with the activities arising from the Healthy
Pompey initiative to enable people to make healthy choices particularly
regarding the ‘active travel’ and ‘city growing’ initiatives.

The health and wellbeing benefits of green spaces are included in The
Portsmouth Plan policy PCS14: A Healthy City.

The council will work to create a healthy city and improve the health and
well-being of its residents by:
• reducing obesity levels in the city and improving physical and
mental health by increasing the opportunities for formal and informal
exercise through providing open space, play, recreation and sport
and leisure facilities and making it easier to walk and cycle in
Portsmouth;
• working with partners to promote healthy lifestyle choices;

Active recreation
Opportunities for active recreation in Portsmouth’s parks come in many forms:

Walking and running

All principal and local parks have paths in them which can be used for walking
or running. In many cases there is a circuit route around the park.
Some parks have dedicated trim trails (such as Alexandra Park and Southsea
Common) where there are a series of exercise stations around the route.

Cycling
Parks are used by thousands of cyclists every day as part of their normal
travel to and from work or school. There are also opportunities for recreational
cycling along the coastal paths and in the wildlife areas such as Milton
Common. Southsea seafront has a dedicated cycle path along much of its
length.

Play Areas
Play areas provide opportunities for active play at 104 sites across the city.
The newly developed sites under the Play Pathfinder programme in particular
provide different types of active play for older children.
There are 6 adventure playgrounds in Portsmouth, including the recently
opened one in Somerstown. These are staffed by attendants, and allow a
greater range of active play opportunities for children.
In addition to play areas, most parks have a range of informal play
opportunities resulting from the landscaping and planting.
Most parks also have areas suitable for informal kick-about games.

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Sports pitches
Portsmouth’s parks are home to around 40 full size football pitches, 13 mini
and junior football pitches, four rugby pitches, seven cricket pitches, 12
bowling greens, 32 outdoor tennis courts, two artificial pitches and a range of
multi use games areas (MUGA’s). All can be booked by members of the
public (for a fee).

Walks
Portsmouth City Council parks department hold walks and talks around some
of the city’s parks and open spaces. These provide the chance for gentle
exercise in pleasant settings. The Health Improvement and Development
Service also run a ’Healthy Walks’ scheme with weekly walks across the city.

Allotments
One of the many benefits to having an allotment is the opportunity for exercise
that digging and working a plot provides. The combination of this with the
healthy fruit and vegetables that are produced makes an allotment a very
healthy option. There are around 1700 allotment plots in Portsmouth at 10
sites. All sites have long waiting lists, and applicants can expect to wait at
least two years before being allocated a plot.
There are community allotment plots at Milton Piece Allotments and the
Stacey Centre orchard where people can access this type of recreation
without having a plot of their own.

Passive recreation
The health and wellbeing benefits of parks and open spaces are not restricted
to active physical recreation. Simply spending time in a green space, and
coming into contact with nature has proven benefits in terms of mental health,
wellbeing and happiness.

Most homes in Portsmouth are within ten minutes walk of a local park, but
contact with nature and green spaces is not confined to parks. The presence
of green spaces in close proximity to homes and places of work is equally
important in terms of the sense of being in a green city. The city’s trees and
amenity green spaces are valuable resources in creating a green and
pleasant place to live and work.

There is evidence to suggest that tree lined streets reduce traffic speed with
consequent reduction in accidents. Drivers are typically more pedestrian
friendly in green roads, and incidents of road rage are fewer. The council’s
Green Planting Policy and the Local Strategic Partnership Vision for
Portsmouth both recommend the planting of more trees, and creating
greenways through the city. This should be extended to encompass the
concept of a green grid whereby the green spaces in Portsmouth are linked by
green routes allowing people to gain the benefits of being surrounded by
nature during their normal travel around the city.

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Opportunities for passive recreation in parks and open spaces are already in
abundance. Most parks have benches where people can sit in peace for quiet
contemplation. Several parks have dedicated youth shelters where younger
people can gather in a green setting. Southsea Common is very popular in the
summer months with people gathering for a picnic or barbecue, and regularly
ranks highly in the national competition for most popular picnic spot50.

Objective 24 – Health and Wellbeing

To work with partners to promote new and existing ways in which
Portsmouth’s green spaces can be used as a resource for improving health
and well being.

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27. Community
involvement

Volunteers at Hilsea Lines

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Aim 7: To encourage and promote community involvement in the care of
parks and open spaces.

Portsmouth’s open spaces are provided for the use of all members of our
community, and should reflect the needs of the community which uses them.
The best way of ensuring that a community gets the kind of open space they
want is for them to get involved in the management, improvement and
ongoing maintenance of the space.

People will typically focus on a specific park or open space with a view to
improving their local environment.

Volunteers and friends groups

In some cases this approach has resulted in a dedicated friends group which
can arrange its own programme of involvement in their open space.
Portsmouth City Council is keen to encourage these groups to grow in number
and size.
A balance must be struck between the aspirations of the friends group and the
practical management of the open space, as groups may want to get involved
in different ways. This can range from a group which regularly carries out work
or organises events in their space, to groups with a more hands off approach
where the friends group is content to bring issues to the attention of the
council.
This continuum can be extended to include an even more loose association of
people who take an interest in their park or open space. They may not identify
themselves as an organisation, but taken as a whole they represent a
valuable group of custodians whose interest is in the bettering of their local
space.
It is these people who may be encouraged to form a more organised friends
group. In practise, the formation of friends groups needs the dedication of an
individual or small group of people who are prepared to give their time and
effort for the good of their community.
Portsmouth’s wildlife areas have active groups of people who turn out
regularly to undertake practical environmental work in these areas under the
direction of the council’s wildlife rangers. While not involved in the strategic
management of these spaces, they do carry out a great deal of essential work
to manage the sites in accordance with the council’s management plans.

Active Friends Groups include:

• Friends of Portsdown Hill
• Friends of Hilsea Lines
• Baffins Pond Association
• Great Salterns Preservation Society
• Friends of Cumberland House and Gardens
• Friends of Highland Road Cemetery
• Friends Langstone Harbour
• Portsmouth and Southsea Tree Wardens
• The Portsmouth Society (open spaces part of a wider remit)

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 • Friends of Old Portsmouth Association (open spaces part of a wider
remit)

With the aim of winning Green Flag Awards for a number of our open spaces,
friends groups will be actively encouraged at Victoria Park, Canoe Lake,
Southsea Rock Gardens and Milton Park.

Allotment Associations
All Portsmouth’s allotment sites have an association which represents
allotment holders in order to put their views to the council, to run a shop, to
encourage and educate new plot holders and to manage communal areas of
allotment sites. Portsmouth City Council is working increasingly closely with
the allotment associations, especially in the management of people who are
not working their plots.
Consideration is being given to furthering the close working arrangement with
allotment associations with the aim of increasing their involvement with the
overall running of allotment sites. This may result in transferral of
management of individual sites to the allotment associations.

Sports groups
The list of sports clubs and organisations in Portsmouth is long (over 400).
The major users of council owned sports facilities are represented by
associations such as the Portsmouth Football Association, bowls
associations, cricket clubs and leagues, rugby clubs and others.
Portsmouth City Council aims to foster strong links with the sports groups to
encourage dialogue between the council and its service users. Regular
meetings are held with sports groups to this end.
In some cases the responsibility for maintenance of the council’s sports
facilities has been transferred to sports clubs and associations, and there are
opportunities to extend this practice further.

