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April 15th deadline for latest consultation exercise....
March 2011 There seems to be no end to the consultations that are being launched. The Conservation Area, the parking proposals, concessionary bus passes, the ill fated Forestry Commission sell off, and now Green Spaces. Don't groan and say “not another one,” at least someone is asking even if sometimes the deadlines are tight and the level of publicity given inadequate.
The Green Spaces consultation being run by Leicestershire County Council enables people to record their favourite green spaces, whether they are parks and meadows or large green wedges between towns. If you walk your dog on the old mineral line footpath alongside the brook and field which Bloors wish to develop you may enjoy the feeling that you are at the edge of the village and next to open countryside as you look through the trees at the sheep grazing. If there were houses in the field you might be looking at more close boarded fencing instead. If you live near local parks or allotments you may appreciate recreational opportunities or the open views that the lack of urban development provides, or the views to the countryside beyond the village.
What can you include?
A green space is generally defined as a managed or more natural space, which is either publicly accessible and/or provides visual amenity. The visual amenity might be to retain an important view within or beyond a settlement, or on a larger scale to provide an area of separation between settlements or parts of settlements.
The County Council is particularly interested in hearing about more local areas that are important to you in your community, whether or not they match this definition. It could be a small strip of waste land that local children play on, a roadside verge that provides particular wildlife habitat, a village green or public garden, or even the green space that separates local villages. The vital factor is that the green space is valuable to you.
It's the 'L' word again
Localism. The council launched the idea because the Government’s localism policy aims to give local communities a greater say on planning decisions affecting their areas. Ministers are also proposing to create a new “valued green spaces” designation. Understanding which green spaces local people particularly value will help local communities and councils decide where new homes and other developments needed by local communities are best located.
The information gained will be used to produce a map of each community forum area highlighting valuable green spaces. This will:
be available to the community and can form part of the evidence base for preparation of community-led plans, including the new neighbourhood development plans proposed by the Government;
inform responses to consultation on emerging national policies, including the expected policy around a new designation for ‘locally important green space’ and district local development frameworks;
inform a potential county wide policy document on green spaces;
Inform programmes aimed at enhancing and improving access to and quality of green spaces for people and wildlife.
The consultation has already been discussed at the Community Forum for this area on February 10th so if you wish to comment you need to use the interactive online map. Just enter a postcode or click on the map to find an area of interest, zoom in and select a particular place, then explain what it is you value about that green space. You can comment on as many areas as you want - just repeat the process.
The easy to use selector tool is used to click the corners of the site then double click to finish. A tick box questionnaire box is then displayed which asks about the type of green space, the particular aspects you value, what is it that makes this green space important to you and how the green space could be improved. You can also add comments.
The interactive map can be found at http://www.lsr-online.org/greenspaces/ or by following the link above . If you do not have access to a computer you can complete the survey on a computer free of charge at Groby Library. You can email greenspaces@leics.gov.uk for further information.
If there are green spaces you value in Groby this is a consultation that is worth your participation. The consultation runs until April 15th.