Policy OB1
Open space and parks
- The council will protect, enhance and increase the provision of open space and will seek to improve access to public open space in the borough and reduce open space deficiency by:
a) Resisting any loss of designated and non-designated open space in the borough.
b) Improving the quality of and access to existing and new parks and open spaces, particularly in areas of public open space deficiency.
c) Securing improvements to open spaces, including provision for children's play, sports facilities where opportunities arise, from all developments that create an additional demand for open space. Where this is not viable, S106 contribution will be required for off-site provision or enhancement to existing open spaces.
d) Requiring major development schemes to provide a mix of new public and private open space on-site. New open space in major development will need to:
i) Be accessible, inclusive and of high quality
ii) Be in proportion to the scale and nature of the development
iii) Provide outdoor recreational facilities including playgrounds and gyms
iv) Integrate play and space for informal recreation
v) Incorporate soft landscaping and sustainable drainage systems (SuDS)
vi) Contribute to biodiversity as per Policy OB2
vii) Integrate food growth opportunities as per Policy OB6
e) Supporting new open space provision in Regeneration and Opportunity Areas such as White City, Earls Court, West Kensington and South Fulham Regeneration Area.
f) Resisting development proposals that will have an adverse impact on the environmental and open character, appearance and function of open spaces and would reduce the overall amount of green cover in the borough.
g) Resisting the loss of areas of amenity green space around housing estates, educational facilities and other green space of local and borough wide importance.
- Proposals for new public open space will need to be designed so they:
a) Are fit for purpose and function.
b) Are of a high quality and compatible with the surrounding landscape, and townscape character.
c) Integrate with the drainage network to mitigate the effects of climate change and significant rainfall events.
d) Are clearly defined as public or private space.
e) Provide an improvement to wildlife habitat.
f) Provide a range of recreational and outdoor activities including playgrounds, gyms and sport pitches for users of all ages; and
g) Integrate appropriate landscaping maximising planted beds and trees.
9.0 Open space, and access to high quality open space, is important because of the contribution it makes not only to the health and wellbeing of communities , but also to alleviate climate change, to mitigate the effects of floods, and to improve biodiversity habitats and networks.
9.1 Hammersmith and Fulham is a densely populated borough, where the provision of open space is limited due to the increasing development pressure. Environmental pressures will grow as the borough urbanises, impacting air quality, noise pollution, and access to green space. Maintaining and expanding the borough's parks and open spaces will be vital to supporting public health, social cohesion, and climate resilience.
Types of open spaces
9.2 There are a variety of types and sizes of open spaces in the borough including parks, playing fields, sports pitches, outdoor sporting facilities, cemeteries and churchyards, amenity space, allotments, nature conservation areas and play areas.
9.3 The Open Space Audit 2025 identifies all type of open space in the borough and shows how important open space is for people's quality of life, clean air, biodiversity, sports and recreation for young people. Open spaces provide opportunities for people to exercise, to take part in outdoor sport and recreation and which enhances the health of local people. It is therefore important to maintain open spaces for the benefit of the community and involve local communities in the use of such spaces.
9.4 The Open Space Audit 2025 also identifies deficiency areas where the need of open space is crucial to reduce inequalities in the borough. In those specific areas the Council will seek to improve the quality of existing open space where feasible and require the creation of new parks and open spaces as part of new development.
Protection of open space
9.5 The council is committed to protect all open space across the borough and reduce open space deficiency by resisting any development on existing open space particularly those spaces of local and borough wide importance that contribute to biodiversity and habitats creation and enhancement as well as promoting health and wellbeing, and sustainable communities.
9.6 Policy OB1 has a general presumption against development proposals that will have an adverse impact on the environmental and open character, appearance and function of existing open spaces and would reduce the overall amount of green cover in the borough. When assessing applications the council will also take into account the open space designation in accordance with Open Space hierarchy and the level of importance.
New open spaces
9.7 It is anticipated that development in the borough will lead to increased use and pressure on our existing open spaces. As a result, the council aims to secure sufficient open space with the capacity to accommodate the additional demand arising from new development (including changes of use). Whenever feasible, the Council will prioritise on-site open space provision within new developments. In the Regeneration and Opportunity Areas such as White City, Earls Court, West Kensington and South Fulham Regeneration Area the council will support the provision of new open space proportionally to the scale of the development and the identified need in the locality.
9.8 When assessing proposals for new open space, the Council will consider the integration of appropriate landscaping and the suitability of the space in relation to its site characteristics and local context. Landscaping should incorporate natural elements such as trees, planted beds, rain gardens, and other green infrastructure that enhance the public realm and contribute to climate resilience. The inclusion and maximisation of trees and planted beds is strongly encouraged due to their wide-ranging public benefits, including canopy cover, improved air quality, soil stabilisation, shade provision, and cooling, key factors in mitigating the impacts of climate change. Planted beds and rain gardens also increase permeable surface, improve drainage, and support biodiversity. Further guidance on planting is provided in the Urban Greening section Policy OB3.
9.9 New open space should be inclusive and accessible, designed to be easy to use by people of all ages and abilities. They should be fit for purpose and offer a variety of recreational and outdoor activities, such as playgrounds, outdoor gyms, and sports pitches. Proposals should also prioritise the creation and enhancement of wildlife habitats, tree planting, and the integration of sustainable drainage systems (SuDS), in line with the borough's climate and ecological objectives.
9.10 There will be cases where developments create an additional demand for open space, but such provision will be not viable on-site. Where it is demonstrated to the Council's satisfaction that on-site provision is not feasible, the Council will seek other forms of open space contribution including securing improvements to existing open spaces through Section 106 planning obligations, to ensure that the additional demand a development places on existing open spaces is met.
9.11 The council has designated an open space hierarchy that responds to the variety of parks and open spaces in the borough, including strategically important open space, namely Metropolitan Open Land (MOL), and open spaces of borough-wide and more local importance (see Policies Map and Appendix 3). Overlapping with this hierarchy are those sites which have particular nature conservation interest (Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation -SINC) which are classified as of metropolitan, borough-wide and local importance (Appendix 4).