• CONTENTS
• List of Policies
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• List of Maps
• Introduction
• Part I Strategy & Policies
• Strategy
• Policies
• Part II Detailed Policies & Justification
• 1 Sustainability Appraisal
• 2 The Environment
• 3 Design
• 4 Housing
• 5 Industry and Employment
• 6 Rural Economy
• 7 Tourism
• 8 Shopping
• 9 Movement
• 10 Conservation of the Historic Environment
• 11 Countryside
• 12 Nature Conservation
• 13 Recreation & Leisure
• 14 Community Facilities
• 15 Minerals
• 16 Waste Planning Management
• 17 Implementation & Monitoring
• Appendix 1: Cadw Register of Landscapes, Parks & Gardens
• Appendix 2: Licensed Non-landfill Waste Facilities
• Glossary

14 Community Facilities

Community Facilities Objectives

1. To enable the provision of a wide range of community facilities which meets the needs of local people.

2. To prevent the loss of existing community facilities and encourage the provision of new ones.

3. To ensure that a full range of facilities is easily accessible for all members of the community.

14.1 INTRODUCTION

14.1.1 Community facilities are provided in Monmouthshire by a wide range of public and private bodies. Monmouthshire County Council has a significant role in relation to the provision of education, leisure, social services and cemetery services. Health services are, as a whole, provided by local health authorities. The role of Town and Community Councils is valuable, as the delivery of services to the dispersed rural population presents particular problems. Town and Community Councils also have an important responsibility in the upkeep of community halls. Private sector and voluntary organisations also have an increasingly important role as service providers.

14.1.2 With respect to community facilities, the Unitary Development Plan (UDP) allows the Council to co-ordinate land use and direct service provision, and to facilitate valuable provision by others. This role is important, as there has been a decline in service provision, especially in rural areas where primary schools and village shops have closed reflecting changing population structures, economic pressures and increased car ownership. The well-being and revival of settlements in Monmouthshire is facilitated by the UDP which includes a policy framework for the provision of community facilities and services. Furthermore, Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) planning guidance requires planning authorities to have regard to social considerations in land use policies, and ensure land is provided for schools and higher education, places of worship and other community facilities

14.1.3 Community facilities include, amongst others, schools, colleges, libraries, community halls, youth and OAP centres, health care/social services, residential nursing homes, village shops, public houses, childcare facilities, community art, crime prevention facilities and places of worship. They perform a beneficial function for everyone by providing an important basis for local services. They can also be the focus of community identity and assist, in particular, elderly people, young people, people with young children, disabled people, ethnic minorities, unemployed people and those on low incomes in improving their quality of life. Addressing community and welfare issues also contributes to Monmouthshire County Council’s Local Agenda 21 commitments to improving and maintaining the quality of life for present and future generations.

14.1.4 The ‘Three Towns Initiative’ study, which developed town centre strategies for the towns of Abergavenny, Monmouth and Chepstow, has also underlined the need to improve community facilities. The study highlighted that a ‘lack of (community) facilities’ was a common ‘dislike’ of the towns, whilst ‘young peoples’ facilities’ figured as a popular improvement that local communities would like to see. Thus, the provision of facilities is to be encouraged both in new communities associated with new housing developments and in existing communities.

14.2 THE PROVISION OF COMMUNITY FACILITIES

14.2.1 Community facilities make a positive contribution in improving the level of service provision and they can help foster community contact and give a sense of social identity to locations. Community facilities can be considered appropriate in residential and non-residential areas as they serve the needs of the wider community. Whilst there is a general presumption in favour of community facilities, they should not erode the character and appearance of the natural and built environment nor the general design qualities of their location and should be in accord with Policies ENV1 and DES1.

14.2.2 Community facilities should be located where access is easy and safe so as not to discourage anyone from using the facility, particularly disabled people, elderly people and people with young children. Generally, community facilities should be located to minimise private car use, wherever possible. The car traffic generated by the development should not undermine this in terms of access or parking. Generally, off-street parking should be provided if on-street parking conditions are not sufficient to cater for the amount, and likely manoeuvres, of traffic generated.

14.2.3 Where appropriate, the Council will seek to enter into a Section 106 Planning Obligation with developers to secure community facilities on, or near the development site that meet the needs of local people. Planning obligations can often result in the provision of much-needed community facilities that would otherwise not have been forthcoming through the planning condition process. More information on the use of planning obligations can found in Welsh Office Circular 13/97: Planning Obligations.

14.3 THE RETENTION OF EXISTING COMMUNITY FACILITIES

14.3.1 Whilst shops, post offices and public houses in villages perform functions of local retail and leisure service provision, they also provide an essential focus for village social activity. In recent years rural parts of Monmouthshire have seen a decline in the number of such facilities. This has disadvantaged members of communities, particularly those without access to a car or who are not serviced by a regular and reliable bus service to carry out these functions elsewhere. Further loss resulting from change-of-use needs to be stemmed to prevent further degradation in the quality of village life. WAG guidance guards against the loss of village retail facilities. Policy S8 of the Shopping Chapter encourages and supports measures to provide further village shops and to extend the rural post office network. Monmouthshire County Council is helping to address these concerns by currently offering a 50% reduction in council tax to post offices in villages.