Community gardens
Portsmouth City Council supports a number of small scale community
gardens throughout the city. The support given is both financial and in terms
of advice and guidance with the horticultural side of a community garden.

Events in parks
Parks are popular venues for events, and Portsmouth’s parks host a
programme of events throughout the year, although most are concentrated in
the summer months.

Events are diverse in nature and appeal to a large cross-section of the

community. They can range from small scale local activities such as walks
and talks to major events such as the Great South Run.

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The seafront hosts most of these events, which are concentrated on Southsea
Common, Castle Field and the Bandstand. Portsmouth City Council charges
external event organisers for the use of the venues. A large number of events
are put on by Portsmouth City Council itself.

Many events are free to the public including the programme of live
entertainment at the bandstand throughout the summer and the city fireworks
display in Cosham in November.

Portsmouth in Bloom
Portsmouth’s local “in bloom” competition happens every summer, with
judging taking place in July, and the awards evening in September. This
attracts entrants in around 20 categories including community gardens,
neighbourhoods and schools as well as allotments, businesses, hotels and
pubs and private front gardens and balconies.

The competition is free to enter, and is funded with sponsorship from Colas
and Portsmouth Water. Portsmouth City Council organises the event and
gives support in terms of officer time.

Benefits of Portsmouth in Bloom:

• creates a more attractive living and working environment
• generates civic pride and neighbourhood identity
• brings communities together
• encourages people to take part in healthy outdoor activities
• gives recognition for horticultural excellence
• encourages the development of community gardening initiatives within
schools, residential areas, community centres and other community
facilities.

Portsmouth in Bloom is funded by sponsorship and will continue under these

terms.

Objective 25 – Community involvement

To support greater community involvement in the design and management
of green spaces. To encourage and support friends groups of important
green spaces.

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28. Value for money

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Aim 8: To provide a basis for investment in open spaces; to ensure money is
spent on the right things in the right places, maximising service user
satisfaction (value for money).

Parks service – savings

This strategy was produced during a period of public sector budget
reductions. Across the local government sector, savings have had to be
made, and budgets will continue to be cut in the years to come. Naturally,
parks and open spaces are not immune to the effects of these savings, and so
the aims and objectives of this strategy must be considered in the context of
these budgetary restraints.

In the past four years the parks service has had to make a total of £623,000 of
savings representing a budget cut of 21%.

Further savings by the parks service are likely in the coming years as
pressure on councils to make savings continues.

These savings are achieved through a series of measures including:

• increasing income from fees, charges, rentals and sponsorship
• reducing parks improvement work
• reducing grounds maintenance standards
• reducing tree maintenance
• closing 2 bowling greens, 1 cricket square and 1 all weather cricket
wicket
• reducing nature conservation management
• reducing the parks equipment budget
• reducing maintenance of play areas, footpaths, fencing, seats, bins and
signs
• reducing bedding plants and replacing with more sustainable planting
• staff reductions
• leasing sports facilities to user groups (sports clubs and associations)
• closing greenhouse facilities
• reducing the number of floral baskets and troughs

It is important to note that in addition to the savings outlined above the

grounds maintenance service has already been through competitive tendering
and this produced significant savings of £870,000 to Portsmouth City Council
compared with the previous 'in-house' service. Whilst other council services
may now be considering external contracts as a means of achieving savings
this option has already been exercised by the parks service.

These savings will not result in improvements to the service. Some will have
no impact but the majority will result in a decline in the service, and may lead
to lower user satisfaction.

The rationale for the savings proposed is to try and retain the basic services
provided – access to well maintained parks and open spaces. Behind the

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rationale is the acknowledgement that the amount of open space in
Portsmouth is low, and that retention of existing open spaces is essential –
meaning that disposing of open space is not an option for saving money.
In circumstances where the transferral to users of the responsibility for the
services offered would both save money and maintain service provision, this
option will be explored.

Parks service – budget

The revenue budget for the parks service is used for the day to day
maintenance of Portsmouth’s parks and open spaces. The following figures
are for the financial year 2011/12.

Table 9
Budget 2011/12 Value
Parks management / admin £419,591
Grounds maintenance (excluding West £321,016
bedding, baskets and troughs) South £671,142
North £224,603
East £504,536
Play, hard landscaping £482,569
Arboriculture £100,435
Bedding plants (including maintenance) £104,460
Animal care £44,647
Repairs, vandalism, parks equipment £88,767
Floral baskets and troughs (including maintenance) £53,373
Grants £4,900
Wildlife sites Portsdown Hill £45,972
Hilsea Lines £38,169
Allotments £20,916
Miscellaneous £3,533
Income from golf courses Great Salterns (£251,650)
Portsmouth Golf Course (£100,000)
Income from concessions and pitch hire (£109,550)
TOTAL £2,667,429

Value for money review

In 2010 the parks service was reviewed by the council’s efficiency board to
assess value for money. The review focussed on the grounds maintenance
work carried out by the parks department on cultural services’ land. Main
conclusions were that the parks service:
• provides good value for money
• is delivering on its aims
• maintains high standards of service

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Background
• The review noted that grounds maintenance work has been carried out
by external contractors since the introduction of compulsory
competitive tendering in the 1980’s.
• Significant savings of £870,000 per year were made at the time the
contracts were let. The review noted that there has been no noticeable
reduction in standards, or increase in complaints since external
contracts were introduced.
• Demand for parks and open spaces is high. Satisfaction is high and
remains stable over time.
• Grounds maintenance work makes a significant contribution to the
council’s corporate priority of a ‘greener and cleaner city’.

Findings
• The service implicitly provides value for money because the contracts
are awarded through a competitive tender. Two of the contracts have
just been re-tendered, and both of these were awarded within existing
budgets. All contracts are tendered on a long-term basis, which also
provides better value for money. From this point of view, the service is
performing well in providing good value for money.
• When satisfaction and participation levels are benchmarked nationally
through auditing, parks and open spaces are in the upper third when
compared to other local authorities. This suggests that from a customer
point of view, the parks service is delivering on its aims.
• Quality audits are regularly carried out by the service, to ensure quality
remains high. These audits show that the standards of grounds
maintenance are seen to be high, and the regular audit showed that
larger parks had very good levels of cleanliness as measured by litter,
graffiti and dog fouling. The contractors are subject to financial
penalties if they do not adhere to the contract specifications.

Recommendations
• Explore opportunities for reviewing the way in which the contracts are
managed, including swapping ideas and approaches with the clean and
green team in the housing department.
• Look at the way in which staff are deployed to manage the contracts
and see whether efficiencies could be made.
• Maximise opportunities for transferring the responsibility of
maintenance over to other agencies. This could include areas such as
the various bowls clubs that the council maintains.
• Look at opportunities to increase income, through putting up fees and
charges with the various services that are provided

Objective 26 – Value for money

To achieve high standards of value for money in the provision of parks and
open spaces.

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In addition to the recommendations above, we will aim to achieve higher
standards of provision without making demands on the existing budget where
opportunities arise by:
• requiring developers to make off-site contributions that can be pooled
to fund improvement schemes identified and prioritised to our existing
open spaces under the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) scheme51.
• identifying opportunities for attracting external grant funding or using
funds to attract match funding
• seeking to attract sponsorship of parks facilities, amenities or events to
help pay for their provision or generate income

Transfer of maintenance liabilities

One of the recommendations of the value for money review was to maximise
opportunities for transferring maintenance responsibilities to other agencies.
This has already happened in a number of instances and there are proposals
for this approach to be extended further.
St Helen’s Cricket Field and pavilion in Southsea were leased to Portsmouth
Cricket Club in 2010, and the club now undertake maintenance of the building
and the grounds.
Eastney Playing Fields were bought by the council from the Ministry of
Defence in 2010. The maintenance of this green space and the associated
buildings is undertaken by an association of its users.
There are proposals for the city’s various bowls associations to take over the
maintenance of the bowling greens and pavilions. Similarly, the allotments
associations could take over the management of the city’s allotments. The
council is consulting with the bowls and allotments associations regarding
these proposals.

