Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council - Unitary Development Plan 2006

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Chapter 11

LEISURE AND TOURISM

11.1The Council wishes to cater for the increasing demand for leisure, cultural and entertainment facilities, expand the Borough's tourism potential and increase opportunities for sport. The policy reflects the Government’s intentions and Planning Objectives set out in PPG 17 ‘Planning for Open Space, Sport and Recreation’. These stress the importance of planning for sport and recreation in delivering urban renaissance, supporting urban renewal, promoting social inclusion and community cohesion health and well being, and promoting more sustainable development.

11.2The location of major entertainment and leisure uses will be controlled through a sequential test, with town centres being the preferred location (see Policy LT/4). This will help to ensure that such facilities contribute to the vitality and viability of town centres, assist urban regeneration, are accessible to all and reduce the need to travel. Smaller facilities such as pubs, clubs, and fitness clubs also have a role to play in sustaining town centres, particularly the evening economy.

11.3Built sports facilities will be appropriate where they meet a need for new or wider opportunities to participate or where they improve the sporting experience. Through its 'Sport and Recreation Strategy' and its work in partnership with other public and private agencies, the Council will aim to achieve an equitable mix and distribution of basic local provision and specialist facilities appropriate to the prime sporting needs and aspirations of the Borough's population.

11.4Although Rochdale is not a major tourist destination, tourism has an important role to play in the local economy, through job creation and investment. It also contributes to the physical regeneration of urban and rural areas through environmental improvement, the re-use of land and buildings, and by bringing benefits to residents and restoring civic and community pride. Thus, proposals that consolidate existing attractions and provide new facilities and attractions that increase the number and duration of visits and/or enhance the visitor experience will be encouraged.

11.5This policy relates to those attractions and facilities that are specifically intended to cater for visitors to the Borough. It is important that development that would have a negative effect on the tourism potential of the Borough's existing attractions is resisted. This would include proposals that would reduce public access to a site or building, reduce the attractiveness of the surrounding environment, destroy buildings or features of interest, or result in noise, smells or disturbance which would detract from the visitor experience.

11.6In relation to new facilities and attractions, the appropriateness of the location will depend on the nature of the facility or attraction proposed. For example, within the countryside, small scale facilities such as visitor or interpretation centres, which are ancillary to the enjoyment of the countryside will normally be appropriate. Major leisure and tourism facilities should preferably be located in or adjacent to town centres and Policy LT/4 will apply. Other attractions may be based on specific heritage landscape or recreational features and their development could have the potential to impact on and detract from adjoining areas and land-uses, through increased traffic, noise disturbance and visual intrusion. It is important that development that helps to meet the demands of tourists and visitors and supports the local economy does not cause harm to the qualities that draw tourists to an area, but contributes to the local environment. Consequently, the provisions of other policies of the plan will also be relevant in assessing development proposals in terms of their location, impact, and design.

11.7In the main, tourism is promoted to reflect the main recognised strengths of the Borough:

a.Its countryside, especially the Pennine Edge, with its natural heritage and recreational opportunities;

b.Its cultural heritage and diversity;

c.Its industrial and textile heritage;

d.Its transport legacy; and

e.Its architectural heritage.

11.8The Council's Tourism Strategy reflects these themes and future promotion of tourism will focus on a wider range of activity and leisure interests and emerging trends. These include:

• Active leisure pursuits e.g. cycling, walking, and specialist sports;
• Shopping, eating out, the town centre experience and the evening economy;
• Specific target markets, e.g., conference/business tourism, group travel, leisure day visits and short breaks;
• Boating and canal activities; and
• Green tourism, i.e., environmentally friendly themed or managed tourism activities and access by public transport to attractions.

11.911.9 The Council will identify opportunities and work in partnership with other agencies and development interests in promoting and facilitating development consistent with the above. Other policies of the plan in this and other chapters identify specific sites or areas where tourism-related development would be welcomed in principle.