14.3.2 Other forms of community facility can provide useful and beneficial amenities for local people, especially where a village shop, post office or public house has fallen into disuse and the premises remain vacant. They often also complement existing facilities enabling people to combine trips, and therefore form a centre for village community activity. Some changes of use are ‘permitted development’ in terms of the Town and Country General Development Order 1995 and thus cannot be controlled by Policy CF2.

14.3.3 As stated above, community facilities are an essential element in promoting the quality of life in, and sustainability of, local communities. Thus, it is important to ensure that new development, or change of use, does not result in the loss of community facilities. Many community facilities are not profit-making and can be vulnerable to commercial development proposals. Consequently, the Council will seek to protect existing community facilities through the careful consideration of planning applications that have a detrimental impact on their continued existence.

14.3.4 Almost all community facilities need the support of the local population to ensure their continued viability and existence. When considering proposals for the change-of-use of a community facility, it will be necessary to take account of this level of support and patronage. With respect to commercially-operated community facilities, applicants will need to demonstrate that the existing facility is not, and could not reasonably be expected to become, financially viable. Applicants will also be required to show that the facility has been actively marketed at a price that is based on an appropriate market value for its existing commercial use. When alternative provision is proposed, the new facility should be located where ease and safety of access for users is not detrimentally affected by the re-location. This is in order to ensure the new facility will still serve the community after re-location.

14.3.5 Where there is a development proposal to change the use of an existing community facility to a residential use but the criteria of Policy CF2 are not complied with then this Policy will take precedence over those housing policies that are generally permissive of the change of use of other buildings to dwellings.

14.4 EDUCATION

14.4.1 The Council has completed a Strategic Review of Education Need in Monmouthshire, resulting in the School Organisation Plan: 2004 - 2009. Monmouthshire County Council provides education services to 12,673 students at September 2003. In September 2003 32 of Monmouthshire’s 42 primary schools had a surplus of places totalling 1430 students. Future numbers in individual primary schools will vary according to local circumstances, in particular in and out-migration from the county, housing development and parental choice. Secondary pupil numbers are forecast to rise steadily over the next 5 years, with currently 2 of the 4 secondary schools having pupil numbers in excess of their calculated capacity.

14.4.2 The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cardiff wishes to provide a new school in Undy sometime between the years 2000 and 2005. Therefore, land has been reserved for this purpose north of Undy Primary School. However, if this school is not developed, the site should be used for much needed recreational open space or local shopping provision.

14.4.3 School children can be particularly vulnerable to road traffic accidents, particularly at the peak times when the children arrive at school (8.15 to 9.00am) and depart (3.30 to 4.15pm). Many children also travel to / from school by cars, as passengers. Development of schools should occur in locations where the children’s safety would not be jeopardised by such traffic conditions. Adequate and safe ‘pick up’ and ‘drop off’ points for school children who travel by car should therefore be provided as part of the layout of the site.

14.4.4 Encouraging pedestrian and cyclist access can also help reduce car traffic to and from schools at peak times and the potential for accidents to children who walk or cycle to school. There are also important health benefits for children if they walk or cycle to school. The Council does, however, acknowledge the security concerns of schools and will take this into account when considering access issues for school sites.

14.4.5 Policy CF3 also provides for the expansion of existing schools and further education establishments. For example, the Usk campus of Coleg Gwent is an important part of the college’s overall provision for the Gwent area, offering courses that are primarily, but not wholly, land based. Usk is the largest of Coleg Gwent’s sites and its further development will be encouraged subject to detailed planning considerations.

14.5 HEALTH CARE AND SOCIAL SERVICES

14.5.1 There are currently four hospitals and several health centres located within the Council’s area. The district general, with accident and emergency facilities, is the Nevill Hall Hospital in Abergavenny, whilst other hospitals are located in Monmouth and Chepstow. Mental health provision is catered for by Maindiff Court in Abergavenny. There are numerous social service facilities throughout the county. As with the redevelopment of the Mount Pleasant site to the 84-bed Chepstow Community Hospital, any expansion to hospitals will be catered for within the curtilage of existing sites. The St. Lawrence hospital site in Chepstow has now been redeveloped for housing.

14.5.2 However, both health and social service facilities are not always conveniently located, particularly for the dispersed rural population. Therefore, development proposals that improve provision for local communities will be supported. It is particularly important that new/extended facilities are accessible to disabled people, elderly people and people with young children since these people tend to visit these facilities more frequently than other groups due to their special health care needs.

14.6 CHILDREN’S NURSERIES

14.6.1 Approximately two thirds of the increase in the local labour force over the next few years is expected to be female. This growth of the female labour force is expected to be concentrated in the childbearing ages of 25 to 50 years of age. If Monmouthshire is to tap further into the female labour pool and provide women with children the opportunity to embark upon employment or education, then appropriate child-care facilities need to be developed. However, it is important that children’s nurseries are located in suitable properties and locations.

