Issue - meetings

Stour Valley Park Partnership and Strategy

Meeting: 14/04/2021 - Cabinet (Item 330)

330 Stour Valley Park Partnership and Strategy pdf icon PDF 201 KB

This report highlights work undertaken to date by an extensive partnership in developing the concept of a ‘Stour Valley Park’ landscape between Christchurch Harbour and Kingston Lacy Estate.  It recommends that BCP Council sign up to the partnership. 

The Stour Valley Park proposals are identified in the Bournemouth and Poole Local Plans and aim to bring partners together in a way that brings the biggest benefits for people and wildlife. Importantly it offers significant opportunities to contribute to multiple strands of the BCP Corporate Strategy including Sustainable Environment, Dynamic Places, Fulfilled Lives, Brighter Futures and Connected Communities.

A consultant has been funded through one strand of the Future Parks Accelerator (FPA) key project with an aim to develop partnership proposals into a Stour Valley Park Strategy and Masterplan, to inform both a new Green Infrastructure Strategy and Local Plan.  The Stour Valley Park Strategy is currently at the public engagement and development phase.  The strategy will be presented to Cabinet for adoption in Autumn 2021.

Additional documents:

Decision:

RESOLVED that: -

(a)           Cabinet agrees to BCP Council becoming a partner within the Stour Valley Park Partnership; and

(b)           Cabinet note that a Stour Valley Park Landscape Strategy will be developed for Autumn 2021 and recommended to Cabinet for adoption. A more detailed landscape masterplan will be developed by Spring 2022.

Voting: Unanimous

Portfolio Holder: Environment, Cleansing and Waste

Reason

BCP Council is one of the leading organisations contributing towards the Stour Valley Park Partnership and a significant landowner within the landscape. To fully contribute towards the development of the strategy it is important that the council is a member of the partnership.

Other partners include Dorset Council, Natural England, Bournemouth University, Environment Agency, National Trust, Dorset Wildlife Trust, Wessex Water, Bournemouth Water, Stour Catchment Initiative, Public Health Dorset, RSPB, Dorset Local Nature Partnership, Wessex Water and The Parks Foundation.

The Stour Valley Park Partnership is a partnership of organisations with an interest in the natural environment and should not be confused with the Stour Valley and Poole Partnership, which provides revenue and benefits services to local government in the area.

The Future Parks Accelerator Project was adopted by BCP as a key project following LGR. BCP is one of eight city regions to be nationally funded through the FPA for its proposals to develop sustainable parks for the 21st century. One key output will be a new Stour Valley Park Strategy 2021.

The Stour Valley Park Partnership and Strategy will create landscape scale management opportunities to: enhance access to green space, mitigate climate change, increase biodiversity, improve water quality, develop active travel networks, benefit health and wellbeing and enhance our tourism offer.

The Stour Valley Park Strategy will inform the emerging BCP Council Green Infrastructure Strategy and Local Plan.

Covid19 has highlighted the public need for greater access to green spaces, it is therefore an opportune moment to embrace this ‘at scale’ opportunity to boost recovery.

Minutes:

The Portfolio Holder for Environment, Cleansing and Waste presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'J' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.

The report highlighted work undertaken to date by an extensive partnership in developing the concept of a ‘Stour Valley Park’ landscape between Christchurch Harbour and Kingston Lacy Estate and sought agreement for BCP Council to sign up to the partnership. 

Cabinet was advised that the Stour Valley Park proposals were identified in the Bournemouth and Poole Local Plans and that these aim to bring partners together in a way that brings the biggest benefits for people and wildlife. Further to this Cabinet was informed that importantly it offers significant opportunities to contribute to multiple strands of the BCP Corporate Strategy including Sustainable Environment, Dynamic Places, Fulfilled Lives, Brighter Futures and Connected Communities.

Cabinet was informed that a consultant has been funded through one strand of the Future Parks Accelerator (FPA) key project with an aim to develop partnership proposals into a Stour Valley Park Strategy and Masterplan, to inform both a new Green Infrastructure Strategy and Local Plan, and that the Stour Valley Park Strategy is currently at the public engagement and development phase, and that the strategy will be presented to Cabinet for adoption in Autumn 2021.

RESOLVED that: -

(a)           Cabinet agrees to BCP Council becoming a partner within the Stour Valley Park Partnership; and

(b)           Cabinet note that a Stour Valley Park Landscape Strategy will be developed for Autumn 2021 and recommended to Cabinet for adoption. A more detailed landscape masterplan will be developed by Spring 2022.

Voting: Unanimous

Portfolio Holder: Environment, Cleansing and Waste