11.10The Council acknowledges the growing demand for specialist recreational facilities and other major leisure developments. The Council wishes to encourage such developments, including tourism-related developments, which support the local economy, promote urban regeneration and provide facilities for local people and visitors. In PPS 6 'Planning for Town Centres’, the Government establishes that town and district centres should be the preferred location for developments that attract many trips, and explains that the sequential approach should also apply to key town centre uses which attract a lot of people including entertainment and leisure. The Council is keen to encourage diversification of uses in town and district centres and to encourage leisure developments that consolidate the role of these centres, thereby ensuring that facilities are accessible not just to car users but to all sections of the community. Consequently, those uses that are likely to generate the most trips should be in Rochdale, Heywood, Littleborough and Milnrow centres although the scale and character of such developments should be appropriate to the size, character and role of the centre.

11.11The definition of leisure and cultural facilities is based on Use Class D2 – Assembly and Leisure, but extended to include theatres, and limited to exclude indoor recreational facilities of under 1000 sq. metres. Smaller scale built leisure facilities such as pub/restaurants and small fitness centres are excluded from the policy on the grounds that they are not major generators of trips and should be situated to meet a specific local demand, preferably in a local centre. Local centres have been excluded from the hierarchy because many of the leisure facilities defined would not be appropriate. Demand is expected to continue for substantial built community sporting and leisure facilities within or adjacent to school sites, other educational establishments or playing fields. Such developments may be appropriate in principle outside town and district centres despite having a township-wide catchment, provided criteria (b), (c) and (d) are satisfied.

11.12A small number of sites or areas suitable for major tourism and leisure developments within, or adjacent to, town centres have been identified in other policies. This general policy is intended to ensure that new major developments proposed outside town centres are accessible, and would not affect the viability of the centres.

11.13There is currently an imbalance of overnight accommodation in the Borough in terms of quality, size of establishments and distribution. Most accommodation is ungraded, the majority of hotel/motel rooms are in Rochdale and Heywood, most inns are in Rochdale and the majority of B&Bs, guest houses and self catering are in Pennines. Middleton and Pennines have the least number of hotels and bedspaces. The Council wishes to encourage developments that address this imbalance, particularly quality hotel accommodation to support business developments, and small scale budget accommodation to support new / proposed tourism and recreation attractions.

11.14The best location for new hotel accommodation will be within the urban areas and where they are accessible by a choice of means of transport, and do not have a detrimental impact on the amenity or character of the area by reason of their scale and the intensity of use. Sites in or adjacent to town centres are preferred although the Council recognises that few such opportunities currently exist. Proposals within strategic business locations, or in areas where they complement other uses or regeneration initiatives, and are accessible, may therefore, be appropriate. A specific opportunity for a new hotel development is identified within the Kingsway Business Park (Policy EC/7). Within the Green Belt, new hotels or extensions to existing hotels are not appropriate. The conversion of suitable rural buildings for visitor accommodation, including those in the Green Belt and on Protected Open Land would be appropriate in principle. For example, the conversion of Hopwood Old Hall, a vacant listed building within the Green Belt, to a hotel, may offer the best opportunity for re-use and investment in order to secure the conservation of the building and its setting.

11.15Demand for camping and caravanning is growing nationally and may increase within Rochdale with the development of the Pennine Bridleway and the growing popularity of walking holidays and outward bound activities for groups. The area also has potential as a stopping off point en-route to more rural Pennine areas. However, caravan sites and sites containing chalets or cabins can have a significant visual impact on open land or countryside because of their typical layout and appearance. They also have an impact in terms of traffic generation and the demands they place on local services and facilities. It is therefore essential that special care is given to the location and design of such sites (especially in visually or environmentally sensitive areas) in order to minimise their impact. Sites also need to be located on flat land that has convenient and safe access to the road network and in areas that are not liable to flood and where water and sewerage facilities are available or can be supplied.

11.16Screening of all sites may be an important consideration, particularly where the site is at the edge of the urban area.

11.17The Rochdale Canal forms part of a Pennine ring of canals, providing a circular route for broad boats over a large part of the region linking with such watercourses as the Bridgewater and Leeds/Liverpool Canal and the Huddersfield Narrow Canal.

