Planning Statement Broughton Shopping Park Unit 1 (former Carphone Warehouse) Update March 2021 www.wyg.com creative minds safe hands WYG Planning & Environment, 5th Floor, Longcross Court, 47 Newport Road, Cardiff CF24 0AD Tel: 02920 829200 Email: [email protected] www.wyg.com creative minds safe hands Document Control Project: Broughton Shopping Park Client: Broughton Unit Trust Job Number: A118364 File Origin: W:\A118000-A118999\A118364 - Broughton Shopping Park\A118364 - Carphone Warehouse COU (December 2020) Document Checking: Prepared by: Louise Darch Checked by: Peter Waldren Verified by: Peter Waldren Issue Date Status 1 August 2020 DRAFT 2 September 2020 FINAL 3 Update March 2021 REVISED TO REFLECT THE ADDITIONAL PROPSOED 14 SQM GIA CUSTOMER TOILETS A118364 1 Contents Page 1.0 Introduction ............................................................................................... 3 2.0 The Proposals & Context ............................................................................ 4 3.0 Planning Policy ........................................................................................... 7 4.0 Key Considerations .................................................................................. 11 5.0 Summary & Conclusions .......................................................................... 16 A118364 2 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Background 1.1.1 This Planning Statement has been prepared on behalf of the Broughton Unit Trust (“the applicant”) in support of a full planning application for the conversion of Unit 1 (former Carphone Warehouse), Broughton Shopping Park to a drive-thru Tim Horton’s coffee-shop (Class A3). 1.2 Structure 1.2.1 The following report assesses the requirements of local and national planning policy relevant to the location and the proposals. The report is structured as follows: Section 2 – describes the site, the proposed development, the prospective tenant and the relevant planning history of the shopping park; Section 3 – provides a summary of the local and national planning policy context; Section 4 – addresses other considerations material to the proposal; Section 5 – provides a summary and conclusions. A118364 3 2.0 The Proposals & Context Site 2.1.1 The application site comprises Unit 1 (246 sqm gross) and the immediately surrounding car parking area, situated to the west of the main Broughton Shopping Park core. The unit is located to the west of a Greenking Pub (the Mill House Inn), to the north of a McDonalds drive-thru and to the east of Chester Road. Broughton Shopping Park forms an established modern park, comprising c.40 retail / leisure units over c. 33,000 sq m gross floorspace. Anchor tenants include Tesco Extra, M&S Simply Food, Cineworld and Primark. The park forms a major regional shopping and leisure destination and is a strategically important source of employment in the locality. 2.1.2 In terms of environmental considerations, the site lies within Flood Zone A on NRW’s development advice maps. There are no other known statutory or non-statutory designations relevant to the site. Figure 1 – Unit 1 (former Carphone Warehouse) Location A118364 4 Planning History 2.1.3 Broughton Shopping Park has been subject to various planning applications since opening in 1999 to enable the centre to continue to ‘keep-pace’ with the wider retail provision across the UK. 2.1.4 The initial planning permission for the retail park is ref: P/96/11/00242 which was granted 14th January 1998. This planning permission included the main retail terrace area, a petrol filling station, a standalone pub and two fast food restaurants (now McDonalds and Carphone Warehouse). Carphone Warehouse took occupation during March 2014. This planning application therefore now seeks to revert the unit back to the initially intended use of the unit – being Class A3. The Prospective Tenant 2.1.5 Tim Horton’s is an iconic Canadian coffee shop brand, best known for coffee and doughnuts. In 2017, Tim Horton’s began opening stores in the UK in locations such as Cardiff, Glasgow and London. The Tim Horton’s franchise is currently being rolled out across the UK, with the proposed Broughton operation forming the first drive-thru unit in Wales. 2.1.6 In terms of direct employment, each drive-thru store typically provides up to 40-50 jobs, offering roles such as managers, baristas, maintenance operatives and cleaners. Indirect job opportunities will also arise during the construction / fit-out stage and in terms of servicing the unit. The Proposal 2.1.7 The proposals relate to the change of use and associated physical conversion of Unit 1 (formerly Carphone Warehouse) from Class A1 (retail) to a Tim Horton’s drive-thru coffee shop (Class A3 - food and drink). Various external alterations to the existing elevations including: o Introduction of new cladding treatment over existing facades to reflect the Tim Horton’s branding colour palette (brown, beige, black and red); o Introduction of new cladding parapet walls to conceal the existing sloped roof; o Introduction of various new windows and customer entrance doors; and A118364 5 o Introduction of a drive-thru counter and associated canopy. Layout alterations associated with the establishment of the drive-thru lane including: o Introduction of entrance-only / exit only routes via the two existing vehicular junctions serving this part of the site, to accommodate the proposed one-way drive-thru layout; o Various alterations to car park layout and introduction of delivery zone resulting in the net reduction of 17 car parking spaces; Erection of a bolt-on cold room / dry store and associated fence on northern elevation; Introduction of a 14 sqm GIA customer toilet area to comprise two WCs; Introduction of external seating area, cycle parking, landscaping and all other associated works. 2.1.8 In terms of opening hours, Tim Horton’s are seeking consent for a 24-hour operation, albeit it is likely that the drive-thru only will operate during late night / early hours. Several retail / leisure tenants at Broughton Shopping Park open late nights / early mornings outside of ‘typical’ shopping hours including Tesco Extra (and associated petrol filling station) and McDonald’s. Likewise, Cineworld, the Mill House restaurant, Nando’s, Prezzo and Frankie & Benny’s open late into the evening. As such, unrestricted opening hours is sought to allow the flexible operation of the unit. 2.1.9 In respect of deliveries, Tim Horton’s replenishment stock will be made 2 – 3 times a week. Waste collection will likewise take place 2-3 times a week. 2.1.10 The key intention of the proposals is to bolster the Shopping Park’s refreshment provision and supplement the existing retail services, adding to the overall enjoyment of the centre, as well as providing a viable use for a currently vacant unit. A118364 6 3.0 Planning Policy 3.1.1 The statutory development plan for Flintshire County Council is the Flintshire Unitary Development Plan (UDP) (2000-2015), albeit time-expired since 2015. Work has commenced on a new Local Development Plan, which has reached the Deposit stage with public consultation concluding during November 2019. Material considerations in this case include national policy in the form of Planning Policy Wales (PPW) Edition 11 (2021), the supporting Technical Advice Note (TANs), specifically TAN 4 (Retail) and TAN 12 (Design). Local Planning Policy 3.1.2 In terms of the Flintshire UDP designations, the park is unallocated and lies outside of the defined settlement boundaries of Broughton and Bretton. Although Broughton Shopping Park is not defined as a Key Shopping Centre under Policy S1 (retail and commercial allocations), paragraph 12.8 of the UDP retail chapter states: “The most modern centre of retail investment in the County is Broughton Retail Park (BRP) which makes a significant contribution to the retail offer of Flintshire…”. 3.1.3 The following policies are deemed relevant to the proposals: Policy STR 1 (New Development) indicates new development will be, inter alia; (a) generally located within existing settlement boundaries; (b) required to incorporate a high standard of design; and (c) create a safe, healthy and secure environment; Policy GEN1 (General Requirements for Development) highlights that new development is to be located on land in accordance with the criteria set out in the policy wording, which includes; that development should harmonise with the site and surroundings in terms of siting, scale, design, layout, use of spaces, materials, external appearance and landscaping; Policy D1 (Design Quality, Location and Layout) indicates all development must incorporate good standards of design, whilst Policy D2 (Design) highlights development will be permitted only where:(a) the proposed building and structures are of a good standard of design, form, scale and materials; and (b) it protects the character and amenity of the locality and adds to the quality and distinctiveness of the local area; A118364 7 Policy S3 (Integrating New Commercial Development) highlights that all commercial proposals will be required to consider the siting of buildings and building entrances to ensure the provision of safe and convenient access for users and to enhance the surrounding commercial environment and specifically requires developers to: (a) site the proposed development within easy walking distance of existing commercial development and other facilities; (b) provide building entrances in locations which relate to existing commercial developments, other facilities