This chapter contains policies on a wide range of community facilities - from basic health and social services, to education, active leisure, arts and culture, and religious needs (categorised as C2, D1 and D2 in the Town and Country Planning Use Classes Order 1987, (see Glossary)). The policies provide a framework for promoting and regulating these uses, while taking into account sustainability principles.

The strategic Policy 1.8 for the provision of community facilities is:

To encourage the provision of community facilities to meet the wide-ranging needs of people living, working, studying in and visiting the borough; and to ensure that these facilities are located where they reduce the need to travel and enhance town centres.

The provision of Community Facilities should therefore be seen in its strategic context. The following government policies/guidance have been used for the preparation of this chapter:

• The London Plan: encourages better access and higher quality of community facilities provision, such as arts and culture, healthcare services, educational facilities.
• PPG3: The provision of play area and amenity should be provided within residential development, to ensure a sustainable community.
• PPG6: Town centres are the places at district level to provide for the development of a wide range of mixed use activities, including community facilities. The concentration of activities in local areas helps reduce the need to travel.
• PPG13: With the existing traffic problems faced by Londoners, it is important to reduce further traffic generation, by providing a network of community facilities to serve an identified catchment area, as well as to cater for different user groups.
• PPG17: The promotion of recreational and open space is essential for the development of a sustainable community.

In the local context, Ealing Council has been / will be producing a number of strategies to address local issues and to suggest ways to improve current situations.

Accessibility is an issue that Ealing Council has been strongly promoting. It is particularly important that all the facilities provided within the borough are accessible to all users. SPG 7 Accessible Ealing, one of the series of supplementary planning guidance, seeks to ensure that all sectors in the population are catered for, especially those who have mobility limitation, sight, and hearing impairments.

Arts and Culture

Art and culture are essential parts of any society, allowing expression and participation in new ideas, activities and experiences. The diversity of people and cultures in Ealing means that there is a rich source of artistic and cultural influences, which can positively contribute to the life of the borough.

The Council will promote the borough as a leading West London centre for the arts, heritage and culture, building on the existing facilities, expertise and enthusiasm of local organisations, and consolidating such cultural uses within the Borough's main shopping centres. The Council believes that projects initiated by different ethnic groups, women, young people and older people, are important for creating a sense of belonging to the communities, and promoting greater understanding amongst various communities. The Council is committed to using its public buildings for artistic and cultural uses, and to promote cinema and film as a cultural activity. The Council will further encourage the development of a concert hall/multipurpose arts centre.

The Council also recognises the need for improved public library services, including the broad information and cultural role they fulfil, and is considering the means for improvement. It will examine the use of existing buildings, both to improve the library service and for associated cultural and community purposes. In the plan period the Council will consider providing new or improved premises to Department for Education Standards, and as resources allow, giving priority to the particular need in central Southall.

Active Leisure

The Council wishes to see its public buildings and open spaces used as appropriate, for arts, culture and active leisure purposes. Such uses will be encouraged throughout the borough, and particularly where they would best serve communities facing deprivation, and where there is good public transport. Special consideration will be given to ways of making sure that new facilities are accessible to all sections of the community in the local area, irrespective of income, and that they cater for the needs of those communities in whose area the public facility is situated.

Policies for Community Facilities

This policy aims to improve and enhance the quality of community life in the borough, by providing a wide range of community facilities including informal facilities, for residents, workers, students and visitors and encouraging development of additional facilities in the borough. Community facilities are varied and provided by a range of public, voluntary or private sector organisations to meet the communities needs. These facilities are categorised as follows:

Leisure and culture (including arts and culture and built sports facilities);

Community offices and meeting places (including places of worship);

Facilities for children (from nursery provision to youth clubs);

Education (including adult education);

Social Services;

The Council will work in partnership with community groups to achieve the best use of existing sites and premises for public and voluntary organisations, by:

Providing information on appropriate premises known to be available, including vacant or under-used community facilities;

Providing technical advice to voluntary groups on how their particular requirement could be accommodated on any of the sites identified, through joint use or adaptation of existing premises;

Considering the resource implications for voluntary groups, including direct grant aid where appropriate, and community benefit arising from private development.

The Council will use planning powers to ensure that existing community facilities are retained and that additional facilities are secured. This will be assessed on a case by case basis. The assessment may also be based on those criteria established in Policy 8.1 and Table 8A. Also refer to Policy 5.5 in Chapter 5 Housing with regard to the provision of community facilities in residential developments.

When considering Built Sports Facilities, reference should be made to Map Sheet 11. This map shows the location of Built Sports Facilities with community access, and deficiency areas for swimming pools and indoor sports halls (the deficiency areas take into account provision in adjoining boroughs). The deficiency areas have been prepared to assist in planning of additional facilities and to help promote an even distribution of these facilities within the borough.

This policy aims to make use of existing resources within the borough and to meet the increasing demand for the provision of additional community facilities. The Council will encourage refurbishment and alterations to existing compatible community premises to meet increased community needs. Redevelopment proposals will be assessed against the criteria in Table 8B (Policy 8.1). This is also in line with sustainability principles to reuse existing premises.