Income generation
The final recommendation of the value for money review is to look to increase
income by putting up fees and charges. Fees and charges are set annually,
and so are amenable to change, but are not the only source of income.

Income is generated through public use of our sports facilities, allotments,

seafront facilities and use of our open space for events. Leases and
concessions (such as catering concessions) also generate regular income.

Income is also generated through:

• Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and section 106 open space
contributions made by developers to fulfil planning obligations. There
have been changes to the way that contributions relating to planning
obligations are collected and distributed. More information is available
in Portsmouth City Council’s Planning Obligations supplementary
planning document.
• sale of assets, whether this is land or buildings (however, in line with
planning policy, this is strongly resisted without suitable alternative
provision)

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 • attracting grants towards major improvements such as Hilsea Lines
restoration (Heritage Lottery Fund), Farlington Playing Field drainage
(Sport England), Bransbury Park (Barclays Spaces for Sports), Play
Pathfinder (DCSF)
• sponsorship, such as Colas and Portsmouth Water supporting
Portsmouth in Bloom; and sponsorship of flower beds and the
Christmas Tree in Guildhall Square

Objective 27 – Fees and charges

To ensure charges for using our facilities are fair and affordable, while
maximising income.

The objective regarding fees and charges will be met by the following
measures:
• continue to offer discount to leisure card holders to ensure services are
accessible to disadvantaged residents
• maximise income generated through leases and concessions where
they exist or there is an opportunity
• where possible, to use the income generated to sustain facility
provision, reducing the need to subsidise with existing budgets

Page 128
29. Consultation – what
you’ve told us

Parks department consultation, Victoria Park

Page 129
Parks and open spaces surveys
Portsmouth City Council conducts regular surveys of public satisfaction with
its services. These are conducted by MORI for the council’s Residents
Survey, and also as part of statutory consultation for best value performance
indicators (BVPI) and more lately the New Place Survey. This programme of
regular surveys is currently under review, and surveys may not be undertaken
in future years.
In addition to these, the parks department undertakes periodic surveys into
participation and satisfaction with the city’s parks and open spaces.
In the event of the large scale surveys being cancelled, Portsmouth City
Council cultural services plan to introduce a survey which will include
questions relating to parks and open spaces.
Levels of satisfaction with Portsmouth’s parks and open spaces are high, and
have remained consistent for 20 years (start of the data collection period for
this document).

Satisfaction with parks and open spaces

Net satisfaction levels are compiled by subtracting the percentage of people
who responded that they are dissatisfied from the percentage of people who
reported that they are satisfied with Portsmouth’s parks and open spaces. The
results below are from the large scale MORI residents’ surveys, the BVPI
surveys and the New Place surveys. These results cover all respondents, and
so include not only users of parks, but non-users also. See later for data on
users and non-users.
In 2007 and 2009, the MORI surveys carried out for Portsmouth City Council
did not include questions relating to parks and open spaces.

Table 10
All Respondents
Year % satisfied % dissatisfied
1991 52 75 14
1993 53 80 11
1995 54 78 12
1997 55 73 13
1998 56 77 12
2000 57 73 13
2000 58 72 7
2002 39 71 15
2003 59 77 8
2005 60 72
2006 61 76 11
2008 1 69 14
2011 62 pending

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 Satisfaction with Portsmouth's Parks and Open Spaces

100

90

80
Percentage satisfied

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010
Year

Portsmouth parks department also carry out surveys in our parks and open
spaces. The questions asked are not the same as the larger scale surveys
above, but do contain a lot more detail. These surveys were carried out in
parks, so only include users of parks and open spaces. Also included here are
data from the larger scale surveys where they draw a distinction between
users and non-users.

Table 11
Users
Year Net satisfaction with
Portsmouth’s parks
1997 55 64%
1998 56 70%
2000 57 67%
2002 63 96%
2003 64 82%
2003 59 77%
2004 65 92%
2008 66 82%
2008 1 59%

The large scale surveys also ask about what facilities or services most need
improving in Portsmouth. The position of parks and open spaces on the list
suggests that respondents felt that Portsmouth’s parks and open spaces are
not in great need of improving. The most recent results from the 2008 New
Place survey are included below.

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Table 12
Factor that most needs improving %
The level of traffic congestion 46
Activities for teenagers 46
The level of crime 37
Clean streets 37
Road and pavement repairs 29
Affordable decent housing 21
Public transport 20
Wage levels and local cost of living 17
Sports and leisure facilities 17
Facilities for young children 16
Community activities 16
Job prospects 15
Health services 14
Shopping facilities 13
Parks and open spaces 13
The level of pollution 12
Cultural facilities (e.g. cinemas, museums) 9
Education provision 7
Access to nature 7
Race relations 5
Other 4

Non users
Satisfaction data for non-users are less informative, but in many cases non-
users are asked for reasons why they don’t use parks or open spaces. This
information is more useful than the (inevitably lower) satisfaction results from
people who are not familiar with parks and open spaces.

Data were gathered mainly from PCC parks surveys63 64 65 66. Those
interviewed were asked what factors prevented them from using the park.
There were many reasons given, but there were a few factors that consistently
appeared as common reasons for non-use of parks.

1. Not interested in parks or too busy doing other things

2. Intimidating or antisocial behaviour from other users (groups of youths
most often cited)
3. Dog mess and dogs not on leads
4. Not enough variety, not enough to do
5. Too much graffiti or litter
6. Toilets not clean or too far away
7. Events not publicised

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Participation
Data are gathered on the percentage of people who use Portsmouth’s parks
and open spaces, from the same sources as the satisfaction data above.

Respondents are asked how often they visit parks and open spaces in
Portsmouth. People who have visited in the last 6 months are considered
‘users’. In fact most users (generally speaking three quarters) use parks and
open spaces at least once a month.

Table 13
Year Percentage users
(people who have visited parks
in the last 6 months)
1991 52 72%
1993 53 80%
1995 54 75%
1997 55 64%
2003 59 84%
2005 60 54%
2006 61 87%
2008 66 91%

Percentage of residents who have used Portsmouth's parks and open

spaces in the previous six months

100%
90%
80%
Percentage participation

70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010
Year

What is the best thing about Portsmouth’s

parks?
This question was asked as part of the detailed parks department surveys
between 2000 and 200867 63 64 65 66. Understandably there was a very wide

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range of responses, but the most popular replies are listed below. The
percentages are a combined figure for all responses over the 8 year period.

1. Play areas / facilities for children (18% of answers)

2. Open space (14%)
3. Peace and quiet / somewhere to relax (11%)
4. Flowers / shrubs / trees / horticultural maintenance (11%)
5. Wildlife (9%)
6. A clean and tidy park (8%)
7. Proximity of the park / ease of access (5%)
8. Sports facilities (4%)
9. That the parks are free (3%)
10. Safety (3%)
11. All others (13%)

Parks are clearly valued for a wide range of the things they offer reflecting the
diverse range of people who use them.

