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Ward Area Profile

Abbey

Spring 2013

Ward Area Profile: Abbey

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Overview Contents

Ward Councillors

Cllr Gordon Taylor - [email protected]

100 Eastern Avenue

Gloucester

GL4 4LW

Cllr Norman Ravenhill - [email protected]

20 Corncroft Lane

St Leonards Park

Gloucester

GL4 6XU

Cllr Andrew Gravells - [email protected]

39 Drivemoor

Abbeydale

Gloucester

GL4 5XP

Summary

Abbey ward is an area of established housing located to the east of the City of Gloucester. It

enjoys low levels of deprivation, open green spaces and wide verged distributor roads giving

the ward an open and spacious character. Within the ward there are views to the south of

Robinswood Hill and to the east of the Cotswold escarpment. The ward has a district centre

with a large convenience store and smaller shops providing an estate agents, take away,

opticians, chemist, hairdressers and dentists. The district centre serves the wards of Abbey,

Hucclecote, Matson and Robinswood and Barnwood as well as Upton St. Leonards which

lies in Stroud District.

Adjacent to the district centre are a church, doctor‟s surgery, vets, public house and

community centre. The ward is well served by strategic footpath and cycle networks that

provide good connectivity and permeability through the residential areas.

The west and southern parts of the ward are known as Abbeydale. This area feeds Heron

Primary school and relates well to the district centre. The northern and eastern part of the

ward falls within Abbeymead, an area of more recent residential development. This area

feeds Abbeymead Primary School and relates to the local centre of Abbeymead which lies to

the north of Abbey in Hucclecote ward as well as to the Abbeydale District Centre.

The ward enjoys the highest mean income across the whole city and deprivation indicators

are low. Pupils enjoy good academic success at the end of Key Stage 4 in comparison to

other wards in the City. Two lower super output areas to the south of the ward have a high

number of households with existing health problems and one area to the north of the ward

has residents who present with symptoms that indicate they may be harbouring future health

problems.

mailto:[email protected]




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Despite the green and spacious character of the area the ward does have an under

provision of public open space, equipped play spaces for children and sports pitches.

Incidences of crime in the ward are focused in and around the district centre.

SWOT Analysis of Ward

Strengths

Mature residential area predominantly

characterised by family housing but also

providing areas of bungalow and

sheltered housing for the elderly

resulting in a mixed cohesive

community.

Good number of footpaths and cycle

routes through the ward linking

residential areas with adjacent

neighbourhoods and shopping centres

A prosperous ward with the highest

average income of all wards in the City

A relatively healthy ward in comparison

to others in the City

A good local centre with large

convenience store, doctor‟s surgery,

dentist, optician, church & community

centre

A well used and active community

centre

A ward with a high level of community

involvement

Weaknesses

Severe under provision of playing

pitches

Slight under provision of public open

space, and equipped children‟s play

areas.

A high rate of households with existing

health problems living in the south of

the ward.

Less than the national recommended

level of community facilities within the

ward. Abbeymead School provides an

additional facility on the edge of the

ward which is well used by Abbey

residents however it is located in

Hucclecote ward.

Loss of local pub

Opportunities

County council owned site provides a

potential opportunity in the ward for

additional open space/allotments/new

development

Existing areas of informal public open

space provide opportunities for

community use and informal recreation

New community facility off Lobleys Drive

(within Hucclecote Ward)

Threats

Lack of development opportunities in

the ward restricts opportunities to

address playing pitch & open space

shortfalls

Extreme rainfall events may result in

river or surface water flooding


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Appendix 1

1.0 Physical Character of the Area

1.1 Location

Abbey is located to the east of the City and comprises a large area of housing built during

the 1960‟s and 1970‟s known as Abbeydale as well as the first phases of Abbeymead

constructed during the 1980‟s. The ward is bounded to the east by the M5 motorway with

Stroud District Council beyond, to the north by Hucclecote and Barnwood wards, and to the

west and south by Matson and Robinswood Ward.

