B3.1.3 Creating places for everyone

Relaxing and safe spaces are places where everyone feels secure and comfortable, recognising the real challenges that open space users can face, particularly women, girls, older people, and other vulnerable groups. These environments must enable people to move through them and feel safe spending time there.

To support this, development proposals must ensure the space includes:

• multiple clear, well-signposted, and visible access and exit points, especially for enclosed areas such as Multi-Use Games Areas (MUGAs)

• well-overlooked ‘safety nodes’, places that feel secure because they are visible to others and close to natural surveillance

• a choice of routes through the space, including at least one spacious, well-lit primary route that aligns with the main desire lines

• good lighting throughout all main routes, using adopted street lighting where possible, to reduce fear of crime and support safe movement through the differing seasons and times of day

• planting and structures that are carefully positioned and maintained to avoid obstructing sight lines or creating hidden spaces. Shrubs should be kept to a mature height of 0.5 metres to 0.7 metres, and lower tree branches trimmed to maintain clear visibility to at least 2 metres above ground level.

Further information can be found in:

• Improving access for women and girls (Safer Parks, 2023)

• Creating Places that Work for Women and Girls: Handbook for Local Authorities, Developers and Designers (LLDC)

• West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Safer Parks for Women and Girls Guidance

Benches within new developments play an essential role in making new open spaces welcoming and inclusive, especially for older people, those with limited mobility, and anyone needing a place to rest. To ensure benches are functional, accessible, and safe, they should be:

• provided every 100 metres along primary routes and at intersections on all routes

• located on level ground to ensure stability and ease of use for everyone

• sized to comfortably seat a maximum of two people at a time

• fitted with backrests and armrests to provide support for older people, disabled people, and parents with young children

• made from robust, vandal-resistant materials that are easy to clean and designed to prevent water pooling

• designed with dividers or armrests that discourage lying down or sleeping

• placed in locations that do not obstruct walking, wheeling, or cycling routes and maintain clear sightlines

• positioned away from directly overlooking residential windows, and ideally placed where there is some shade, shelter, or an attractive view or point of interest

• visually distinct from their surroundings so that they are easy to spot and use

In addition to formal bench seating, development proposals should include informal perching opportunities where appropriate. These could include low public walls (not directly bordering private gardens), natural stone features, boulders, or feature bollards that invite short rests. Perches should:

• be 0.45 metres to 0.5 metres high, with an even, comfortable surface

• located along well-used routes, in well overlooked locations, that don’t block sight lines

• utilise breaks, rail panels or dividers to discourage large gatherings and lying down