HIGP Press Releases
Running Sores
— 10 November 2009
The Highland Greens have bitterly condemned the Highland Council’s decision that, in future, residents will be required to own all common areas of open space within new housing developments, rather than for the Council to take ownership of these common areas and to be responsible and accountable for their management and maintenance.
“This is a wholly divisive and inequitable decision by the Highland Council”, said Donnie Macleod, the Greens’ Westminster election candidate for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey.
“The Highland Council’s policy has major implications, not just for new residents coming into the Highlands, but also for existing residents who are required to pay factoring charges on top of their Council taxes. It means many residents in new housing areas will be, or will continue to be, required to pay factoring charges in addition to their Council Tax, whereas other residents in longer established areas will continue to have management and maintenance of their open spaces funded directly by the Highland Council.”
“This issue of ownership, management and maintenance in new developments is already a ‘running sore’ in some areas, and will spread as more developments become established. The Planning Committee’s declared policy will do little, if anything, to resolve the matter — and could well make matters worse.
“While we very much welcome management agreements with local community groups, including Community Councils, The Highland Council’s policy wholly fails to address the very real problem where communities may not be as well organised as others and therefore less able or willing to set up Residents’ Associations or similar groupings and take on the ownership, management and maintenance associated with privately-owned land.
“Furthermore, the Council’s policy could well generate considerable bad feeling if facilities, such as children’s playgrounds, parkland etc. were to be used by ‘outsiders’ i.e. anyone using the sites but not paying the related factoring charges.
“In our response to the Highland Council’s consultation, we recommended that, once a development had been completed, the Highland Council should normally take ownership of designated open areas, including taking responsibility for its financial and on-site day-to-day management and maintenance. This should not, however, preclude The Highland Council entering into management agreements with local community groups, including Community Councils; furthermore, there should be a presumption in favour of entering into such agreements wherever the local community has the capacity and intention to manage open space in accordance with the principles of accountability and common usage mentioned above.
“We are further concerned that The Highland Council may already be reneging on its own newly-published ‘Open Space in New Residential Development’ guidance. In the Council’s ‘Main Issues’ report, the proposed Open Space for the East Inverness area is only 13 hectares, less than half the 28 hectares that should be provided for the area’s proposed population of 7,250 people, on the basis of 40 sq m per person laid down in the Open Space guidance.” (1)
Notes:
(1) see www.highland.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/66F32BD5-C5DB-47B2-8578-230E22CE5825/↩
0/Part2ProvisionStandards.pdf which – at para 2.1 (first bullet) – clearly
states that “the overall quantity standard remains the 40 sq m per person set
out in the adopted Local Plans”.
(2) The Planning Committee’s decision was taken at its meeting on 20 May 2009. The new Guidance agreed at that meeting is at: www.highland.gov.uk/yourenvironment/planning/developmentplans/osspg.htm.
(3) The Highland & Islands Greens’ concerns are spelt out in a letter to Councillor Ian Ross, Chairman of the Highland Council’s Planning, Environment and Development Committee:
Dear Councillor Ross
DRAFT SUPPLEMENTARY GUIDANCE: OPEN SPACE IN NEW RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENTS
I am writing on behalf of my Party to express our extreme disappointment about the Highland Council’s Planning, Environment and Development Committee’s recent decision (20 May 2009) that ‘House owners will own all common areas of open space within new residential developments’. Our concerns are described below (and draw on our submission of 31 March 2009 in response to the Highland Council’s consultation on this issue). (4) I would be grateful if you would invite the Committee to reconsider its decision at the earliest opportunity.
- (Lack of) Equity of Treatment
The Council’s decision will patently have a divisive effect: residents living close to open areas currently owned and managed by the Council will incur no additional costs as a result of this policy, whereas both those already living in relatively newly-developed areas, and who currently pay factoring charges, together with those future residents arriving in, as yet, undeveloped areas, will all be required to fund management and maintenance, in addition to paying their Council tax. This is grossly inequitable, and calls into question the statement in the Council Officials’ paper PED 42/09 (para 8.1) that “a full Equalities Impact Assessment is not required”. Furthermore, the Council’s decision is wholly at odds with its declared Corporate Plan aim of ‘Building a fairer and healthier Highlands’. - (Lack of) Residents’ Associations
While we very much welcome management agreements with local community groups, including Community Councils, (which in fact we recommended in our initial response), the Highland Council’s policy wholly fails to address the very real problem where communities may not be as well organised as others and therefore less able and/or willing to set up Residents’ Associations or similar groupings and take on the ownership, management and maintenance associated with privately-owned land. - Common useage
One obvious consequence of the Council’s policy is that it could generate considerable bad feeling if facilities, such as children’s playgrounds, parkland etc were to be used by ‘outsiders’ ie anyone using the sites but not paying the related factoring charges. Highland Council ownership would preclude any such complaints.
This issue of ownership, management and maintenance in new developments is an extremely serious one. Already it is a ‘running sore’, and will spread as more developments become established. The Planning Committee’s declared policy will do little, if anything, to resolve the matter – and could well make matters worse. We therefore invite you and your committee to review its decisions urgently.
I am copying this letter to Councillor Michael Foxley, and all (other) members of the Highland Council’s Planning, Environment and Development Committee.
Yours sincerely,
Highlands and Islands Green Party
(4) The Highland Greens’ response (31 March 2009) to the Highland Council’s ‘Open Spaces’ consultation is here.