11.18The Rochdale Canal has major potential for tourism and recreation, both waterborne and in the adjacent corridor, which is accessible to large parts of the urban area for a range of recreational pursuits. The canal is also an ideal route linking urban areas with the surrounding countryside for recreational walks and green commuting to nearby urban centres. The Council is keen to develop the recreational and tourism potential of the canal in partnership with other agencies and bodies and to promote wider links with other attractions and recreational facilities. However, the canal restoration is also seen as an opportunity to: transform the canal and its immediate surroundings from being a neglected backwater to an asset for all communities along its route; to conserve the canal as an outstanding feature of industrial archaeology; and to ensure that a working canal contributes to improving and protecting its internationally recognised nature conservation interest. It is important to ensure that measures are employed to reduce pollution and disturbance caused by construction, industrial and other activities, and run off from sites adjoining the canal. The use of sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) will be appropriate in some circumstances.

11.19Restoration will also help to stimulate new employment through businesses and attractions directly linked to the canal, and boost the local tourist economy by attracting visitors and new spending. It will also attract new uses for land and buildings adjacent to the canal, and is already resulting in new confidence in canalside property. The Plan will focus regeneration on rundown older industrial and mixed use urban areas adjoining the canal and this will complement environmental improvements to the canal corridor and increase its attractiveness as a feature and recreational resource. The Plan identifies mixed-use sites at Durn, Ealees (Littleborough) and Canal Basin (Rochdale) where canal-related leisure and tourism uses will be required. The above policy will aim to ensure that all adjoining development is sympathetic to the character and setting of the canal and safeguards its tourism, recreational, heritage and ecological value.

11.20As a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and SAC (Special Area of Conservation), all projects or development proposals which might impact on the scientific integrity of the site will be subject to the closest examination under Policy NE/2 (international sites). The Council will liaise closely with English Nature in considering the implications of proposals to ensure harm is avoided.

11.21Water based recreational activities continue to grow in popularity. There are numerous water bodies around the Borough including upland and urban edge reservoirs, lodges, rivers and the Rochdale Canal. Many water bodies are either actively used for a variety of recreational activities including angling and various active water sports and others may have potential for new facilities for example as part of land reclamation schemes. (Policy LT/7 deals specifically with the Rochdale Canal and its recreational value.)

11.22Many water bodies are valuable not only for recreational pursuits, but for drinking water and nature conservation. In rural locations in particular, they may be key features of an attractive, tranquil landscape where additional facilities could harm landscape quality or the amenity and character of the landscape for quiet enjoyment. The intensity of recreational use may also have wider impacts on other land uses and local amenity through such factors as traffic generation and other potential conflicts between recreational users and land management or residential amenity. It is important to ensure that any recreational use of water bodies is considered against such factors and that where required, appropriate mitigation through site management and other actions is employed. The Council will work with partners such as United Utilities and adjacent landowners to ensure that recreational management and development in and around the principal reservoir catchments, Hollingworth Lake Country Park and Council owned water bodies is carried out taking account of such considerations.

11.23The past decade has seen an increase in the number and range of built facilities for sport and recreation, both public and private. These facilities are important to local communities and contribute to the quality of life and the general health of communities. PPG 17 ‘Planning for Open Space, Sport and Recreation’ states that sports and recreational buildings should not be built on unless an assessment has been undertaken which has clearly shown the buildings and land to be surplus to requirements. The Council has made some assessment of recreational open space and land has been identified for protection under policy G/3. The Council does not currently have a comprehensive assessment of all built sporting and recreational facilities that are of high quality, or of a particular value to the local community and therefore applicants seeking the development of such buildings for other uses may need to carry out independent assessments. PPG 17 advises that developers will need to consult the local community and demonstrate that their proposals are widely supported by them. The policy relates equally to large and small scale built facilities. Some buildings may be minor in scale and importance in themselves but will be vital to support existing outdoor leisure uses.

11.24Whilst it is sustainable to adapt and reuse existing buildings for recreational and sporting functions, there will be exceptional cases where the loss of a building may be justified provided suitable alternative provision is made. It is important that alternative provision is of a suitable or equivalent standard and is in an appropriate location in terms of accessibility and its relationship with adjoining uses. The Council may seek the use of legal agreements to secure such provision.

11.25Some open space protection allocations (G/3) include built sports facilities which support or relate to the open space function. Such facilities will be subject to this policy. For the avoidance of doubt this policy also relates to all buildings and structures housing or supporting recreational or sporting activity.