Figure 1: Location of Abbey Ward within the City of Gloucester


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1.2 The Historical Development of Abbey Ward

Historically this ward has no particular settlement focus being effectively located between

settlements at Hucclecote and Matson. The first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1886

shows the ward as being almost entirely open farmland. The oldest visible historic element

is the route of the Roman road known as the Portway (which is no longer visible on the

ground today). Two mills are shown on the map (Barnwood and Upper Barnwood) neither of

which survive today. There are also two farms; Bottom Farm and Elm Court – both of which

no longer survive.

The field system as shown on the 1886 map shows a mix of orchards and open fields with

irregular „dog-legged‟ boundaries – which indicates that they follow, at least in part, the

layout of earlier medieval field systems. Abbey ward in 1886 was therefore an open almost

totally agricultural landscape which retained significant elements of the Roman, Medieval

and Post medieval historic landscape.

The ward remained remarkably unchanged right up through 1945 with only small scale

residential development taking place during the 1950s. In the intervening years very

extensive residential development has profoundly altered the ward beyond all recognition.

Baring a few areas of open public space the ward is now entirely characterised by semi-

detached suburban residential development. No historic farms, mills, routes, or field systems

survive.

Figure 2: Historic map of Abbey


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1.3 Character of the area

The built form of Abbey ward is characterised predominantly by semi detached and

detached dwellings houses. It is a popular area in the City for families and has a district

centre with a large Morrisons store and other smaller retailers, a health centre, vets, pub,

church and community centre. Bungalow development can be found to the south of the ward

at The Lawns and along the Wheatway.

Figure 3: Abbey Ward

The Wheatridge is one of the oldest route way through the ward which originally led to Upton

St. Leonards, some of the oldest dwellings in the ward, formerly agricultural workers

cottages are found along this route way.

Heron Way, Abbeymead Avenue and Wheatway are the three main arterial routes through

the ward with Hawthorne Avenue, Upton Lane and Lobleys Drive providing connectivity to

Barnwood, Upton St. Leonards and Brockworth respectively.

The ward tells the story of trends in housing layout and design from the 1970‟s through to

the mid 1990‟s, from Radbourne layouts in the north west to close‟s off distributor roads in

the north east.

The ward has much less open space than neighbouring Barnwood but the design

characteristics of housing development in the ward provided for more spacious layouts with

front and back gardens, green corridors and trees and strategic footpath and cycleway links.

The ward has a pleasant green character with good connectivity and permeability along both

the Twyver and Sudbrook water courses and through each period of housing development

giving the ward an open and spacious character.


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The River Twyver runs from east to west through the ward and the River Sudbrook runs

along the southern boundary of the ward.

The oldest modern housing in the ward is characterised by the Radbourne style of layout

with fronts facing onto pedestrianised green footpath and cycle ways and vehicular access to

the rear. This form of housing is found off Heron Way at Stonechat Avenue, Grebe Close,

Swift Road, Woodcock Close, Eagle Way, Curlew Road, Redstart Way and Redpoll Way

and lies to the south of the River Twyver.

This housing lies to the west of the ward and has good permeability and connectivity to

Heron Way and adjoining neighbourhoods. Heron Primary School was constructed at this

time to provide for children from this new development.

The next phase of housing development, saw the construction of the closes off Bittern

Avenue to the north of the River Twyver plus the construction of The Wheatway and it‟s

distributor roads of The Richmonds, Mandara Grove, Drivemoor, The Lawns and Meerstone

Way. This area includes bungalow development as well as two storey development.

Rumsey Close was also built during this period. These areas are a mix of detached and

semi detached housing with vehicular access to the front, on plot parking and rear gardens.


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There is good connectivity between the closes and the strategic footpath and cycle ways to

the north of the River Twyver but not large areas of open space. There is an open space to

the north west of Mandara Grove that lies on a bank and an open space at Drivemoor,

neither of these spaces have children‟s or young people‟s play equipment.

The development of Abbeymead (sites north of the River Twyver) began in the 1980‟s and

infilled the area to the north of the River Twyver between Abbeymead Avenue and Upton

Lane. This is an area of predominantly detached housing and enjoys good pedestrian

permeability. Kingscote Drive and Longborough Drive to the west of Abbeymead Avenue

were also built at this time.


