Telford & Wrekin Council Guarantee to protect green spaces
Telford & Wrekin Council will be asked to approve protection from development for 116 open public spaces in the borough under its new Green Guarantee.
The Green Guarantee identifies areas of council owned land that it wants to protect from any future development along with six Local Nature Reserves and ten Sites of Special Scientific Interest
The Green Guarantee was a commitment in the Telford & Wrekin Local Plan, which proposes to reduce the number of new homes to be built in the borough by 41 per cent to 15,500. In 2010, the Council had envisaged 26,500 new homes in the borough by 2031.
The Green Guarantee is a commitment to identify Council owned green spaces which if backed by cabinet and following public views on the sites, would be formally recognised areas of open space for leisure, recreation and biodiversity purposes and protected from any development.
These sites would be in addition to areas of land which already protected such as Local Nature Reserves, Sites of Special Scientific Interest, Fields in Trust sites and Village Greens.
If the council's Cabinet approve the initial list of green spaces set out in the report, consultation and engagement with local interest groups and organisations via Town and Parish Councils will begin to ensure support for the identified Green Guarantee sites, gather any local knowledge and to clarify site information including site boundaries.
Later next year the Council will ask the community to identify another 50 Community Green Spaces which are owned by Telford & Wrekin Council to be included in the Green Guarantee and these will be identified through public consultation from December 2016.
Councillor Richard Overton, cabinet member for Housing, Public Health and Protection, said: “Our green guarantee shows how we are working to ensure that we can protect council-owned land that people use for their leisure and recreation from development.
“This builds on our commitment to create the Green Guarantee in the Local Plan earlier in the summer.
“We want to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to benefit from the green spaces we have in the borough and that these will be protected for future generations to enjoy.
“Living close to accessible and open green spaces is good for people’s health and helps tackle issues such as stress, obesity, heart disease and mental health as well as ensure that our borough continues to have the facilities of a modern progressive town with many accessible green spaces.”
The consultation for these spaces will be via www.telford.gov.uk/greenguarantee from Monday 2 November 2015 to 30 January 2016.