The objective of this policy is to identify the best location available for the development of large scale community facilities within the borough. It is part of the effort of enhancing local shopping centres (see Chapter 7 Shopping Centres and Development). The Council expects that the development of any large scale community facilities will cater for all sectors of the population in the borough, allowing them access to major health, education, social and recreational facilities. The Council will also work closely with neighbouring boroughs in the event that the need to locate a site outside Ealing Borough arises.

This policy aims to improve the network of community centres in the borough. This network includes Council and voluntary sector centres for different areas of the borough and/or sections of the population. As part of the community framework, premises are needed as places for people to meet, socialise and exchange ideas, as well as marking important milestones in their family/community lives.

The Council will apply local principles (see Table 8A) when assessing planning applications, and in particular, consider the proposal's compatibility to its immediate surroundings. The Council encourages the provision of meeting places serving local neighbourhoods (including tenants halls, school halls and other public, private and voluntary sector facilities). It is important that an even distribution of these facilities is achieved across the borough, and the advantages are that there will be less traffic and noise generated when major religious meetings are held.

The Council also promotes better use of existing facilities, and where appropriate, multiple or shared use of these premises is encouraged to cater for meeting purposes. The occupation of existing facilities for meeting purposes allows premises to be fully utilised, and this promotes sustainable use of the borough's resources.

This policy aims to promote facilities that cater for the needs of the young population in the borough. Small children, with their particular needs, are often omitted in development plans. The Council recognises the increasing need for adequate facilities for small children, and the demand to improve such provision and opportunities for parents and carers when out, and for play facilities for children throughout the borough. Table 8D provides a summary of a range of young people facilities, as well as relevant health and safety issues.

Chapter 5 Housing addresses the Council's effort to encourage the provision of amenity space for young children. Young children as a social group, also need the infrastructure and opportunities offered to adults for social and leisure activity, as they move from childhood to adulthood. A safe and convenient environment is paramount, particularly providing local facilities to minimise the need to travel. Also refer to Policies 4.3, 9.1 and Supplementary Guidance 'Accessible Ealing' and 'Safer Ealing' for guidance on accessibility and safety issues.

Nurseries located at or near the workplace, at training and education establishments, and in residential areas where there is a particular need;

The Council will itself develop as resources become available, and normally grant planning permission for, the private development of the following facilities for the under fives, particularly in areas of greatest need:

Nursery education at primary school sites;

Social services day nurseries;

Community services play centres;

Community nurseries;

The Council aims to promote the robust use of existing and proposed buildings, with particular regard to accessibility and health and safety issues. This is to allow buildings or land to be used by a wide range of users with various needs. Suitable uses for existing or additional buildings may include:

School premises for adult education and other community facilities;

Joint use of specialist facilities, e.g. indoor sports halls, art and cultural facilities;

New housing and other development generally increases demand on existing education facilities. The Council will maintain and improve educational provision at its school sites, whilst also requiring developers to contribute to the improvements of existing primary and secondary school provision. These include general improvement of classroom and staff facilities, as well as external areas. Ideally, the facilities would be able to complement the immediate environment. The supply of additional facilities will be based on the demographic needs of the local area. The provision of educational facilities through legal agreement is addressed in Policy 1.1 and Table 1A.

Apart from school buildings, the Council encourages the retention of school playing fields. They not only present a good opportunity for students to enjoy outdoor sporting activities, these playing fields may also be used by local communities to hold sporting and other social events.

In order to ensure that all students and local communities can access the borough's education facilities, the Council urges the design of educational facilities to take into account accessibility and functionality issues, to promote the ease of movement for all. This will not only encourage local pupils and residents with disabilities, it will also help reduce their need and time to travel. For example, these premises shall be easily accessed on foot, by cycling, and public transport. The minimisation of traffic generation may also promote a safer environment for travelling. In addition, better quality design will also enhance the schools and their environment. Also refer to criteria in Table 8A, Chapter 9 Transport for policies on accessibility and safer routes, and Policy 4.3 in Chapter 4 Urban Design.

Schools proposals which are not required to comply with DFE standards, shall comply with the requirements set out in Table 8E as general guidance.

The policy aims to provide a range of health care facilities for the community, by working closely with primary and strategic health authorities. These facilities are designed based on sustainable development principles for land use, for example, these provisions can be implemented in mixed use development.

Incorporating community facilities such as health and social care facilities in mixed use developments is a positive step towards sustainable development. This will help ensure the community has access to essential services such as hospitals, clinics, dentists' and doctor's surgeries, related services and veterinary services. The Council recognises the need for close liaison with health authorities for a consistent approach, particularly in view of the resource constraints facing the National Health Service (NHS). It will ensure that local needs are clearly stated for the benefit of the community. Council recognises the underlying trend in community care; which increases the need for a more accessible, flexible and supportive community/ health/social environment.