What is the worst thing about Portsmouth’s

parks?
This question was also asked as part of the detailed parks department
surveys between 2000 and 2008. Again there was a very wide range of
responses, but the most popular replies are listed below. The percentages are
a combined figure for all responses over the 8 year period.
1. Antisocial behaviour of other users (24% of answers)
2. Dog fouling / inconsiderate dog owners (13%)
3. Litter / graffiti / cleanliness (7%)
4. Lack of facilities for children (5%)
5. Security concerns (4%)
6. Not enough seats or shelters (3%)
7. Not enough bins / dog bins (1%)
8. All others (43%)

The top three responses are in the most part due to the behaviour of the
people who use the park rather than the infrastructure of facilities of the park.
Regarding antisocial behaviour, Portsmouth City Council parks department
works closely with the community wardens and the police (as well as other
agencies) in regular meetings aimed at tackling this behaviour.
Portsmouth City Council parks department works with the council’s clean city
services to ensure dog control measures are enforced. The city’s dog byelaws
are being reviewed and new dog control orders will be introduced to tackle the
issue of dog fouling and nuisance dogs.
Grounds maintenance contractors are made aware of the importance of
cleanliness of open spaces, and regular monitoring takes place to address
problem areas. Few respondents reported a lack of bins, suggesting that
installing additional bins would be unlikely to make much difference. That said,
where problem areas are found, the installation of new bins nearby is always
considered as a response.

Page 134
Children’s satisfaction with parks and open
spaces
The Government’s TellUs surveys was undertaken across England by Ofsted,
most recently in spring 2008 (TellUs3) and in autumn 2009 (TellUs4), to ask
children and young people from years 6, 8 and 10 for their views about their
local area.
Ofsted carried out the TellUs survey in order to ensure that the first-hand
views of children and young people were taken into account as part of each
local authority’s inspection process, and to provide data to compare at a
national level.
Some of the questions in the TellUs surveys refer to parks and open spaces:

Participation
% of children who have been to a park or playground in the previous 4 weeks

Table 14
Survey Portsmouth National
TellUs3 (2008) 77% 74%
TellUs4 (2009) 72% 66%

Satisfaction
This corresponds to the National Indicator 199 – Children’s satisfaction with
parks and play areas.

% of children who responded ‘very good’ or ‘fairly good’ when asked “what do
you think of the parks and play areas in your area?”

Table 15
Survey Portsmouth National
TellUs3 (2008) 49% 44%
TellUs4 (2009) 58% 54%

Importance of parks and open spaces

As part of the large scale MORI residents’ surveys, the BVPI surveys and the
New Place survey, residents are asked what is most important in making
somewhere a good place to live.
Parks and open spaces score highly in importance to the people of
Portsmouth, behind only crime, clean streets, health services and affordable
decent housing.

The ranking from the last large scale survey (2008 New Place survey1) is
included below.

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Table 16
Factor in making somewhere a good place to live %
The level of crime 63
Clean streets 51
Health services 41
Affordable decent housing 33
Parks and open spaces 32
Public transport 30
Shopping facilities 27
Education provision 24
The level of traffic congestion 22
Activities for teenagers 21
Job prospects 20
Wage levels and local cost of living 18
Facilities for young children 16
Road and pavement repairs 16
Access to nature 15
The level of pollution 13
Cultural facilities (e.g. cinemas, museums) 12
Sports and leisure facilities 11
Community activities 9
Race relations 2
Other 3

Local Development Framework

consultation
In preparing The Portsmouth Plan, Portsmouth City Council’s planning
department undertook a series of consultation exercises. The first was in
response to the Core Strategy Issues and Options document. This took place
at the end of 2006.

Regarding open space, the majority view from respondents was the need to
keep all open space in the city (not give them away for development), improve
our open spaces and provide new areas of green space wherever possible.

Respondents overwhelmingly expressed the opinion that all open spaces and
sites of importance for nature conservation should be kept and not used for
development, regardless of quality. Alongside this was the call for more
improvements to be made to those open spaces that are currently underused
or seen to be of poor quality.

The few respondents who felt that underused open spaces should be used for
development generally made this comment with the caveat that any open
space lost should be re-provided elsewhere in the city (i.e. no net loss of open
space).

Page 136
The importance of safeguarding the feeding grounds of Brent Geese, and
other internationally important species was expressed by a number of specific
interest groups including the need for any development planned in close
proximity to such sites to be carefully assessed to assess the likely affects on
the habitat.

Comments regarding the importance of open spaces in densely populated

urban areas were also made by Natural England, stating that more efforts
should be made to ‘green’ the urban environment and incorporate new green
space wherever possible.

In 2007, further consultation regarding the issues and options for The
Portsmouth Plan was undertaken. In this exercise, three options were
presented; greener development, dispersed development and a balanced
approach. The response to this exercise was in favour of the greener
development option with its strong emphasis on design, sustainability and
renewable energy.

Page 137
30. Equality impact
assessment
An full equality impact assessment (EIA) has been completed for this strategy,
and has been published on the council’s website68.

Page 138
31. Action Plan

Returning composted green waste to Pier Road flowerbeds, Southsea

Page 139
 Portsmouth’s Parks and Open Spaces Action Plan
Aim 1 – To set standards for provision of the quantity and type of green space, and to ensure these match the
needs of Portsmouth’s residents and visitors.
What do we want to How are we going to achieve it? How will we know when Timescale Responsibility Resources Status
achieve? we have been for action for delivery
successful?
Objective 1 – The standards for parks and Standards met Ongoing Planning service Achievable with existing
Portsmouth’s accessible gardens, amenity green space and resources (2011/12).
green space quantity fringe countryside are set at the Parks service
standard. To provide and current level of provision and so are
protect 3.64 ha per 1000 achieved by definition at current Other PCC land
population of non- population levels. owning
specialised accessible departments:
open space, and to The standard for natural or semi- Horsea Island Country 2014

Green
maintain the balance natural urban green space will be Park opened Housing service
between formal, informal met by the addition of 52 hectares of Highways service
and natural green space. open space when Horsea Island Asset
Country Park (the former Paulsgrove Management
landfill site) is opened. service

Protection of open space will be 2012

achieved by adoption of the policy on
protected open space in The
Portsmouth Plan
Objective 10 – By monitoring bookings of playing Local sports leagues able Ongoing Parks service Staff time needed for
Portsmouth’s playing pitches and matching provision to to complete their administration of booking
pitch provision. To this demand. programme of fixtures. Mountbatten system and monitoring of

Green
ensure that playing pitch Centre pitch provision.
provision is sufficient and By ensuring that there is sufficient Achievable with existing
suitable to meet local provision to cope with adverse resources (2011/12).
needs. weather or other factors that may
cause fixture congestion.

