Current track

Title

Artist


Have your say on open spaces & play

Written by on 27 March 2018

Have your say on plans for local parks & spaces

People are being asked for their views on plans for how local parks and open spaces are managed.

Swale Borough Council is consulting on a new Open Spaces and Play Strategy for the borough.

The strategy will set out how the council, working with residents and partners, will protect, maintain and enhance the open spaces it runs over the next four years.

It has been put together following a range of assessments and inspections of parks and open spaces, and sets out how decisions about them will be made.

Cllr David Simmons, cabinet member for environment and rural affairs at the council, said:

“Our stunning and distinctive environment is one of our greatest assets, and includes an outstanding range of internationally and nationally
important landscapes.

“They provide opportunities for formal sport, play or simply a place to meet with friends and neighbours.

“This strategy has been developed to help us focus on what is important over the next five years. We want to make sure we have the right number
of open spaces, and that the quality is maintained and important sites are prioritised for future enhancement.”

Open spaces include parks and gardens, natural/semi-natural greenspace, green corridors, outdoor sports and playing pitches, general amenity space and play areas.

The draft strategy confirms there is a sufficient amount of council owned and managed open spaces for the current population, with the exception of cemetery capacity. It says the focus of the next five years should be on improving the quality of existing open spaces that have been assessed as of low quality, with particular attention being paid to play areas.

It proposes investing at least £500,000 on existing open spaces over the next four years, and developing a rolling programme of refurbishments for a number of play areas during the life of the strategy.

The draft Strategy and technical assessment summary documents can also be viewed at www.swale.gov.uk/draft-open-spaces-strategy