WELLBEING, LEISURE AND COMMUNITY FACILITIES

VISION AND OBJECTIVES

The following community facilities, leisure and wellbeing related objectives form part of the Vision Statement for the IFNP:

• Supporting measured, proportionate, timely and sustainable development to meet local requirements, particularly those of our younger people and older residents.
• Influence key 'age friendly' issues e.g. community safety, housing, planning, street lighting, green spaces, playing fields and parks, community centres, war memorials, seats and shelters, public toilets.

Context

The consideration of wellbeing within the IFNP relates to local residents' quality of life and happiness, including both physical and mental wellbeing. Individual wellbeing can be significantly affected by the provision of accessible community services, facilities and leisure activities within the area. Physical and mental wellbeing can often be connected to the physical environment. The parish benefits from close proximity to the countryside for walking, riding and cycling through the network of public footpaths and bridleways and also the availability of open space and green infrastructure in the parish.

The following definitions are relevant to the purposes of this policy:

• Green infrastructure is a network of multifunctional green spaces in rural and urban areas, which supports natural ecological processes to deliver a range of environmental and quality of life benefits that are integral to successful sustainable communities.
• Open space relates to all spaces of public value, including land and areas of water such as rivers and lakes (also referred to as blue infrastructure), which offer opportunities for sport and recreation and provide vital amenity.
• Leisure and community facilities refers to publicly accessible halls, buildings, green infrastructure, open space, sports facilities, churches, groups and organisations and the library.

25.5% of the population of the parish is aged 65 or over^[33]. This is a higher proportion of the population than the national average. Ongoing improvements to people's health and healthcare services will be likely to increase the population of older residents in the parish. The wellbeing and provision of services and facilities for older people is therefore an important consideration for the future of the parish.

The IFNP questionnaire identified that proximity to the countryside, the attractiveness of the village environment, public open space and conservation areas within the parish are considered to be important and contribute to the quality of life of local residents. These are all features which could have an impact on the wellbeing of residents.

Figure 20: Fairfield Recreation Ground

Existing leisure and community facilities within the parish

Leisure and community facilities within the parish are listed within Table 3. There are a wide range of leisure activities within the villages which cater for all age groups, including playgroups, scouts, the Historical Society, Camera Club, the Women's Institute and the Ingatestone and Fryerning Horticultural Society who present an annual summer show on Seymour Field. These clubs and societies provide opportunities for social interaction, developing a community spirit and positively benefiting people's wellbeing. Additional community services and facilities are also available in the larger nearby towns of Brentwood and Chelmsford, both accessible from the Ingatestone by regular public transport services.

The three largest publicly accessible areas of open space in the parish are Fairfield Recreation Ground (Figure 20) , Seymour Field and Mill Green Common, used for sports, walking, dog exercising and as a social meeting place. In May 2019 the Seymour Pavilion (Figure 21) was refurbished through Football Foundation funding to provide two changing rooms, an officials' changing room, community hall, kitchen, toilets and storage space.

There are a number of community halls within the parish, including the Ingatestone Community Club Hall, Christy Hall, the Stock Lane Parish Room, the United Reformed Church Hall, the Fryerning Parish Room and the Anglo European sports hall. There are six churches within the parish which offer a range of community activities in addition to regular services.

Figure 21: Seymour Pavilion

Future provision of leisure and community facilities within the parish

The BBC Playing Pitch Strategy^[34] has assessed the quality of playing pitches within the parish and identified the following key conclusion:

• Ingatestone Bowls Club has a good standard of green and clubhouse facilities, however some improvements to an ancillary facility are required.
• Fairfield Recreation Ground is currently over capacity in relation to the use of cricket squares. There is currently no capacity for additional adult or junior cricket teams.
• Football pitch facilities at Seymour Field for both adult and youth are at capacity. However, there is currently no identified demand in the area for additional football pitches.

Recommended improvements to Fairfield Recreation Ground are:

• Resurfacing/ replacement of the existing non turf pitch and improvement of the grass wickets in order to increase the capacity of the site.
• Refurbish ancillary facilities to ensure that the site is fit for purpose.
• Improve signage or add CCTV to the site to reduce vandalism.

The parish council has been undertaking maintenance improvements to increase the capacity of football pitch facilities at Seymour Field. The parish council has identified a need for a new multi-use games area within Seymour Field, however funding has not yet been identified for this project.

Table 3: Leisure and community facilities

While there are a number of halls within the parish which are available for community uses, the parish does not have a large village hall which provides a focal point for community activities. It is therefore important that groups are able to use existing facilities within the parish where appropriate for community activities. The parish council is therefore currently considering how use of the recently refurbished Seymour Pavilion and Ingatestone Library (Figure 22) can be maximised for community activities in the future. The parish council is also currently in discussions with ECC regarding the potential for increasing opening times at the library.

Wellbeing is also related to people's ability to safely access services and facilities, to participate in recreational walking and cycling on the local road network and the health of residents in relation to air and noise pollution associated with vehicle movements in the parish. These issues are considered further within the Transport section of the IFNP, where identified policy requirements and projects will provide wellbeing benefits as well as transport benefits for the parish.

The protection and enhancement of leisure and community facilities is vital in ensuring the future wellbeing of residents in the parish. IFNP Wellbeing, leisure and community facilities Policy 7 therefore seeks to protect existing facilities in the parish, while also encouraging development proposals which support the delivery of new and improved leisure and community facilities.

Table 4: Potential improvements to community facilities

Figure 22: Ingatestone Library

Any proposals which would result in the loss of a community facility will be required to provide evidence that the facility is no longer viable, or that the facility is no longer in active use and has no prospect of being brought back into use. This should include reasonable and appropriate marketing of the site over a sustained period of time (a minimum of 12 months) and evidence of the level of interest in the site during the marketing period.

Figure 23: Ingatestone and Fryerning Community Association

Figure 24: Ingatestone Bowling Club

Figure 25: Ingatestone Allotment Association

Figure 26: Ingatestone Tennis Club