Page 140
What do we want to How are we going to achieve it? How will we know when Timescale Responsibility Resources Status
achieve? we have been for action for delivery
successful?
Objective 11 – Outdoor The standard is set at the current Standard met Ongoing Parks service Achievable with existing
sports facilities. To level of provision so is met by resources (2011/12).
maintain and protect 0.47 definition at current population levels. Planning service
ha per 1000 population of

Green
open space for outdoor Protection of the outdoor sports
sport (excluding golf facilities will be achieved by the
courses). planning service’s presumption that
there will be no net loss of public
open space, and that change of use
will be resisted.
Objective 14 – Standard is set at existing level of Standard met Ongoing Parks service Overall standard
Portsmouth’s play space provision so is met by definition at achievable with existing
quantity standard. To current population levels. Planning service resources (2011/12).
maintain 0.88 ha per 1000

Green
population of play space, The balance between equipped and New play areas
made up of equipped play informal play spaces may change by dependent on external
areas and informal play creation of new equipped play areas. funding.
spaces However these would normally be
situated in areas currently used as
informal play spaces so the total area
will not change
Objective 16 – Creating more allotment plots by Standards met, and 2013 Parks service Additional staff time
Portsmouth’s allotment dividing up larger plots that become policy of creating more needed for administration
quantity standard. To available. plots established. Planning service of greater number of
provide 20 allotment plots allotment plots.
per 1000 households in By exploring the possibility of New sites created Funding needed for

Green
Portsmouth. converting unused areas within creation of extra plots on
To provide a minimum of existing allotment sites into new unused land within
0.14 hectares per 1000 plots. allotment sites.
population of land given Alternative is to transfer
over to allotments Standard for area is set at current responsibility to allotment
level of provision so is met by associations
definition at current population levels.

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 Portsmouth’s Parks and Open Spaces Action Plan
Aim 2 – To set and achieve high standards of quality of green space.
What do we want to How are we going to achieve it? How will we know when Timescale Responsibility Resources Status
achieve? we have been for action for delivery
successful?
Objective 2 – Quality Apply these design principles to new Newly developed sites Dependent Landscape External funding will be
design. To ensure that the sites and when green spaces are have been designed and on funding architects needed to redevelop open
principles of design as set enhanced constructed along quality spaces.

Amber
out in PPS1, CABE Space design principles. Parks service HLF bid for Canoe Lake
publications and Green Sources of external funding for green will (if successful) fund
Flag Award criteria are space improvements will be Improvements in quality improvements to the park.
applied to Portsmouth’s necessary. CIL and section 106 audit scores for design
open spaces. developer contributions will be and specification at
available in many cases redeveloped sites.
Objective 3 – Grounds Detailed specifications for GM Standards of quality Ongoing Parks service Closely related to grounds
maintenance and contacts. maintained or improved maintenance budgets
horticultural quality. To as measured by Green Highways service which set standards that
ensure that grounds Work with Clean and Green team Flag Award criteria. can be afforded.
maintenance is performed and Colas to ensure high standards Housing service

Amber
to high levels of quality. city wide. Further budget cuts may
Clean city threaten this objective.
Regular monitoring and audit of services
performance of contracts

Monitoring of public praise and

complaints
Objective 4 – Work with Clean City Services, Increased levels of public Ongoing Parks service Achievable with existing
Cleanliness. To ensure Community Wardens and satisfaction with parks resources (2011/12),
that open spaces have Enforcement team to enforce dog and open spaces. Clean city although further budget
effective measures in control orders and littering issues services cuts may threaten this

Green
place to combat dog with fixed penalty notices. Reduction in incidence of objective.
fouling, graffiti and littering. dog fouling and littering Enforcement
Ensure that grounds maintenance service
contractors meet the high standards
set by GM specifications. Community
wardens

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What do we want to How are we going to achieve it? How will we know when Timescale Responsibility Resources Status
achieve? we have been for action for delivery
successful?
Objective 9 – Green Flag Develop site specific management Green Flag Awards won 2018 Parks service Officer time to write
awards. It is intended that plans for the parks if they do not management plans and
Green Flag Awards will be exist. develop community
won by the following sites involvement
by 2018: Encourage and develop friends
Hilsea Lines groups for the sites. Entry fees apply annually

Amber
Baffins Pond to successful sites.
Milton Park
Canoe Lake Some additional work will
Victoria Park be needed to address
Southsea Rock Gardens specific deficiencies in the
Southsea Rose Gardens sites. Funding from
Bransbury Park developer contributions
may be used for some of
this.
Objective 12 – Quality of By maintaining the provision of Improvement in quality of Ongoing Parks service Maintenance of current
playing fields. To ensure informal kick about goals in parks playing surfaces as standards is achievable
that sports pitches are fit and amenity green spaces. measured by grass with existing resources
for play through as much coverage and surface (2011/12).

Amber
of the season as possible, By removing nets from overused water drainage. Funding is needed for
and that standards do not goals to discourage informal use. improvement works to
fall year on year due to ensure that they are not
overuse By utilising new practices and allowed to deteriorate
additional remedial work to improve from over use.
grass coverage and reduce Further budget cuts may
compaction. threaten this objective.
Objective 13 – Sports By maintaining current levels of Changing facilities across 2022 Parks service External grants will be
pavilions and changing repair and maintenance. the city meet Sport needed for improvement
rooms. To ensure that England standards. Asset or replacement work.
changing facilities are fit By modernising ageing facilities to management Match funding is required
for purpose, safe and bring them up to Sport England service for grants.

Red
accessible. standards. Section 106 or
When designing new Community Infrastructure
changing facilities, these By replacing those facilities that have Levy funds may be
will be in accordance with reached end of life with new Sport available for this work.
Sport England’s design England compliant buildings
guidance.

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What do we want to How are we going to achieve it? How will we know when Timescale Responsibility Resources Status
achieve? we have been for action for delivery
successful?
Objective 15 – Play By designing new or redeveloped Principles of challenging 2022 Parks service External sources of
quality. To maintain the play areas to include natural or play (as epitomised by funding necessary for
city’s play areas to high informal play. the Play Pathfinder Landscape further programmes of
standards of quality, safety programme of architects improvements to build on
and accessibility By auditing compliance with Equality improvements) are rolled the success of the Play
To develop play areas with Act standards and making out across the city’s play Housing service Pathfinder programme.

Amber
the acknowledgement of adjustments where necessary to play areas where appropriate.
risk benefit through the areas to accommodate all abilities All council owned play
provision of informal or areas are compliant with
natural play. Equality Act, so standard
To make adjustments as met.
necessary to comply with
the Equality Act.

Page 144
 Portsmouth’s Parks and Open Spaces Action Plan
Aim 3 – To identify and act on measures to ensure that Portsmouth’s residents and visitors have easy access to
parks and open spaces.
What do we want to How are we going to achieve it? How will we know when Timescale Responsibility Resources Status
achieve? we have been for action for delivery
successful?
Objective 5 – Distance Standards largely met for local and Standards met 2022 Planning service Creating more parks or
standards. 5 minutes walk principal parks and play areas. improving amenity spaces
to a pocket park, 10 Meeting pocket parks standards may Parks service to parks standards will
minutes to a local park, 15 require making otherwise require capital funds and
minutes to a principal park, inaccessible spaces open to the increases in maintenance
15 minutes to a play area, public (e.g. school grounds), or costs.
20 minutes to an allotment transforming existing amenity spaces

Amber
site into pocket parks.

Meeting allotments standards will not

be possible without significant
change of use of spaces in the south
west of the city.

Parks created in new developments

will help to meet the pocket parks
standard.
Objective 6 – This will be achieved as a long term Standards met 2022 Parks service Staff time for audit.
Accessibility standards. process whereby accessibility issues
To apply the standards of are tackled first where they are most Many improvements will

Amber
the Sensory Trust severe. be achievable with
guidelines on inclusive existing budgets, but
access to Portsmouth’s External funding may be required for timescales will be long.
parks and open spaces. major projects.
Some additional funding
will be necessary.

