Frequently Asked Questions

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General

When the park was initially designed this play area was created, and planning permission granted, for it to be an open space, inviting not just young children but older ones as well, ensuring that young people and teenagers felt they had somewhere to call their own.  It was designed to be open, with no perimeter fence so that it could be an integral part of the park, feeling open and welcoming, rather than somewhere fenced off, and enclosed.  This planning decision was made with the fact that there is a nearby, gated playground on Chapel Green in mind, ensuring there was a choice for families in what they would prefer. This is part of the planning permission granted in 2009 and 2014 

We own and manage the play area and Trim trail at Havenstoke Park, the play area at Keepers Green and Chapel Green. We do not own or manage any other play equipment.

The bins are emptied weekly, as per our maintenance contract as standard. .  We would ask those using them to be respectful that these are public bins and not intended for the larger scale depositing of residential rubbish.

For health & safety reasons we have been forced to close one of the gates to the playground on Chapel green.  This is to prevent risk of injury or damage to the building site as the development work is carried out at Graylingwell Chapel.  There remains an open and functioning gate at the other side of the playground to the chapel providing all families with easy access to the site.  On completion of the chapel works the second gate will again be re-opened. 

Whilst we fully appreciate that a vast majority of dog owners using Havenstoke Park do so entirely responsibly, we would urge all dog owners to adhere to a responsible policy of picking up their dog’s poo after them.  Having very recently taken on ownership of Havenstoke Park and Keepers Green CCDT is working to increase signage around the area to encourage more responsible behaviour from the few who are not collecting up after their dogs, and will be providing poo bags on site to make this as easy as is possible to increase the use of poo bins, and the clearing up after dogs.  Public bins are provided and regularly emptied to allow for the easy disposal of poo bags, and all efforts are being made to reduce this issue.  

We have created a map of the parking options around the Graylingwell Park and Keepers Green sites that can be found here.  All the spaces are paid for parking using the JUST PARK app, that can be downloaded from the App store. You can pay on the phone or via the JUST PARK app. 

This forms part of the planning permission for the homes and prevents cars speeding through the development and it becoming a rat run. Residents or visitors are not able to go through these bollards and they are only used by emergency or essential workers. 

Havenstoke Park Pitches

No. The additional car park is only for occasional use. It is predominantly intended to accommodate extra cars during match times, protecting resident and community parking spaces to ensure that the matches being played do not negatively impact the local community. Outside of these specific uses the car park will be inaccessible to vehicles, as it remains at the moment, and will be largely invisible with the grasscrete surface merging in with the surrounding grass. New planting will also help to soften the visual impact.

There will be the same parking payment scheme in the car park as there is in the surrounding community spaces outside the Chapel and Pavilion. Some hirers will be provided with parking permits as part of their hire fee agreement for the pitches, to be agreed on an individual basis.

40 parking spaces will be marked out in the car park (37 standard spaces plus 3 disabled bays), which should meet the demand of most match days, given they will be community level games rather than large / professional bookings. Where there is insufficient space the drivers will need to use some of the paid-for parking bays along the side of the park on Blomfield Drive.

The playing pitches will be hired out for community use therefore it is not anticipated that there will be any coaches required for team transportation.

On match days the teams will be asked to provide a car park attendant to manage the traffic on and off the park prior to and following the matches, as part of their hire agreement. This will ensure the safe shared use of the park, the parking and pedestrians.

Grasscrete is a building material that provides a supportive structure for the park, allowing grass to grow through it providing the dual benefit of protecting the land from damage by heavy vehicles and maintaining the biodiversity of the area. The construction provides a grassy surface as well as support. It is both aesthetically pleasing and environmentally friendly.

We have been speaking with the children’s teams who currently play on the site where the car park will be, and will continue to do so to manage their smooth transition to the new pitch sites, and to understand the layout they need to continue with their 5-a-side format of the game. CCDT remains committed to supporting this and other community teams that are keen to use the site to enhance the mental and physical wellbeing of local residents.