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The next phase to progress was the area north of Upton Lane bounded by Lobleys Drive

and the M5 with development progressing from the south to the north, the northern most

areas completing development in the mid 1990‟s.

At the same time the distributor roads of Cherrington Drive and Honeysuckle Drive were

completed. This area provides a good mix of detached, semi detached and terraced

housing, enjoys good permeability and connectivity with surrounding areas and good access

to both the Abbeydale District centre and the Abbeymead local centre.

The most recent housing development in the ward is new housing off Awebridge Way which

provides a mix of town houses, apartments and semi detached dwellings accessed from the

Painswick Road and developed on former old orchards and paddocks associated with old

cottages located off The Wheatridge.


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The supermarket at Abbeydale District centre has been recently redeveloped to provide a

larger facility, the local centre also has an extended community centre, a doctors surgery, a

vets and a church, (which was constructed in the mid 1990‟s).

1.4 Hierarchy of Routes

The main routes through the ward include Abbeymead Avenue, Heron Way and The

Wheatway. Connectivity to Brockworth is provided by Lobleys Drive; to Upton St. Leonards

by Upton Lane and The Wheatridge East; and to Coney Hill by Hawthrone Avenue.

Internal distributor roads include Bittern Avenue, Fieldfare, The Wheatridge and

Honeysuckle Drive.


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2.0 Demographics

2.1 Population

The 2011 Census indicated that Abbey ward has a population of 9,495 people. This

accounts for 7.8 % of the population of the City making it the seventh largest ward in terms

of population in the City.

2.2 Age

The breakdown of age cohorts is provided in Figure 4 below.

Figure 4: Breakdown of Population by age

Source: Census 2011

Figure 4 clearly shows a good balance across the age ranges within the ward with a larger

number of people aged between 40 and 59 than other cohorts. It is clear that the ward is an

attractive location for families and older generations alike.

The breakdown of population by cohorts by sex is illustrated in Figure 5 below. It clearly

demonstrates that until the age of 34 there are more men than women living in the ward, for

the cohorts 35-39 and 45-49 there are more than 50 women than men, maybe reflecting the

number of women left in family homes after family breakdowns while fathers move to smaller

cheaper accommodation either in the City or elsewhere, or simply that more single women

can afford to live in Abbey ward, a pleasant area in which to reside.

Figure 5 also demonstrates the acknowledged trend of women outliving men with more

women in each cohort from the age of 60.

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

Pe

op

le p

er

age

gro

up

Age Groups

Population in each age group for Abbey - Total Population : 9,495


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Figure 5: Breakdown of population cohorts by sex

Source: 2011 Census data

2.3 Ethnicity

The following table displays the ethnic make up of the City in 2006, this data demonstrates

that the population of Abbey consists of 93.4% White British and 6.6% Ethnic Minority

groups. This means that Abbey is ranked 8th highest ward in the City with regard to those of

non white British ethnicity.

Table 1: Ethnicity within Gloucester City

Source: Gloucestershire County Council - Ethnicity in Gloucestershire 2006

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

Males

Females


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2.4 Gender

The discussion under Figure 5 clearly highlights the discrepancies between genders within

the ward.

What is clear is that boys out number girls both at primary and secondary age and through

out the twenties age group. However from 60 onwards there continue to be more women

than men (it is well documented that women live longer than men).

2.5 Housing Tenure

The housing tenure split for Abbey is illustrated in Figure 6 below and clearly demonstrates

that the majority of housing in the ward is owner occupied (84%), with 12% in the private

rented sector and 4% in the social rented sector.

Figure 6: Tenure in Abbey Ward

Source: 2011 Census

The comparison chart in Figure 7 with data from the 2011 census shows that Abbey has

similar levels of owner occupation to Elmbridge, Grange, Hucclecote and Longelevens. The

level of private rented stock is also similar to Barnwood, Grange and Hucclecote at just over

10%. The amount of housing stock in the social rented sector is low and is similar to that

available in Grange, Hucclecote and Quedgeley Severnvale.

