Context

4.9 Portishead’s vibrant community is supported by a range of facilities and infrastructure that provide for its health, welfare, social, educational, spiritual, recreational, leisure and cultural needs. The existing community facilities in Portishead are highly valued by the community, and need to be protected.

It is important that our range of community facilities is accessible to, and meet the needs of, everyone in our community. Policy PWC1 should be considered particularly through the lens of UN SDGs 5 (Gender Equality), 10 (Reduced Inequalities) and 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), which are about inclusivity across gender, age, background, and ability.

4.10 North Somerset Council policy DM68 protects educational, sporting, leisure, cultural, health and community facilities from change of use. Policy PWC1 adds local detail by identifying those in Portishead. The Portishead Community Facilities Evidence Base Report (2022) details the existing facilities in the Neighbourhood Area, including detail on Assets of Community Value and healthcare provision.

4.11 For the purposes of policy PWC1, land or buildings which are considered ‘community facilities’ include the following: • Use class F1, such as schools, museums, libraries and places of worship • Use class F2, such as community meeting places, community halls, parks or sports pitches • Use class E(e), such as healthcare and childcare facilities • Pubs, cinemas, cemeteries and allotments • Utilities and telecommunications infrastructure • Registered Assets of Community Value (currently one in Portishead - the Potager Garden).

4.12 Recent changes to the planning system mean that it is now easier for some community facilities such as doctor’s surgeries or nurseries to change use into shops or restaurants, or into homes, without planning permission. This change in legislation makes it even more important that the Portishead Neighbourhood Plan identifies the existing facilities in our community to protect, as far as possible within the possibilities of the planning system, to ensure that our town continues to provide for our social, cultural and recreational needs.

4.13 The majority of facilities identified in Figure 13, and protected by policy PWC1, fall under the new Use Class F – Local Community and Learning. These facilities are protected from change of use without planning permission by legislation.

4.14 Insofar as planning permission is required, Policy PCW1 aims to protect our identified community facilities from change of use. The Town Council will only support redevelopment of existing community facilities for non-community use as a last resort and where all other options have been exhausted.

4.15 There is a growing international interest in creating ‘20-minute communities’. In 2021, the Town and Country Planning Association published ‘20-Minute Neighbourhoods’ which is about creating compact and connected places that offer a range of services to meet most people’s daily needs. This involves the creation of attractive, safe, walkable environments that invite people of all ages to travel actively for short distances to use day-to-day facilities such as shops, school, community, employment and health and wellbeing facilities. The ‘catchment area’ of a facility is therefore generally understood to be within a 20 minute walk. In Portishead, particular attention must be paid to the impact of our hills on the time it takes to walk around the town. 

Relevant Objective

O9 To protect and improve health, wellbeing, leisure and recreation opportunities for residents of all ages and abilities by protecting and expanding community facilities and spaces for community activities to ensure that Portishead is a welcoming, safe and accessible place for everyone.

Local Policy Context

• CS25: Children, young people and higher education
• CS26: Supporting healthy living and the provision of health care facilities
• CS27: Sport, recreation and community facilities
• DM68: Protection of sporting, cultural and community facilities

POLICY PWC1 – PROTECTION OF EXISTING COMMUNITY FACILITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Where planning permission is required, development proposals that involve the loss, in whole or part, of a community facility (as identified in Figure 13 and/or detailed in the Community Facilities Report) must demonstrate that:

i. adequate alternative provision of at least equivalent community benefit exists or will be provided in an equally or more accessible location, including by walking and cycling, within the catchment area of the facility; or

ii. the site or building is genuinely redundant / surplus to requirements for community uses and does not comprise open space or undeveloped land with recreational or amenity value; or

iii. if relevant, the partial development of the site will secure the retention and improvement of the remainder of the site for community use; or

iv. it would not be possible (economically viable, feasible or practicable) to retain the building or site for use as a community facility.

RELATED COMMUNITY ACTIONS:

• Publish a compendium of community facilities in Portishead, to include name, function, location and contact details, for the community to use.
• Continued financial and other support by Portishead Town Council to community organisations. Children, young people and higher education Supporting healthy living and the provision of health care facilities Sport, recreation and community facilities Protection of sporting, cultural and community facilities

COMMUNITY FACILITIES LIST

The community facilities identified in the Community Facilities Report are listed below and mapped in Fig 13 below:

Schools 1 Gordano School 2 High Down School 3 Portishead Primary School 4 St Joseph’s School 5 St Peter’s School 6 Trinity School	Places of Worship 20 Bristol Quakers 21 Portishead Methodist Church 22 Redcliffe Bay Methodist Church 23 Roath Road Chapel 24 St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church 25 St Peter’s Church 26 St Nicholas’ Church / Portishead United Reformed Church	Leisure & Sports Facilities 45 Parish Wharf Leisure Centre 46 Portishead Town Football Club 47 Portishead Open Air Pool 48 Epic Gym 49 Pure Results Fitness 50 The Academy of Gymnastics 51 Portishead / British Legion Bowls Clubs 52 Portishead Tennis Club 53 Portishead Cricket Club 54 Portishead Sailing Club 55 Lake Grounds Boat House 56 Portishead Shooting Club 57 Portishead Gig Club
Nurseries / pre-schools / children’s centres 7 Brampton Way Pre-school 8 Busy Bees Nursery 9 Honey Tree Nursery 10 Lakehouse Nursery 11 Stationhouse Nursery 12 The Academy Nursery School 13 The Nursery	Allotments and Community Growing Spaces 27 Beach Hill Allotments 28 Gertie Gales Allotments 29 Lower Down Road Allotments 30 North Weston Allotments 31 Town Potager Garden	Youth & Other Facilities 59 Portishead Library 60 2nd Portishead Scout Group Headquarters 61 1st Portishead Scouts 62 Portishead Air Cadets / Army Cadets 63 St Barnabas Children’s Centre
Halls / Community Centres 14 The Folk Hall 15 Jubilee Hall 16 North Weston Village Hall 17 Redcliffe Bay Hall 18 Somerset Hall 19 Clarence House 58 Portishead Youth Centre	Health Care Facilities 32 Combe Road Dental Practice 33 The Dental Clinic 34 Evolve Dentistry 35 Harbourside Surgery 36 Lime Tree Dental Practice 37 Living Strong Chiropractic 38 Moose Hall Chiropractic & Wellness 39 Portishead Chiropractic Clinic 40 Portishead Dental Practice 41 Portishead Medical Centre 42 The Reinge Clinic 43 Walnut Grove 44 Woodburn Cottage Dental Clinic

 

FIG 13: Community Facilities Map: