Charnwood Borough Council RETAIL AND TOWN CENTRE STUDY FINAL REPORT September 2008 ROGER TYM & PARTNERS 3 Museum Square Leicester LE1 6UF t 0116 249 3970 f 0116 249 3971 e [email protected] w www.tymconsult.com This document is formatted for double-sided printing. CONTENTS 1 INSTRUCTIONS AND OUTLINE OF REPORT ................................................................... 1 Instructions ....................................................................................................................... .. 1 Structure of Remainder of Report ..................................................................................... .. 1 2 THE REQUIREMENTS OF NATIONAL PLANNING POLICIES ....................................... .. 3 Planning Policy Statement 6: Planning for Town Centres - March 2005 .......................... .. 3 Planning Policy Statement 12: Local Spatial Planning – June 2008 .................................. 11 Potential Changes to National Policy................................................................................ 12 Conclusion in Relation to Potential Changes to National Policy ....................................... 13 Proposed Changes to Planning Policy Statement 6: Planning for Town Centres Consultation July 2008 ..................................................................................................... 13 3 REGIONAL AND LOCAL POLICY CONTEXT.................................................................. 15 Regional Planning Policy .................................................................................................. 15 4 PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF CENTRES IN CHARNWOOD BOROUGH .................. 29 Performance Indicators..................................................................................................... 29 5 CURRENT PATTERNS OF RETAIL SPENDING ............................................................. 61 Introduction....................................................................................................................... 61 Methodology .....................................................................................................................61 Comparison Shopping Patterns ........................................................................................ 62 Convenience (Food and Groceries) Shopping Patterns.................................................... 67 Conclusions on Retail Spending Patterns......................................................................... 71 6 QUANTITATIVE RETAIL CAPACITY ANALYSIS............................................................. 73 Summary of Methodology and Data Inputs....................................................................... 73 Quantitative Assessment of Need for Further Comparison Sector Floorspace................. 75 Quantitative Assessment of Need for Further Convenience Sector Floorspace ............... 81 7 VISITOR SURVEY............................................................................................................ 87 8 ASSESSMENT OF SCOPE FOR ADDITIONAL COMMERCIAL LEISURE PROVISION. 91 Forecast Increases in Leisure Expenditure....................................................................... 91 Conversion of Expenditure Increases to Additional Leisure ‘Requirements’ ..................... 92 Summary of Scope for Additional Commercial Leisure Facilities...................................... 95 9 THE NETWORK OF CENTRES ....................................................................................... 97 Action Points for the Town and Area Centres ................................................................... 99 10 PROPOSED URBAN EXTENSIONS................................................................................105 Retail Requirements within SUEs .....................................................................................106 Land North of Birstall ........................................................................................................107 Land North of Glenfield near Anstey .................................................................................108 Land East of Thurmaston/North of Hamilton.....................................................................108 Land South of Loughborough Towards Quorn ..................................................................109 Land to the Southwest of Loughborough ..........................................................................109 Land to the Northwest of Loughborough...........................................................................110 Land East of Loughborough towards Cotes......................................................................110 Land East of Loughborough including Wymeswold Airfield ..............................................110 Development West of Shepshed ......................................................................................110 Summary ..........................................................................................................................111 11 CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS.............................................................................113 Current Conditions and Recent Trends.............................................................................113 Need .................................................................................................................................114 Sites..................................................................................................................................116 Central Area and Shopping Policies .................................................................................117 Monitoring Indicators ........................................................................................................119 APPENDICES Appendix 1 – Health Check Data Appendix 2 – Overall Catchment Area Plan Appendix 3 – Tables and Spreadsheets Appendix 4 – Market Share Plans Appendix 5 - National Trends in the Retail and Leisure Sectors Appendix 6 - Analysis of Surveys of Visitors Appendix 7 – Leisure Data Appendix 8 - Summary Note – Commission on Retail Conservation (2007) and Case Studies (Retail Distinctiveness & Promotion of Independent Retail in Town Centres) Appendix 9 – Monitoring Indicators Charnwood Borough Retail and Town Centre Study 1 INSTRUCTIONS AND OUTLINE OF REPORT Instructions 1.1 In August 2007 Charnwood Borough Council commissioned Roger Tym & Partners to undertake a town centre and retail study for the borough. The study is intended to provide a robust evidence base for the development of the Local Development Framework and inform decisions on planning applications. 1.2 The outputs from the study report are aimed at providing the Council with a firm handle on the level of additional retail floorspace, and commercial leisure facilities that are needed in Charnwood in order for its centres to enhance and retain competitiveness. 1.3 The study brief sets the following key aims: To establish the current roles of the centres their hierarchy and future roles to assess the current and future need for additional comparison and convenience retail floorspace in Charnwood, focusing on Loughborough; and provide advice on the most appropriate locations for accommodating identified floorspace requirements, in accordance with the sequential approach as set out in Planning Policy Statement 6 (PPS6). 1.4 The brief states that the Council intends to use the outputs from the study to inform its planning work in relation to future retail development opportunities and regeneration needs. The report also considers the retailing needs that might arise from the alternative locations of growth for the proposed sustainable urban extensions. In the final section of the report we pull together the principal findings from the study in order to identify key quantitative and qualitative needs. Structure of Remainder of Report 1.5 The remainder of our report is structured as follows: Section 2 outlines the requirements of the national policy context insofar as it relates to town centres and the location of new retail and leisure developments. Section 3 provides a review of the regional and local planning policy contexts. Section 4 sets out the findings of our assessment of each of the study centres in relation to a range of ‘performance indicators’, taking into account our appreciation of the key issues that are currently affecting – or which could have a bearing on – the centres’ performance as foci of retail services and leisure activity. Roger Tym & Partners M9224 1 Charnwood Borough Retail and Town Centre Study Section 5 provides our assessment of the current patterns of retail spending in the comparison and convenience sectors, based on the results of surveys of households resident within Charnwood Section 6 assesses the quantitative need for further comparison and convenience retail floorspace in the periods up to 2011 and 2016 and extrapolated to 2026 under various scenarios, taking into account claims on expenditure growth. Section 7 provides an analysis of the visitor survey. Section 8 provides our assessment of the scope for further commercial leisure development in the District Section 9 provides an assessment of the network of centres Section 10 discusses the potential retailing needs of the proposed sustainable urban extensions. Section 11 outlines our overall conclusions and recommendations, including our assessment of potential opportunities for accommodating the identified need for retail and leisure