Total Owned Occupied %

84%

Social Rented % 4%

Private Rented %

12%

Abbey Housing Tenure (Census 2011)


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Figure 7: Tenure within Gloucester City by ward

Source: 2011 Census

2.6 Profile of housing stock

The majority of housing stock in the ward was constructed towards the end of the twentieth

century and reflects the prevailing highway standards and design codes of the time.

The Radborn layouts on the earlier estates are not replicated across the ward although they

are present in other wards in the City with estate development of the same era, namely in

Grange.

The majority of housing in the ward is suitable for families with bungalows also being

provided in the older estates. The newer estates in Abbeymead do not generally include

bungalow development. Some specialist housing for the elderly has been provided at

Shergar Close and at a private development on The Wheatridge, there are also some elderly

person‟s flats opposite the District Centre.

Abbey has a dominance of houses and bungalows which are privately owned. This has

resulted in a shortage of flats available for rent and affordable housing. A focus on

developing one, two and three bedroom flats for rent and more social housing would help to

redress the balance and help create a more balanced and mixed community.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Pe

rce

nta

ge (

%)

Ward

A graph showing the percentage of owned, social rented and private rented houses in Gloucester City.

Source : 2011 Census

Total Owned Occupied %

Social Rented %

Private Rented %


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2.7 Energy efficiency of housing stock and fuel poverty

Thermal imaging of dwellings across the City shows that Abbey ward performs very well with

regard to the thermal capacity of dwellings with a high proportion of properties having

excellent thermal insulation. Dwellings in Abbeydale to the north of the River Twyver, plus

Stonechat Avenue and Curlew Road tend to perform less well with regard to thermal

efficiency along with those in Abbeymead off Honeysuckle Drive. The estate to the south

east of the Wheatway performs particularly well, owing to its proximity to the motorway it

may be that additional noise insulation also helped to improve thermal efficiency.

A household is deemed to be in Fuel Poverty if they spend more than 10% of their income

of heating their home. The 2009 Fordham Research Study identified 4.1% of households in

the ward as being in fuel poverty which is lower than the local authority average of 5.5%.

2.8 Housing Need

The Fordham Research Gloucestershire household survey (2009) identifies Abbey ward as

one of the three wards lying in the northwest sub-area of the City which has a combined

identified total of 17,625 households. Within this sub-area 4.1% of households are in

unsuitable housing and 2.3% are in households in current housing need.


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3.0 Community facilities

3.1 Healthcare

The ward is well served by a centrally located doctor‟s surgery at Glevum Way. There is

also a branch surgery located on The Wheatway.

A vets practice is also located in the district centre.

An optician‟s practice is located opposite the district centre.

3.2 Libraries

There are no libraries in the ward, the closest facilities are at Matson, Hucclecote or the City

Centre.

3.3 Places of Worship

There is one ecumenical church in the ward located opposite the district centre. Christchurch

Abbeydale is an ecumenical partnership between the Anglican, Methodist, Baptist and

United Reformed Church. The church serves the local community and provides uniformed

children‟s groups, keep fit, craft and painting groups as well as Sunday services.


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3.4 Community Facilities

The Gloucester City Draft Community Facility Audit (Autumn 2012) identifies Abbey as

having less than the national recommended level of community facility provision. The

facilities listed include the following;

Christchurch Abbeydale Sports and Community Centre Heron Primary School


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3.5 Education Facilities

There is one state primary school within the ward, Heron Primary, which is located on Heron

Way. The school takes children from the Abbeydale area and further beyond. Children from

the north of the ward are more likely to attend Abbeymead Primary School which is located

immediately adjacent to the north of Abbey in Hucclecote ward.

Heron Primary School is a two form intake with 60 children in each year. The school enjoys

good facilities and has a large playing field. The school was awarded a „Good‟ rating in its

last Ofsted inspection in May 2012.

Secondary children from the ward travel to secondary schools elsewhere in the City. The

two closest comprehensive schools are Barnwood Park Arts College at Barnwood (girls only)

and Gloucester Academy at Saintbridge (co-ed).