Page 145
What do we want to How are we going to achieve it? How will we know when Timescale Responsibility Resources Status
achieve? we have been for action for delivery
successful?
Objective 7 – Equality of Conduct assessment of equalities Increased levels of 2017 Parks service Staff time and resources
access standards. Parks issues in parks and open spaces. satisfaction with parks for surveys and audit.
and open spaces in and open spaces among Equalities team

Amber
Portsmouth should be Identify excluded minority groups, BME and other minority
accessible to all and take steps to engage them with groups.
regardless of age, gender, the aim of removing barriers to their
sexuality, disability, accessing parks and open spaces.
religion or ethnic origin
Objective 8 – The Green Enhance the green spaces at the To be discussed and Ongoing Planning service Some works achievable
Grid. seafront, increasing access routes. reviewed with partners. with existing budgets.
To protect and enhance Parks service
the green grid Improve foot and cycle links around Creating new cycle and
Portsdown Hill. Community footpaths will require
groups additional funding.
Create a network of cycle and
footpath routes that link Portsmouth’s Seafront services

Amber
main green space assets.
Schools
Create a new country park at the
former Paulsgrove Landfill site

Promote greater use of school

playing fields and MOD land by the
community.

Link up parks and open spaces with

roads planted by trees.

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 Portsmouth’s Parks and Open Spaces Action Plan
Aim 4 – To ensure that green spaces are safe places to visit.
What do we want to How are we going to achieve it? How will we know when Timescale Responsibility Resources Status
achieve? we have been for action for delivery
successful?
Objective 18 – Safety in By continuing to work with partners in Reduction in vandalism Ongoing Parks service Staff time needed for
parks and open spaces. the CTG multidisciplinary groups. and antisocial behaviour attendance at CTG
To work with partners in parks and open Community meetings.

Amber
towards reducing By improving channels of spaces. wardens Funding required for new
antisocial behaviour and communication for reporting incidents Quicker response and teenage facilities in parks
crime in green spaces. to appropriate agencies. faster resolution of Police
By providing diversion activities for antisocial behaviour.
young people in parks. CTG groups

Page 147
 Portsmouth’s Parks and Open Spaces Action Plan
Aim 5 – To identify areas of natural open space and biodiversity, and ensure their protection and to take
measures to ensure sustainability of green spaces.
What do we want to How are we going to achieve it? How will we know when Timescale Responsibility Resources Status
achieve? we have been for action for delivery
successful?
Objective 17 – Trees. To Maintain trees on a risk management Tree management 2022 Parks service Achievable with existing
maintain a healtly, programme. programme established budgets
balanced, mixed-age tree successfully. Planning service
stock throughout the city. Continue to use Tree Preservation

Green
To increase the quantity of Orders. Completion of a tree 2014
trees in the city and strategy
increase woodland cover Develop a tree strategy
where possible
Protect existing trees and plant more
trees.
Objective 19 – By implementing the green planting Monitoring shows a 2022 Parks service Initial costs of sustainable
Sustainability. To apply policy with the aims of reducing the sustained reduction in planting schemes will be
the principles of use of natural resources, increasing water use. met by s106 contributions.
sustainability within the recycling, reducing chemical use and Water capture and Costs to address water
parks and open spaces in selecting suitable species of plants storage measures in leaks offset by savings on

Green
Portsmouth, and meet the for their situation. place. water bills
objectives of the emerging A significant and
Biodiversity Action Plan for By meeting the objectives of the sustained year on year
Portsmouth. emerging Biodiversity Action Plan for reduction in peat use
Portsmouth working towards eventual
elimination of peat from
council planting.

Page 148
What do we want to How are we going to achieve it? How will we know when Timescale Responsibility Resources Status
achieve? we have been for action for delivery
successful?
Objective 20 – Climate Planting more trees. Local Area Agreement 2012 Parks service Tree planting and re-
change. Take measures targets met planting with sustainable
to adapt to and mitigate Replacing annual flowerbeds with Planning service drought resistant plants
the effects of climate drought tolerant planting schemes. All new and enhanced 2022 need funding – currently
change. green spaces will have Asset being provided by s106
Reduce water waste by detecting climate change management contributions.
and repairing leaks promptly. adaptation measures service
included in their design Larger scale rain capture,

Amber
Explore the possibilities of rainwater Environment and grey water reuse systems
capture schemes public protection need funding
service
Introduce plumbing techniques that
re-use grey water

Ensure that future sustainable

community strategies recognise the
importance of parks and open
spaces in mitigating the effects of
climate change.

Page 149
What do we want to How are we going to achieve it? How will we know when Timescale Responsibility Resources Status
achieve? we have been for action for delivery
successful?
Objective 21– Existing Continuing to manage existing Develop management 2012 Parks service Staff time to develop
natural green space. To natural green spaces in accordance plans for natural green management plans
promote, develop and with adopted site specific spaces Seafront service
protect existing natural management plans to develop and Staff time to develop and
green space protect their wildlife value. Friends groups and / or 2014 encourage friends groups
volunteer groups set up and volunteer groups
Ensuring that sites without for natural green spaces
management plans are managed
appropriately to develop and protect
their wildlife value, and to develop
management plans where necessary.

Working in partnership with volunteer

Green
groups to develop a skilled workforce
to help manage the city’s natural
green spaces.

Working to ensure natural green

spaces are promoted as foci for
community involvement in green
space management – friends groups
and volunteer groups.

Using native species when creating

new natural planting areas within
existing sites

Promoting links between existing

natural green spaces

Page 150
What do we want to How are we going to achieve it? How will we know when Timescale Responsibility Resources Status
achieve? we have been for action for delivery
successful?
Objective 22 –New Recognise and register sites with Increase in the proportion 2022 Parks service Costs for creating new
natural wildlife habitats. significant wildlife value that are not of natural ‘local sites’ that natural areas may be met
To create new areas of already being managed are managed sensitively within existing revenue
natural wildlife habitats sympathetically. for wildlife. budgets, or may justify
within existing green allocation of s106 funds or
spaces. Identify areas within existing parks, Successful introduction CIL funds.
gardens, amenity green spaces, and of natural areas to
multifunctional green spaces that existing parks and open

Green
would be suitable for converting into spaces.
new wildlife habitats such as
meadow areas and native planting Programme of new
areas. native tree planting
successful.
Planting more native trees in the
city’s open spaces.

Using new natural habitats to link

existing natural green spaces.

Objective 23 – Maintain identified Brent Goose Maintenance of the Ongoing Parks service Achievable with existing
Threatened species and feeding sites. population of Brent resources
habitats. To protect, and Geese that visit Planning service
enhance where possible, Continue the existing programme of Portsmouth during the
the habitats of threatened chalk downland management on winter.
species. Portsdown Hill, to include scrub
removal, grazing, and suitable Continued scrub removal

Green
mowing regimes. from Portsdown Hill

Continue sensitive management of

natural coastal flora on Eastney
Beach.

Continue management of wildlife

habitats at Hilsea Lines, especially
with respect to stag beetles and other
threatened species.

Page 151
 Portsmouth’s Parks and Open Spaces Action Plan
Aim 6 – To promote green spaces as a resource for exercise and healthy living.
What do we want to How are we going to achieve it? How will we know when Timescale Responsibility Resources Status
achieve? we have been for action for delivery
successful?
Objective 24 – Health Encourage active recreation in Increased use of parks. 2022 Parks service External funds required
and wellbeing. To work Portsmouth’s parks and open spaces for installation of new
with partners to promote (running, walking, cycling, play, sport, Health fitness equipment, trim
new and existing ways in and using allotments) by working with More sports development improvement and trails etc.
which Portsmouth’s green partners to develop specific activities in parks. development
spaces can be used as a initiatives. service Staff time required to work
resource for improving Grow-your-own with partners.
health and well being. Continue the recent introduction of community gardens or Public Health
exercise equipment and trim trails in similar created in schools

Amber
parks and open spaces. grounds. Recreation
service
Encourage passive recreation by
greening the city’s streets, providing Private sector
seating areas and shelters. Leisure providers

Continue and extend sports Events team

development activities in parks.
Seafront services
Encourage schools to use parks for
active recreation.