Teams such as the Graylingwell girls’ team, and the ‘Dads and Sons’ team currently using Graylingwell Park are very keen to continue to use this space and the improved equipment and pitches that this development will provide. CCDT will continue to consult with other community teams to understand the need in the area and work to create a timetable of use that best meets that need, whilst respecting the balance required to ensure the park remains a community space for other park users.

Absolutely – this is a space for everybody. CCDT has heard from those that enjoy this space for dog walks and time spent with friends and families, just as we have heard from those that love to use the space as somewhere to bring groups together for their mental and physical health for sporting and other fitness activities. The park will not be closed during match times, just as it is not when the community teams are using it at the moment. There is and will remain a healthy interaction between the groups that enjoy this green space for sports and community activities, and those that would like to use it as a space to sit, walk or run in and around.

The beautiful long grass meadows have been laid out in such a way to minimise the visual impact of the playing fields, and will be kept once the pitches are available, creating a blend of spaces that are designed to create havens for wildlife and park users, supporting this multi-use approach for the space.

Circa 1 year for construction and to allow the grass to grow.  This however is dependent on approval and when installed due to seasons.

The pitches will be used throughout the year, as they are not aligned to specific professional seasons but instead used predominantly on a community basis. They will not however be used daily and will most likely only be used at weekends.

CCDT’s mission is to serve the community, not to make a profit, so any money raised from the hiring of the pitches will only be put towards the maintenance of the pitches and the park, including the close mowing and the management of the pitches. CCDT was set up in part to manage community infrastructure delivered by the development: it is not a developer and stands to make no financial gain from the pitches being delivered. Any additional income raised from parking charges and/or increased use of the café will go to fund other community assets and projects.

Once the pitches are installed CCDT will progress with the development of the changing rooms that will be constructed alongside The Pavilion, where there is currently a blue steel container. There will be no treework or landscaping required to make this possible, as the space is already cleared. The additional element of the Pavilion will be timber clad and has been designed to be entirely in-keeping with the current buildings.

2009 Planning Permission granted at outline i.e. in principle for development of Graylingwell Park strategic development site. This included two playing fields / sports pitches to serve the community of the wider Chichester District, to be delivered on Havenstoke Park and secured by S106 Legal Agreement.

2009 Following the granting of planning permission, Chichester Community Development Trust (CCDT), a charity and company limited by guarantee, was set up for the purpose of owning and managing the community facilities delivered by this development. Incomes generated from any assets owned and/or managed by CCDT fund the performance of CCDT functions.

2018 Planning Agreement Reached between Chichester District Council (CDC) and the developer on the masterplanning and delivery of further phases of the development. This included the delivery of two playing fields / sports pitches on Havenstoke Park.

2021 In light of changed circumstances i.e. use of the park by residents, Havenstoke Park Steering Group developed a compromise proposal for a single pitch to be delivered on the western side of the park (next to Summersdale Road). This proposal is supported by CCDT, Drew Smith (the developer) and the Graylingwell Park Residents Association (GPRA).

2022 August: Drew Smith submit proposals to CDC to Discharge the S106 Condition, in accordance with the compromise proposal.

October: CDC reject proposals for a single pitch for failing to evidence sufficiently changed demand / circumstances to deviate from the requirements established in 2009 and affirmed in 2018. Drew Smith submit proposals for two pitches as per the original requirement.

December: Cllr Brown submits review of CDC’s Playing Pitch Strategy 2018, the most recent piece of professionally-produced research into demand for playing pitches. CDC Culture Team responds that there is “still an identified need for 2 sports pitches on site” however, the second of the pitches (on the eastern side of the park, near the Pavilion) can be delivered as a smaller junior pitch instead of an adult one.

Drew Smith submit a third set of proposals for one adult and one junior pitch.

2023 It is anticipated that CDC officers will make a formal decision on the Discharge of Condition early in the new year.

In line with its mission, CCDT will take ownership of and will manage whatever pitches are provided for the benefit of the community.

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