3.6 Leisure facilities

A public house is located opposite the local centre and the community centre provides the

location with a variety of groups, classes and leisure activities. Behind the Community

Centre is an astro turf football pitch, which is booked by the Community Centre for use by

football teams. The centre is a hub of the community and organises a number of local

events. The centre has a bar and has meeting rooms for hire. A recent Community Spaces

grant has been awarded to carry out some significant improvements to the surrounding area

in 2013.

3.7 Cultural Facilities

A cultural facility is defined as any building or structure used for programs or activities

involving the arts or other endeavours that encourage refinement or development of the

mind. In Abbey the community centre provides the opportunity for groups to meet for

cultural activities.

3.8 Community Groups and Services

The ward has two Police Community Safety Officers.

There is an active sports and community association based in the sports and community

centre.

Abbeymead Rovers Football Club.


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4.0 Deprivation Index

4.1 Deprivation

Hot indicates the locality is in top 10% (or bottom 10% when marked with an *) of localities in

Gloucestershire (therefore this is an issue within the City). Warm indicates the locality is in

the next 25% of localities in the County (therefore this indicator is an issue when compared

to the County). Cold indicates a „cool‟ rating compared to other localities in the County (this

indicator is not an issue).

Table 2: Deprivation Indicators for Abbey

Source: Data from Maiden multi agency information database for neighbourhoods 2012 &

2007

Source Maiden Number Hot, Warm or Cool

Health

Mental Health Assessments 2011 20 Cool

Social work assessments 5 Cool

Weekly alcohol spend £s CACI 2006 37531 Warm

Children and Young People

Accident Admissions of under 5‟s 2012 25 Cool

Accident Admissions of under 17‟s 2012 85 Cool

Children in need 2011 40 Cool

Crime victims under 20 years old 2010-11 60 Warm

Lone parent benefit claimants August 2008 45 Warm

Key stage 4 - Pupils not achieving 5+ A*-C grades inc English * maths 2012

35 Cool

Free School Meals - Pupils eligible 2012 85 Cool

Pupils with English as an additional language where first language is known

1195 Warm

Crime

Victims of crime (all) 2010-11 390 Warm

Anti Social Behaviour Incidents recorded by the Police 2010-11

395 Warm

Theft victims 2010-11 140 Cool

Violence victims 2010-11 95 Warm

Burglary victims 2010-11 55 Cool

Hate Crime/incidents 2010-11 Less than 5 Cool

Serious and Fatal Road Traffic Collisions 2007-10 5 Cool

Criminal damage victims 2010-11 75 Warm

Arson recorded by Fire and Rescue 2008-11 10 Cool

Economy

Estimated average gross household income 2010 46,635 Cool

Working-age benefit claimants Aug 2008 460 Warm

Job seeker claimants Aug 2008 60 Warm

Incapacity Benefit claimants 2008 195 Warm

Lone parent benefit claimants Aug 2008 45 Warm

Carer claimants Aug 2008 40 Warm

Disabled claimants Aug 2008 45 Warm

Households with broadband internet 2008* 4453 Cool


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4.2 Deprivation Map

The following map illustrates the Indices of Deprivation for Gloucester 2010. The map is

compiled by looking at income deprivation, employment deprivation, health and disability,

education, skills and training, crime and disorder, barriers to housing services, and living

environment. It is clear that Abbey ward is one of the least deprived wards in the City.

Figure 8: Indices of Deprivation 2010

Source: Gloucestershire Research & Intelligence


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4.3 Health

The Director of Public Health‟s report for Gloucester from 2009 – 2010 shows that in the

southern third of the ward 101-200 households have existing health problems. The same

report identifies the possibility of 1-50 households in the north of the ward developing future

health problems. This is illustrated in the two maps below.


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4.4 Crime

Based on data recorded between 1st April 2009 and 31st March 2010 the highest incidents of

crime occur in and around the District centre. During a “Have your Say” day by Safer

Gloucester in the area, 94% of respondents said they felt safe or very safe walking alone in

the daylight and 50% felt safe walking alone at night in the area. Residents felt mostly

unsafe in the alleyways in the area. 17% felt that underage drinking and young people

hanging around was a problem. The Safer Gloucester Partnership have funded some youth

outreach work in the area in 2011.Most people who were surveyed, felt the location of their

home was quiet and the local amenities and their neighbours were an important factor in

making their area a nice place to live.