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 Portsmouth’s Parks and Open Spaces Action Plan
Aim 7 – To encourage and promote community involvement in the care of parks and open spaces.
What do we want to How are we going to achieve it? How will we know when Timescale Responsibility Resources Status
achieve? we have been for action for delivery
successful?
Objective 25 – Actively encourage the development New friends groups 2022 Parks service Staff time needed for
Community Involvement. of friends groups and other created (especially, but development of friends
To support greater community groups (in line with Green not limited to Green Flag Seafront service groups and volunteer

Green
community involvement in Flag awards) Award candidate sites). groups.
the design and Community Funding needed to
management of green Existing friends groups engagement team support setting up of
spaces. To encourage and continue to flourish. groups.
support friends groups of
important green spaces.

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 Portsmouth’s Parks and Open Spaces Action Plan
Aim 8: To provide a basis for investment in open spaces; to ensure money is spent on the right things in the
right places, maximising service user satisfaction (value for money).
What do we want to How are we going to achieve it? How will we know when Timescale Responsibility Resources Status
achieve? we have been for action for delivery
successful?
Objective 26 – Value for Continue with the positive findings of Continued maintenance 2016 Parks service Achievable with existing
money. To achieve high the value for money review, including of high standards of resources.
standards of value for use of external contractors for quality within existing Asset
money in the provision of grounds maintenance budgets. management

Green
parks and open spaces service
Consider the recommendations of Extension of the principle
the value for money review, in of maintenance liability
particular transferral of maintenance transfer to other assets,
liabilities to user groups including bowling green
and allotments.
Objective 27 – Fees and Continue to offer discount to leisure Comparison with Ongoing Parks service Achievable with existing
charges. To ensure card holders to ensure services are benchmarking exercises. resources
charges for using our accessible to disadvantaged Asset
facilities are fair and residents. Dialogue with users. management
affordable, while service

Green
maximising income. Maximise income generated through Review levels of usage,
leases and concessions where they comments and
exist or there is an opportunity. complaints.

Where possible, to use the income

generated to sustain facility
provision, reducing the need to
subsidise with existing budgets

Page 154
Appendix 1 – Audit scoring sheet –
general
1 A Welcoming Place
1.1 Signage
Easily seen and read directional signs in surrounding streets
Welcoming sign at entrances, with contact details, opening hours etc
Map of space, where appropriate
Adequate directional signs to features and attractions
Information on signs is correct and up to date
Information on events and activities, where appropriate
Notice boards for Friends Group, where appropriate
All signs and notices positively worded
Overall score for signage

1.2 Physical Access

Attractive entrances designed to draw people in, not keep them out
Open sightlines into the space from entrances
Pedestrian crossings close to main entrances on busy roads
Adequate secure car parking near to main entrances
Secure cycle parking close to entrances
Adequate vehicular access for maintenance
Hard surfaces well drained and suitable for buggies and wheelchairs
Internal paths link up with external streets / other spaces on desire lines
Segregated internal cycle-ways, where appropriate
Clear exit routes from the space
Overall score for physical access

1.3 Inclusiveness
Accessible from neighbouring streets / parking by wheelchair
Designated disabled parking bays close to entrance
General accessibility for the disabled (e.g. ramp as alternative to steps, no barriers etc)
All buildings open to the public accessible
Colour contrasts / attractive scents / textures to appeal to partially sighted visitors
Paths and entrances wide enough for two wheelchairs to pass
Overall score for inclusiveness

1.4 Design and Specification

Attractive, well designed space(s) with varied visual interest
Unique sense of place
High quality materials for hard landscaping
Free of clutter - superfluous signage and other infrastructure
Buildings appropriately designed and located
Attractiveness of boundaries
Appropriate tree types
Range of plants or shrubs appropriate to the space
Well developed ground layers in wooded areas
Well located benches and seating areas
Consistency of features and furniture (e.g. seats, litter bins)
Art and craftwork (e.g. decorative railings, benches) as appropriate
Enlivening features where appropriate - flags, decorative lighting etc
Working areas and stores screened from general view
Overall score for design and specification

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2 Healthy, Safe and Secure
2.1 Health and Well-being
Organised sport e.g. through clubs
Shade and shelter around areas where people will be static
Signed fitness or jogging route, if appropriate
Sports development activities
Overall score for health and wellbeing

2.2 Safety and Security

Activity and busyness - pedestrian traffic, gardeners, buskers etc
Sense of personal safety in the space
Informal supervision and surveillance from nearby properties
Adequate safety measures adjacent to areas of water (e.g. signs, lifebelts)
Adequate lighting around the space, including through routes (score x if shut at night)
Lighting in car parks used after dark
CCTV, if appropriate
First aid provision (e.g. details of provision available and where it is)
Good visibility throughout the space to enhance security
Visited by Community Wardens or Police
Overall score for safety and security

2.3 Control of Dogs

Adequate dog bins
Appropriate signage on the control of dogs
Evidence of compliance with dog byelaws
Overall score for control of dogs

3 Well Maintained and Clean

3.1 Litter and Waste Management
Adequate number of litter bins for the space
Capacity of litter bins
Free of dog fouling
Free of litter, chewing gum residue
Free of vandalism, graffiti and fly-posting
Overall score for litter and waste management

3.2 Grounds Maintenance and Horticulture

Condition of flower beds and horticultural features (e.g. floral displays)
Condition of grass swards
Condition of the edges of grassed areas
Condition of shrubs
Condition of trees (as separate from wooded areas containing several trees)
Condition of wooded areas
Overall score for grounds maintenance and horticulture

3.3 Buildings (except toilets and sports pavilions)

External condition (excluding vandalism) - paintwork, gutters, timber etc
Extent of graffiti / vandalism to the exterior
Internal condition (if open to public)
Appropriateness of design for location
Adequacy of security arrangements when closed
Overall score for buildings

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3.4 Public Toilets
Adequacy of toilets for size of space
Presence of disabled toilet(s)
General condition of toilets (e.g. functional, lockable cubicles)
Cleanliness of toilets
Freedom from graffiti inside toilet block
Overall score for public toilets

3.5 Infrastructure (e.g. paths, walls, fences, gates, furniture)

Condition of paths
Condition of fences / railings / gates / walls
Condition of lighting
Condition of signs and notice boards
Condition of planters / raised beds
Condition of steps, ramps and handrails
Condition of seats
Overall score for infrastructure

4 Conservation and Heritage

Historic structures (buildings, statues, railings, walls, archaeology) conserved
Suitable interpretation for heritage features
Active management of areas of woodland and wildlife habitats
Areas of water in good condition, with shallow margins
Presence of wildlife habitats where appropriate
Overall score for conservation and heritage

5 Community Involvement
Active Friends Group for the space
Facilities and features which appeal to young children (under 8s)
Facilities and features which appeal to children aged 8-12
Facilities and features which appeal to teenagers
Facilities and features which appeal to young adults
Facilities and features which appeal to families
Facilities and features which appeal to older people
Overall score for community involvement

