POLICY KOV4: COMMUNITY ASSETS

The Neighbourhood Plan identifies the following buildings and their curtilages as Community Assets for their heritage, cultural, economic or social value in its Appendix A. Development proposals will be considered in accordance with strategic policy on community facilities and public houses.

5.19 The policy identifies those community assets (buildings and land) in the KOV area that will be protected from change of use by the application of adopted Local Plan Policy S1 on community premises and of Policy ED9 and Policy HC7 of the London Plan on public houses. The list of facilities is included in Appendix A and includes all of those facilities that are widely used, appreciated and which support the community’s needs and should therefore be protected from loss.

5.20 The strategic policies seek to resist the loss of community facilities and public houses unless there is evidence to suggest the facility is no longer needed, it has been vacant and marketed for a community use without success or it can be re-provided elsewhere or in a different way. Continuing to have a range of local community services within the neighbourhood which reflect the community’s needs is imperative to ensuring a desirable, well-functioning neighbourhood with strong community cohesion and the long-term potential value of land in community use should therefore not be lost without good reason. Furthermore, locally based amenities will help to encourage walking/cycling over driving and is vital to our many less-mobile residents.

5.21 In addition to protecting existing facilities, due to the continued growth in the KOV area over the next few years it is expected that many facilities will need to be upgraded or expanded to meet demand and the policy therefore encourages proposals to enable these facilities to do so to remain viable community assets. In some cases, facilities will struggle to remain economically viable, rather than the limitations of the premises, land or location being the issue. Policy S1 supports the co-location of facilities and the KOV Plan policy therefore encourages the partial redevelopment of facilities that will ensure that they remain viable but requires the resulting increase in use to be appropriate in terms of design terms and to avoid harming the amenities of adjoining residential properties.