Canada Water Campaign

Canada Water

Community Safety Topic Paper

Potential additions:

Under "National Policy"?:

The Urban White paper refers to desired new-build densities of between 30 and 50 homes per hectare, and perhaps even more in inner cities. Care should, however, be taken not to build "up" in order to achieve massive density, at the expense of community interaction, safety and security and other needs such as natural surveillance, active frontages, activity etc.

Failure to give crime due consideration during any development programme could result in increases in crime and reduced quality of life.

Planning Circular 5/94 "Planning out Crime" provides guidelines for architects, developers and planning authorities. Importantly it states that crime prevention is capable of being a material consideration when planning applications are considered. It also says that "once a development has been completed, the main opportunity to incorporate crime prevention measures will have been lost" and "It is important to consult Police (Crime Prevention Design Advisers) at as early a stage as possible". Further references are made to consulting police in Planning Policy Guidance’s 1 and 3 and the Building Regulations, 1991 (Approved document B1). In addition, Section 17, crime and Disorder Act, 1998, calls for local authorities to consider crime and disorder in everything that they do.

Perhaps under Community Safety:

"Secured by Design" (SBD) is a police initiative to encourage all areas of the building industry to adopt crime prevention measures in development design. The Housing Corporation provides incentives for housing associations to achieve the standard and the scheme encourages private builders to use the approval as a marketing tool. Independent research by the University of Huddersfield has shown that properties with SBD approval experience a far lower prevalence of crime and residents experience much less fear of crime.

Car parking

This paragraph states that "Due to the location of Canada Water it is anticipated that development can be car free". This premise would rely on the area being populated by people either unable or disinterested in vehicle ownership. Of this there is very little hope.

Due to the desire to increase density, proposals for high rise designs and underground garaging are becoming increasingly prevalent. No doubt this will also apply to Canada Water. Great care, therefore, should be exercised during the design process, building in multi-stage security to buildings and the highest levels of security in parking area, even to the extent of ‘manned’ guarding.