Sevenoaks District Council Retail Study Update July 2007
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Sevenoaks District Council Retail Study Update July 2007 www.gvagrimley.co.uk Sevenoaks District Council Sevenoaks District Retail Study Update July 2007 CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 1 2. POLICY CONTEXT .................................................................................................. 3 3. RETAIL AND LEISURE TRENDS.......................................................................... 15 4. COMPETING CENTRES: SUB-REGIONAL CONTEXT ........................................ 20 5. QUALITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF SEVENOAKS ................................................. 28 6. QUALITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF SWANLEY, EDENBRIDGE, WESTERHAM AND THE VILLAGES............................................................................................. 41 7. SEVENOAKS QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENT .................................................... 49 8. SMALLER CENTRES QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENT........................................ 57 9. SCOPE FOR NEW DEVELOPMENT ..................................................................... 61 10. CONCLUSIONS ..................................................................................................... 66 Sevenoaks District Council Sevenoaks District Retail Study Update July 2007 PLANS Plan 1: Household Telephone Survey Area Plan 2: Sevenoaks Retail Study: Study Context Area Plan 3: Comparison Goods Expenditure Leakage to Competing Centres Plan 4: Comparison Goods Expenditure Leakage to Competing Centres (Zone 1-5) Plan 5: Bluewater Comparison Goods Market Share Plan 6: Bromley Comparison Goods Market Share Plan 7: Tunbridge Wells Comparison Goods Market Share Plan 8: Dartford Comparison Goods Market Share Plan 9: Maidstone Comparison Goods Market Share Plan 10: Existing Retail Provision: Foodstores and Retail Parks Plan 11: Sevenoaks Town Centre Comparison Goods Market Share Plan 12: Food Store Provision: Village Centres Plan 13: Drive Time Isochrones from Key Centres APPENDICES Appendix 1 – Market Share and Trade retention of Competing Centres Appendix 2 – Retailer Requirements Appendix 3 – PMRS Count flows Appendix 4 – Customer View Graphs Appendix 5 – District Centre Boundary Plans and Audits Appendix 6 – Convenience Modelling Appendix 7 – Comparison Modelling Appendix 8 – District Settlement Survey Sevenoaks District Council Sevenoaks District Retail Study Update July 2007 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 GVA Grimley was appointed by Sevenoaks District Council in October 2004 to prepare a Retail Study of the District. The aim of the study was to inform and guide retail planning in the District and in particular, to inform the preparation of the District Council’s Local Development Framework (LDF) and guide future decision making. 1.2 Following Inspector’s decisions elsewhere in the country, the importance of a complete and up-to-date evidence base to support LDF’s has been stressed. As a result, in April 2007, Sevenoaks District Council appointed GVA Grimley to prepare a Retail Study Update. 1.3 The District Council’s requirements for the original study were as follows: • To comply with Government guidance in PPS6 on retailing and town centres; • To assist in devising policies and assessing planning applications having an impact on the main centres within the District, out of centre retail provision and local shops; • To provide a monitoring protocol in accordance with PPS6 and the LDF process; • To examine the issues involved in the loss of rural services and to subsequently provide recommendations on how to address the needs of rural residents; • To advise on the planning applications to extend the out of centre Sainsbury’s and Tesco stores in Sevenoaks; and • To consider the development of a large site in Edenbridge town centre for retail development. 1.4 The requirements for the Retail Study Update were as follows: • To update the retail capacity forecasts to cover the end of the proposed LDF period up to 2026 taking into account anticipated changes to shopping patterns and the use of the Internet; • To consider the effect of the opening of the new Edenbridge Relief Road on Edenbridge town centre; and • To consider the contribution of the market in Swanley district centre. 1.5 Our proposed approach to the study and the update was based upon seven work areas including: i. An analysis of the relevant national, regional and local planning policies and an assessment of current retail trends and their implications for the future scale and distribution of retailing in the District. ii. The preparation and commissioning of a household telephone survey, in order to assess the current shopping patterns within the District. iii. An analysis of the main locations competing with Sevenoaks and in particular their influence on the Sevenoaks catchment area. 1 Sevenoaks District Council Sevenoaks District Retail Study Update July 2007 iv. A qualitative review of existing retail provision throughout the District, drawing on the key indicators identified in paragraph 4.4 of PPS6. v. A quantitative modelling exercise to forecast the retail capacity of the District’s town centres over the period to 2026 and to investigate a range of future development scenarios. vi. If the potential for further retail development has been identified, to examine the scope to accommodate this throughout the District. vii. To draw together the results of all of the analysis to provide a set of recommendations and advice to inform the preparation of the forthcoming LDF and to enable consideration of the opportunities and proposals that the Council is currently considering. 1.6 This Report is supported by a series of appendices. These include the retail capacity modelling exercise for convenience goods and comparison goods and our qualitative work on the centres in the District. Structure of the Report 1.7 The next three sections of the Report set the context, outlining the current planning policy position for Sevenoaks, key trends in retailing, and our analysis of the main competitors influencing shopping patterns within Sevenoaks. In Sections 5 and 6 we present our qualitative assessment of the retail needs of the key centres within the District. Sections 7 and 8 include our quantitative analysis and present our forecasts of the capacity for further floorspace within the District. In Section 9, we summarise our assessment of the scope for new retail development in the District. Section 10 draws together the findings of our work into a series of recommendations and conclusions. 2 Sevenoaks District Council Sevenoaks District Retail Study Update July 2007 2. POLICY CONTEXT 2.1 In this section, we examine the key points of relevance from national and regional planning policy, and the adopted Sevenoaks Local Plan and emerging Core Strategy. National Policy Context Delivering Sustainable Development 2.2 The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act received Royal Assent on 13th May 2004. The Act sets a statutory objective for development plans to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development, placing sustainability objectives at the heart of the planning system. 2.3 Planning Policy Statement (PPS) 1; Delivering Sustainable Development, issued in February 2005, sets out the overarching planning policies on the delivery of sustainable development through the planning system. The guidance confirms that sustainable development is the core principle underpinning planning, clarifying that the concept is a simple idea of ensuring a better quality of life for everyone now and for future generations. 2.4 The Government makes clear that planning should facilitate and promote sustainable and inclusive patterns of urban and rural development through a number of initiatives, including the need to ensure that new developments provide good access to jobs and key services for all members of the community. In promoting sustainable development, the Government reaffirms through the guidance that, amongst other things, the planning system needs to: • Recognise that economic development can deliver environmental and social benefits; • Make suitable land available for development in line with economic, social and environmental objectives - ensuring that suitable locations are available for industrial, commercial, retail, public sector, tourism and leisure development, so that the economy can prosper; • Promote urban and rural regeneration to improve the well being of communities, improve facilities, promote high quality and safe development and create new opportunities for the people living in those communities. Promote mixed use developments for locations that allow the creation of linkages between different uses and can thereby create more vibrant places; • Provide improved access for all jobs, health, education, shops, leisure and community facilities, open space, sport and recreation, by ensuring that new development is located where everyone can access services or facilities on foot, bicycle or public transport rather than having to rely on access by car, while recognising that this may be more difficult in rural areas; • Promote the more efficient use of land through higher density, mixed use development and the use of suitably located previously developed land and buildings. Bring vacant and underused previously developed land and buildings back into beneficial use to achieve the targets the Government has set for development on previously developed land. 3 Sevenoaks District Council Sevenoaks District Retail Study Update July 2007 2.5 PPS1