Data from the Gloucester City Community Safety Partnership for 2012 demonstrates a

reduction in all recorded crime between 2010/11 and 2011/12 with a very large reduction in

all recorded violence and a small reduction in criminal damage but increases in burglary and

theft.


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4.5 Car ownership Generally car ownership levels in the ward are high. The area around the local centre is identified as an area where a greater number of households have a lack of accessibility to a car or a van but it is this area that has a high population of elderly residents who inhabit purpose built accommodation. Such residents are more likely to not have their own transport and this fact helps to interpret the statistical data. Figure 9: Proportion of Households without a car or van

Source ONS 2001 Census


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5.0 Economics

5.1 Employment

Source: Gloucestershire County Council Unemployment Bulletin November 2012

In November 2012 Abbey was ranked 43rd out of 142 wards in the County with regard to

unemployment based on an analysis of claimant counts. With an annual average rate for

2012 of 1.6 the ward is in the second lowest quartile of claimants in the County, the City

having an average unemployment rate of 4.1.

Table 3: Claimant Count in Gloucester by Ward November 2012

Source: Gloucestershire County Council


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5.2 Average Household Income

Estimated data from 2010 shows that compared to the rest of the County mean average

gross household income in Abbey (£46,635 in 2010) is not a specific issue. Benefit claimant

counts and the numbers of children eligible for free school meals are also low in the ward as

evidenced by Table 3 „Deprivation Indicators‟.

Figure 10 below demonstrates estimated average gross income by ward as at 2010.

(Source: PAYCHECK data; CACI 2010)

5.3 Educational Achievement

Data provided from the County for 2010/11 demonstrates that within the ward, of 123 pupils

at the end of Key Stage 4, 86 (69.9%) achieved 5 GCSEs including maths and English while

100 (81.3%) achieved 5 GCSEs. The comparison of achievement of pupils in Abbey against

the rest of the City can be seen in Figure 11 below which demonstrates that the percentage

of pupils gaining 5 GCSEs including maths and English in the ward is one of the highest

percentages in the City. This means that numeracy and literacy skills in the ward among

young people aged 16 is good.


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Figure 11: Educational attainment at GCSE across the City

Source: Gloucestershire County Council 2012

5.4 Retail

Abbey has one District Centre, with a large Morrisons superstore, and 5 adjacent retail units

occupied by a Takeaway, an estate agents, a hairdressers & a pharmacy. Opposite the

local centre is an optician and solicitors practice, both uses falling within retail use classes in

the Use Classes Order.

Abbeymead local centre is located adjacent to the north of the ward boundary at

Abbeymead, however it is situated in Hucclecote Ward. Residents in Abbeymead in the

north east of the ward are more likely to use these local shops than travel to the District

centre in Abbeydale.


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5.5 Public Transport

Abbey Ward is served by the No. 4 and 5 bus services.

The No. 3 runs from Gloucester City centre via Coney Hill to Abbeydale and back to

Gloucester City. This service runs every 15 minutes throughout the day and at peak hours.

The No. 4 runs from Gloucester City centre via Coney Hill to Abbeydale and then onto

Coopers Edge and Brockworth before making its return journey to the City, this service runs

every 30 minutes to Brockworth.

The No. 5 runs from Gloucester City Centre via Metz Way and Abbeymead Avenue to

Abbeydale District Centre and then via Drivemoor and Painswick Road to Upton St.

Leonards returning via The Wheatridge and Abbeymead Avenue to the City Centre. This

service runs every 15 minutes during the day and every 12 minutes at peak times.

5.6 Cycle Routes

Off road cycle routes are provided through the ward on strategic footpaths and cycleways,

one of which follows the route of the River Twyver. Another cycle route links the Abbeydale

District centre with the local centre in Abbeymead. A route to the north of the ward is

identified running from Upton Lane through the immediate residential area to Cox‟s Way and

then northwards through to Hucclecote.

Abbeymead Avenue, The Wheatridge and Painswick Road are identified as on road cycle

routes.