Marking scheme
Assessment Score
Good 3
Fair 2
Poor 1
Absent (but desirable) 0
Absent (not needed) x

Page 157
Appendix 2 – Audit scoring sheet –
wildlife sites
1 A Welcoming Place
1.1 Signage
Easily seen and read directional signs in surrounding streets
Welcoming sign at entrances, with contact details, opening hours etc
Map of space, where appropriate
Adequate directional signs to features and attractions
Information on signs is correct and up to date
Information on events and activities, where appropriate
Notice boards for Friends Group, where appropriate
All signs and notices positively worded
Overall score for signage

1.2 Physical Access

Attractive entrances designed to draw people in, not keep them out
Open sightlines into the space from entrances
Pedestrian crossings close to main entrances on busy roads
Adequate secure car parking near to main entrances
Secure cycle parking close to entrances
Adequate vehicular access for maintenance
Hard surfaces well drained and suitable for buggies and wheelchairs
Internal paths link up with external streets / other spaces on desire lines
Clear exit routes from the space
Overall score for physical access

1.3 Inclusiveness
Accessible from neighbouring streets / parking by wheelchair
Designated disabled parking bays close to entrance
General accessibility for the disabled (e.g. Radar locks on gates etc)
All buildings open to the public accessible
Appropriate paths suitable for wheelchairs
Overall score for inclusiveness

1.4 Design and Specification

Attractive, well laid out space
Unique sense of place
Appropriate and functional materials for hard landscaping
Free of clutter - superfluous signage and other infrastructure
Buildings appropriately designed and located
Attractiveness of boundaries
Range of plants, shrubs or trees appropriate to the space
Well developed ground layers in wooded areas
Well located benches and seating areas
Consistency of features and furniture (e.g. seats, litter bins)
Working areas and stores screened from general view
Overall score for design and specification

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2 Healthy, Safe and Secure
2.1 Health and Well-being
Organised walks
Organised conservation activities
Signed walking or jogging route, if appropriate
Sufficient space to feel ‘away from it all’
Overall score for health and wellbeing

2.2 Safety and Security

Sense of personal safety in the space
Informal supervision and surveillance around the site
Adequate safety measures adjacent to areas of water (e.g. signs, lifebelts)
Adequate lighting around the space, including through routes (score x if shut at night)
Visited by Community Wardens or Police
Overall score for safety and security

2.3 Control of Dogs

Adequate dog bins
Appropriate signage on the control of dogs
Evidence of compliance with dog byelaws
Overall score for control of dogs

3 Well Maintained and Clean

3.1 Litter and Waste Management
Adequate number of litter bins and dog bins for the space
Capacity of litter bins
Free of dog fouling
Free of litter
Free of vandalism, graffiti and fly-posting
Overall score for litter and waste management

3.2 Grounds Maintenance

Appropriate maintenance regime for meadows
Appropriate maintenance regime for amenity grass areas
Appropriate maintenance regime for wooded areas
Condition of bodies of water
Overall score for grounds maintenance

3.3 Buildings – section deleted

3.4 Public Toilets

Adequacy of toilets for size of space
Presence of disabled toilet(s)
General condition of toilets (e.g. functional, lockable cubicles)
Cleanliness of toilets
Freedom from graffiti inside toilet block
Overall score for public toilets

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3.5 Infrastructure (eg paths, walls, fences, gates, furniture)
Condition of paths
Condition of fences / railings / gates / walls
Condition of signs and notice boards
Condition of bins
Condition of steps, ramps and handrails
Condition of seats
Overall score for infrastructure

4 Conservation and Heritage

Historic structures (buildings, statues, railings, walls, archaeology) conserved
Suitable interpretation for heritage features
Areas of water in good condition, with shallow margins
Overall quality of the wildlife habitat
Overall score for conservation and heritage

5 Community Involvement
Active Friends Group for the space
Active volunteers group
Overall score for community involvement

Marking scheme
Assessment Score
Good 3
Fair 2
Poor 1
Absent (but desirable) 0
Absent (not needed) x

Page 160
Appendix 3 – Audit scoring sheet –
play areas
1 Location
Informal oversight by passers-by or nearby properties
Safe access to the site using footpaths and cycle routes
Good exit routes
Street lighting in surrounding streets
Play area lit if open after dark
Accessibility for buggies, pushchairs and people in wheelchairs
Located where there is high chance of other children passing by and joining in
Site designed to fit in with surroundings
Overall score for location

2. Play value
Appropriate signage welcoming children to play
Play opportunities for disabled children
Meets play needs of different ages
Offers opportunity for movement (running, rolling, swinging, climbing, balancing)
Imaginative play (changes in level, texture, loose parts, sculptures)
Space for ball games, with markings if appropriate
Access to natural environment (landscaping and planting)
Places for children to sit
Added play value (opportunities to take risks, or co-operate)
Overall score for play value

3. Maintenance
Accessibility for maintenance equipment
Freedom from litter
Freedom from vandalism and graffiti
Freedom from dog fouling
Freedom from broken glass/other dangerous material
Condition of paths
Condition of litter bins
Condition of play equipment
Condition of lighting
Condition of safety surface beneath equipment
Condition of dog-proof fencing
Condition of landscape and horticultural features
Overall score for maintenance

4. Others
Seating for adults
Adequate litter bin provision
Dog free zone
Cycle racks
Toilets available to children and adults using the site
Self closing gate
Overall score for others

Page 161
Appendix 4 – Maps
The following maps appear in this appendix:

Map 1: Distance standard for pocket parks

Showing 300m catchment areas for pocket parks or larger

Map 2: Distance standard for local parks

Showing 600m catchment areas for local parks or larger

Map 3: Distance standard for principal parks

Showing 900m catchment areas for principal parks or larger

Map 4: Distance standard for play areas

Showing 900m catchment areas for play areas

Map 5: Distance standard for allotments

Showing 1200m catchment areas for allotments

Map 6: Public transport accessibility zones

Highlighting medium and high public transport accessibility zones

Map 7: Protected open space in Portsmouth

Showing open spaces protected from development by policy PCS13

Map 8: Natural green space standards – 2 hectare sites

Showing 300m catchment areas for 2ha natural sites

Map 9: Natural green space standards – 20 hectare sites

Showing 2km catchment areas for 20ha natural sites

Map 10: Natural green space standards – 100 hectare sites

Showing 5km catchment areas for 100ha natural sites

Map 11: Natural green space standards – 500 hectare sites

Showing 10km catchment areas for 500ha natural sites

Page 162
Map 1: Distance standard for pocket parks

Page 163
Map 2: Distance standard for local parks

Page 164
Map 3: Distance standard for principal parks

Page 165
Map 4: Distance standard for play areas

Page 166
Map 5: Distance standard for allotments

Page 167
Map 6: Public transport accessibility zones

Page 168
Map 7 – Protected open space in Portsmouth

Page 169
Map 8: Natural green space standards – 2 hectare sites

Page 170
Map 9: Natural green space standards – 20 hectare sites

Page 171
Map 10: Natural green space standards – 100 hectare sites

Page 172
Map 11: Natural green space standards – 500 hectare sites

Page 173
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Page 176
Cultural Services
Civic Offices
Guildhall Square
Portsmouth
PO1 2AD
Telephone: 023 9283 4180
Email: [email protected]

www.portsmouth.gov.uk

You can get this

Portsmouth City
Council information
in large print, Braille,
audio or in another
language by calling
023 9283 4180.
Document ref: POSS2012

Page 177
Front cover photograph: Sustainable planting at Bransbury Park