14.6.2 Child nurseries require adequate play space to cater for the physical development of its child users. Facilities also need to be located where adequate and safe ‘pick up’ and ‘drop off’ points for children can be provided. Encouraging pedestrian and cyclist access can help reduce car traffic to and from schools at peak times. This, in turn, can help reduce the potential for accidents if parents walk or cycle with their children to nurseries.

14.6.3 In order that noise and visual intrusion from children’s nurseries is minimised for local residents, a five-metre buffer zone should be designated as part of the development. This is the same distance as the Council has adopted for new small recreational areas of public open space designed for use by 4-6 year old children. As this age band is likely to use external nursery play areas and play equipment it is reasonable for such a standard to apply to children’s nurseries. Screening the outdoor play space is also necessary so as to not disturb the residential quality of an area. Policy DES1 highlights relevant landscape design considerations.

14.6.4 The Council will also be guided as to the suitability of premises proposed as children’s nurseries by standards adopted by the Social Services Inspection Unit. Their criteria relate to:

• Suitability of the premises, including space for actual play activities, both indoors and outside. With respect to outdoor play area standards, 90-sq.m should be provided for a 26-place nursery.
• Play provision, equipment and materials
• Children’s welfare, staffing, administration and inspection.

14.7 CEMETERIES

14.7.1 The Council-operated cemeteries are located at Abergavenny, Chepstow, Monmouth and Usk. The sub regional (Gwent) crematorium is based just outside the Plan area at Croesyceilog in Cwmbran, whilst other such facilities are found at the Forest of Dean and Hereford. Most churchyards either have spare capacity or have already arranged nearby extensions. The Council will assist in the identification of additional land when necessary. The Council is aware, however, that land for new cemeteries is required in Portskewett, Raglan, Usk, Llanbadoc and Magor/Undy. Favourable consideration will be given to this use in these locations. The Council is also aware of the possibility that proposals may be brought forward to extend Abergavenny and Monmouth cemeteries.

14.7.2 The sensitivity of this land use, both in terms of adjacent land users and those using the graveyard or cemetery, will be taken into account in deciding a planning application.

14.8 COMMUNITY ART

14.8.1 Community art can be an important means of improving the natural and built environment of an area, and it can often help develop the area into a popular local attraction and focal point. The use of community art can be particularly beneficial in new housing developments, where art can provide the development with a focal point and help foster a sense of identity.

14.8.2 However, much can depend upon the appearance of the public art. Consequently, the visual contribution to the surrounding environment will be a consideration when deciding an application. This can be more easily judged where the local community has been involved in the design process and, thus, is likely to be more welcoming of the final results. This may involve a partnership of the local community with developers, the local authority and local artists. Hence, where local communities have been actively involved in the design of artwork, proposals will be looked upon particularly favourably. Where there is no obvious local community as such, as with new housing developments, developers may be minded to make a financial contribution and/or to set aside land for community art to be developed at a later date when the housing development is established. This can be seen as a useful way of assisting a new community to form an identity and to foster social networks, as residents collaborate together as part of a design process which is also part of the overall design statement for the development.

14.9 CRIME PREVENTION

14.9.1 Crime prevention is one of the social considerations which development plans must have regard to. Unitary Development Plans should aim to make crime more difficult by establishing the design, layout and landscaping of new residential and commercial development to create a more secure environment. WAG guidance also highlights the main opportunity to incorporate crime prevention measures into development is at the outset of the development process. Policy CF8 fits in with the broader crime prevention strategy for Monmouthshire that has included such innovations as the introduction of the Wye Valley Car Crime Project. Developers should consider gaining the ‘Secured by Design’ approval, which can be awarded where the design of new housing and other land uses meets adopted crime prevention guidelines.

14.9.2 The household survey associated with the ‘Three Towns Initiative’ report (October 1997), which developed town centre strategies for Abergavenny, Monmouth and Chepstow, has also identified crime and crime prevention as a locally important issue, with less than 14% of respondents feeling ‘extremely safe’ in the town centres in the evening.

14.9.3 Adequate lighting, and keeping areas open to view, can be seen as features of development which can provide local residents with a safer and more secure environment. Risk of detection may be lower in hidden and non-illuminated areas which are out of public view and increase criminal activity. A recent report conducted by Monmouthshire County Council revealed that street lighting levels in the main towns did not comply with British Standard 5489. To help rectify this situation, a programme of crime prevention improvements was implemented by Monmouthshire County Council during 2002/2003 which included the installation of additional street lighting and CCTV cameras. However, levels of lighting should not be over obtrusive so the residential qualities, of an area are diminished. Good access to amenities is also important since this is a method of increasing community ties and general stewardship of an area. This is equally true in town centres, where this can be achieved by encouraging people to live in residential developments above retail units.

14.9.4 Commercial properties can be particular targets of crime, especially vandalism and theft, and this can be discouraged by improving security of premises. However, it is also important that crime prevention should not detract from the character and appearance of an area. This is important in Monmouthshire, bearing in mind the historic nature of the built environment. A balance must be struck, therefore, between crime prevention and preserving or enhancing the built environment.

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