5.7 Congestion

Abbeymead Avenue experiences congestion during the morning peak of up to 3 minutes

over normal non peak journey times. No significant congestion is experienced on Painswick

Road to the south of the ward (Gloucestershire County Council Congestion Monitoring report

2010/11).

Eastbound the ward feeds into the A38 Eastern Avenue via Metz Way or Eastern Avenue,

westbound traffic can leave the ward using Lobleys Drive to Brockworth or Painswick Road

towards Stroud.

5.8 Employment Opportunities in the Ward

Abbeydale District Centre provides employment opportunities in retail as well as at the

health centre, veterinary practice, opticians and other professional services in the district

centre. There are no other employment opportunities in the ward other than for those who

work or run businesses from home. Residents are required to travel out of the ward for

employment, with the opening of Lobleys Drive there are good links to Gloucester Business

Park.


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6.0 Land use Issues

6.1 Conservation

There are no Conservation Areas within the ward.

6.2 Public Open Space

The Draft Open Space Strategy (2012) indicates that the ward just falls short (1-29%

shortfall) of the City Council‟s proposed open space standard of 2.8ha per 1000 population

and falls seriously short (60-100% shortfall) of the proposed sports pitch provision of 1.6ha

per 1000 population.

The open spaces in the ward were largely created as part of the late 20th century housing

development, to provide space for formal and informal recreation, drainage or buffers to the

M5 motorway. One exception is Hucclecote Hay Meadows, a remnant of traditional hay

meadows with wildflowers, which is a protected Site of Special Scientific Interest.

The ward does adjoin Clock Tower Park in Barnwood ward, so Abbey residents are also

able to make use of this large open space and its facilities.

Many of the open spaces in the ward were created as part of the 1980s housing

development and were laid out with dense structural tree planting. This vegetation has

never been managed, is rapidly maturing and in places is becoming rather overbearing.

With the exception of the hay meadows, the ward‟s open spaces are mainly managed as

short mown grass with associated trees, shrubs and hedgerows.

In total the ward has 20.87ha of open space, a provision of 2.2ha per 1000 population, which

falls just short of the proposed open space standard

of 2.8ha per 1000. In Safer Gloucester‟s consultation

with Abbey residents 83% had felt there was sufficient

safe play areas or activities for young people.

There are some formal sports pitches provided in the

ward which are generally used by local teams. A

bookable synthetic pitch is available at Abbeydale

Community Centre and is included in the sports pitch

calculation below.

Outdoor sports provision equates 0.22ha per 1000, which falls seriously short of the

proposed standard for playing pitch provision of 1.6ha per 1000.

There is one play area at Glevum Way which equates to 0.01ha per 1000, which also falls

seriously short of the proposed standard for formal play provision of 0.25ha per 1000.

Table 4 below lists all the open space in the ward, a key to the open space types is provided

below.


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Open Space Types

Table 4: Open space in Abbey Ward 2012

Ref. Name Size (ha)

Description (see list of open space types)

AB1 Glevum Way Park 3.01 J + B + H (0.06ha LEAP) (1 adult , 2 junior football = 1ha )

AB2 Hucclecote Hay Meadows LNR 2.51 D

AB3 M5 Buffer Zone 3.23 I

AB4 The Richmonds 1.33 B

AB5 Heron Park 2.35 J (1 adult football = 0.91ha)

AB6 Palmer Ave 0.5 I

AB7 Contour Park 3.67 B

AB8 Stewart‟s Mill 2.12 E (+ B)

AB9 The Lawns 0.29 B (+ E)

AB10 Meerstone Way 1.28 B (+ E)

AB11 Oxmoor 0.15 B

AB12 Bittern Ave (part) - Included in Barnwood Ward calc

AB13 Heron Way open space (part) - Included in Matson Ward calc

AB14 Almond Close 0.23 B

AB15 Awebridge Way (in use, but yet to be adopted)

0.2 B

Total: 20.87ha

Type

A Parks and gardens

B Informal green space

C Allotments

D Countryside and natural spaces

E Green infrastructure

F Civic spaces

G Cemeteries

H Spaces for children and young people

I Amenity Green Space

J Sports provision


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There are currently no allotments in the ward.

