Open Space Developer Contributions Guidance - Consultation

Overview

The draft Open Space Development Contributions Guidance sets out the Council’s requirements for open space provision associated with new residential development. Its purpose is to provide clarity for developers, land owners and applicants on how open space contributions are calculated and what standards will be required when determining planning applications. It will form part of the suite of developer contributions guidance documents that supplement the Developer Contributions Guidance SPD adopted by the Council in March 2023. These can be viewed here Developer Contributions Guidance SPD - Castle Point Borough Council

The Open Space Developers Contributions Guidance will ensure that new developments provide appropriate mitigation for its impact on existing open spaces, establish when new public open space provision will be provided to support growth and provide direction on landscaping and design to promote well connected high quality open spaces are planned with long term management and maintenance considerations from the outset.  

The guidance is grounded in the Castle Point Open Space Assessment and the Castle Point Green and Blue Infrastructure Strategy, both of which were prepared as part of the evidence base for the Castle Point Plan Examination Library - Castle Point Borough Council. These studies provide the most up to date assessment of open space need within the Borough, and informs the standards applied in the draft guidance. 

The draft guidance sets out the types and scale of development that will be expected to provide open space on-site, based on the number of dwellings proposed and what typologies of open space will be required on those sites. Where on-site provision is not appropriate or deliverable, the guidance sets out a tariff for calculating off-site financial contributions. 

The guidance also sets out the Council’s expectations for how new open spaces will be managed and maintained in the long term, so that provision remains high quality and functional for future residents. There is also a section which sets out the requirements for submitting a planning application and details of how financial contributions will be held and managed. 

Why your views matter

By consulting on The Open Space Developers Contributions Guidance we are providing residents, businesses, the community and stakeholders the opportunity to feed into the document which will inform how open spaces are managed and delivered across the Borough.  

Following consultation, all comments received will be reviewed and the Open Space Development Contributions Guidance will be updated as required. The updated version of the guidance will then be presented to Council for adoption.