LDP Evidence Report Play Recreation and Sport

This topic paper explores the evidence surrounding the Play, Recreation and Sport topic and provides an understanding of Aberdeenshire in relation to this issue. 

It identifies what information has been collected and assessed, why this is sufficient, and the relevance of that information to the next Local Development Plan. 

The data has primarily been assessed on the possible impact of future allocations for development within settlements. It considers, and asks for your views, on eight general topics: 

1. Identification of Datasets 

2. Open Space Audit

3. Play Sufficiency Assessment

4. Sports and community centres spatial data 

5. Open Space Strategy

6. Pitch and Outdoor Physical Activity Space Strategy 

7. Play Park Policy and Strategy

8. Health, deprivation and inequalities

9. Forest and Woodland Strategy

10. Open Space and Blue and Green Infrastructure

11. Possible Connections in Evidence 

12. Site Selection Implications

While considering these issues it would be appropriate to refer to the content of the topic paper. 

We estimate that this survey will take 20 minutes to complete

We have prepared a draft Open Space Audit 2024 and a draft Play Sufficiency Assessment 2024 that we are now seeking comments on by 26 July 2024.  

This questionnaire asks of you, or your organisation, views on the data collected by the Planning Policy Team on public open space within Aberdeenshire.  There are 7 sections to this survey, which are:

• Section 1 asks about you and the settlement you are commenting on (please comment on one settlement per response).
• Section 2 asks you to identify any open/play spaces that we may have missed in the settlement.
• Section 3 asks about specific sites in the Open Space Audit Settlement Summaries.
• Section 4 asks about specific sites in the Play Sufficiency Assessment Settlement Summaries.
• Section 5 asks for any general views on the open/play space in the settlement.
• Section 6 asks for general comments on the draft Open Space Audit report (optional).
• Section 7 asks for general comments on the draft Play Sufficiency Assessment report (optional).

We have surveyed most open spaces within Aberdeenshire and have collected this information into a set of Open Space Audit maps contained within 92 Settlement Summary documents. As part of our assessment, we have also given consideration to play spaces, and have also prepared Play Sufficiency Assessment maps for 90 settlements. The maps contained within these Settlement Summaries are found in the Document section of the survey homepage. View only access is also available for the collected data through an interactive map.  

Each Settlement Summary provides a breakdown on the amount of open and play spaces in that settlement, and provides an overall summary statement on the following:  

The questions in this survey ask whether you agree with our interpretation of the data that we have collected on a settlement by settlement basis.

In particular we ask for your views on the

• The accuracy of the data collected;
• Your views on whether there is enough or too little of the open space or play space that we audited and what more should be provided (if any);
• Whether you agree with our assessment of the quality of open space within your chosen settlements open space;
• Whether you agree with our statements on the accessibility of open space  and play space within your chosen settlements.
• This information will be used to inform a Local Development Plan topic paper on Play and Open space and  will influence the content of a future Open Space Strategy that will guide open space provision in Aberdeenshire over the foreseeable future.

This short survey will take no more than 5 to 10 minutes of your time

Aberdeenshire Council has already visited all the open spaces we think young people would use across 92 settlements to assess their quality.  What we do not know is how often these spaces are used, which spaces are the most popular,  do people avoid certain spaces due to safety concerns or vandalism, or it is too far away.  

We are seeking the views of young people on what open space you use, and how. This could be in a play park, woodland, a kickabout space or other outdoor space to play or meet up.  

To help us identify if our play spaces are sufficient, we want to know:  

• Where you play / meet up.
• What do you do  when you are there.
• Where you would like to play / meet up.
• Why you don’t play / meet up in certain areas.

Therefore, we want to hear about the places you go to visit, play or hangout so we can plan for the future.   

This survey is anonymous, we will not be able to tell who has said what. Please be responsible in completing the survey.