Policy information sourced from the Barking & Dagenham Local Plan

SP6 Green and blue infrastructure

1.

The Council will protect and enhance the quality of the natural environment (including the borough’s parks, public open spaces and playing fields) and will work with a range of stakeholders to maximise the creation of new and improved green and blue infrastructure and address deficiencies 51 in quantity, quality and access. This will be achieved through:

  • a) protecting and enhancing the borough’s Green Belt and Metropolitan Open Land (MOL) to maintain its function, quality and openness. Any release of Green Belt land will only occur in exceptional circumstances and come forward as part of the Local Plan process, as is the case with the release of a small amount of Green Belt land to allow for future deliver y of the proposed Gypsy and Traveller site extension at Eastbrookend Country Park.
  • the delivery of a maximum of 12 pitches by expanding the existing public site at Eastbrookend Country Park will require the release of Green Belt land, and therefore compensatory improvements to the surrounding Green Belt land will need to be provided for this site in line with the NPPF, and could include the delivery of improvements to the existing green infrastructure, additional woodland planting, wider biodiversity improvements and new and enhanced walking and cycling routes.
  • ensuring development protects and enhances significant ecological features, achieves biodiversity net gain, and maximises opportunities for urban greening through appropriate landscaping schemes, green roofs and the planting of street trees
  • working with local partners, the Environment Agency, Natural England and other key stakeholders including the Wildlife Sites Board officers to resurvey and review SINCs, ecological corridors and areas of biodiversity (as shown on the Policies Map) every 5 to 10 years. This will ensure development contributes as appropriate to the borough’s overall biodiversity and environmental quality
  • improving the quality, character, value and accessibility of existing publicly accessible open space across the borough, in line with the Council’s Parks and Open Spaces Strategy, Green Infrastructure and Biodiversity Strategy and has regard to Sport England’s Active Design Guidance (or updated equivalent)
  • maximising the opportunity to deliver an improved network of green grid links to enhance access through walking, cycling and public transport to key destination points such as town centres, community facilities and publicly accessible open spaces, and along rivers and waterways
  • protecting, improving and enhancing blue spaces, to create a coherent blue network, improving walking and cycling accessibility to the water environment and improving the relationship with the river (River Thames, River Roding, Gores Brook and the Beam) (including public realm, habitats and waste heat energy sources). Where possible, opportunities should be sought to ‘naturalise’ riverbanks and water features by removing hard engineered walls and introducing new habitats and sustainable flood management
  • protecting and enhancing the existing residential moorings located on the River Roding and explore opportunities for part of the River Roding in the borough, north of the existing safeguarded wharves as a potential residential mooring opportunity zone in line with local and regional planning policies
  • maximising opportunities to create and increase publicly accessible open space (including playing fields and ancillary sporting facilities) with a range of sizes and for a range of users, particularly in locations which experience the highest level of open space deficiency within the borough (as shown on the Policies Map)
  • protecting and enhancing the borough’s habitat and wildlife, including linking green spaces with coherent ecological corridors, protecting species and habitats identified in the London Biodiversity Action Plan or updated equivalent, and creating new nesting and roosting sites
  • supporting community food growing through protection of existing allotments, provision of space for urban agriculture in new developments and as a meanwhile use, and building partnerships with social enterprise and voluntary organisations that have already started working in the borough; and supporting communities that aspire to designate important local open spaces as local green spaces
  • working with strategic partners, developers and the community to position the natural environment at the heart of estate regeneration and development, having regard to any relevant Council park masterplans 53.

For more information please see the Barking & Dagenham Local Plan