Figure 12: Map identifying Public Open Space in Abbey Ward


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Opportunities for improved provision Abbey ward falls just short of the adopted standard for quantity. The creation of some new open space on the county council owned „reserved‟ site at The Wheatridge could be explored. Other improvements in provision should concentrate on providing high quality expanded play and sports facilities, particularly at Glevum Way, and ensuring optimum maintenance and usage of sports pitches on existing sites. The feasibility of creating a site for allotment provision in the ward, by converting an underused part of an existing open space, could be explored.

Other local priorities will be developed in consultation with the local community as part of the development of the Abbey Ward Open Space Action Plan.

6.3 Green Infrastructure

The City of Gloucester Green Infrastructure plan at Figure 13 below identifies the River

Twyver as an existing green corridor with the potential for enhancement throughout the

length of the ward including the pedestrian network and wildlife habitat, the provision of

additional seating, interpretation and outdoor exercise equipment.

Figure 13: Green Infrastructure Map for Abbey Ward


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The Sudbrook watercourse is also identified as a wildlife corridor within the ward with

opportunities to improve pedestrian links to Robinswood Hill and to break the brook out of

the concrete channel at Heron Way as it flows towards Saintbridge balancing pond.

Biodiversity – NC1 - Hucclecote Hay Meadows lie to the north of the Ward, this area is a

remnant of traditional hay meadows with wildflowers and is a protected Site of Special

Scientific Interest.

NC31 –Abbeydale Community Centre - Site of Nature Conservation Interest – Grade C


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There is opportunity to improve biodiversity within the ward in the areas of open space that

exist, on highway verges and within gardens.

6.4 Water

The Rivers Twyver and Sudbrook run through the ward from the Cotswold escarpment in the

east to the River Severn in the west.

The Sudbrook and Twyver both feed into Saintbridge balancing pond which lies to the

immediate north west of the ward.

6.5 Sustainability

There are recycling facilities at Morrisons at Abbeydale.


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7.0 Previous issues raised through consultation

7.1 City Plan City Vision Issues and Options Consultation Summer 2011

Written representations made to consultation;

County Council site at the Wheatridge is potentially redundant to the needs of the local

authority and could come forward for residential purposes.

7.2 2006 Site Allocations and Designations Preferred Options Consultation

There were no sites allocated in Abbey ward and no objection sites submitted in the ward

therefore no consultation responses received.

7.3 2005 Issues and Options Consultation Site Allocations and Designations

Document - Land at Wheatridge East – City Council response

Land at the Wheatridge East was allocated in the Draft Local Plan (2001) for a new Primary

School. The site had been previously set-aside for this purpose by the developer when the

Abbeydale area was originally planned and built out.

The County Council submitted representations and suggested that in view of the fact that the

site is unlikely to come forward for a new school, the site should be allocated for residential

development with the provision of some additional green space.

The site‟s potential for residential development scores well in a number of respects. It is well

located in respect of Abbeymead District Centre where a number of shops and services are

available. There are a number of bus services operating in the area including along the

Wheatridge. There are several cycle routes nearby and areas of open space.

However the site is Greenfield and currently offers an informal recreational resource for local

residents for passive forms of recreation such as walking. In this regard, it is relevant to note

that the area within which the site is located is identified in the City Council‟s Public Open

Space Strategy as being deficient in terms of public open space provision.

There also remains the possibility that the site may be brought forward for educational use.

The site was originally set aside to provide for a community use and the allocation of the site

for housing would be contrary to the original community based objectives for this piece of

land when the area was first planned and laid out.

For these reasons and having regard to housing land availability elsewhere, this site has not

been identified for housing and will continue to be identified for a new school.


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7.4 Gloucester City Second Deposit Local Plan (August 2002)

SCH1 – Site at the Wheatridge (east) in County Council ownership identified as a potential

future primary school site.

Sites adjacent to District Centre in ownership of County Council identified for library and

police station buildings.

7.5 Extant major permissions

At the time of writing this report there is 1 major extant permission in the ward at Land to the

Rear of Paget Cottage for the erection of 13 detached houses and one bungalow with

access from Awebridge Way (11/00488/FUL).

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