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SEVENOAKS DISTRICT COUNCIL Retail Study, May 2005

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SEVENOAKS DISTRICT COUNCIL Retail Study, May 2005 Sevenoaks Retail Study May 2005 SEVENOAKS DISTRICT COUNCIL Retail Study, May 2005 CONTENTS PAGE NO. 1. Introduction 1 2. Policy Framework 3 3. National Retail Trends 15 4. Competing Centres: Sub-Regional Context 21 5. Qualitative Assessment of Sevenoaks 30 6. Qualitative Assessment of Swanley, Edenbridge, Westerham and the Villages 44 7. Sevenoaks Quantitative Assessment 52 8. Smaller Centres Quantitative Assessment 60 9. Scope for New Development 64 10. Conclusions 69 SEVENOAKS DISTRICT COUNCIL Retail Study, May 2005 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 Retail Study, May 2005 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 is to inform and guide retail planning in the District. In particular, the study is to inform the preparation of the District Council’s Local Development Framework (LDF) and guide future decision making. 1.2 The District Council’s requirements for the study were as follows: To comply with Government guidance on retailing and town centres, both in adopted PPG6 and draft PPS6. 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 Sainsburys and Tesco stores in Sevenoaks. To consider the development of a large site in Edenbridge town centre for retail development. 1.3 Our proposed approach to the study 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. 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 2016 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 SEVENOAKS DISTRICT COUNCIL Retail Study, May 2005 1.4 This Report is supported by a series of appendices. These include details 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 1.5 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 Retail Study, May 2005 2. POLICY FRAMEWORK 2.1 In this section, we examine the key points of relevance from national policy guidance, Regional Planning Policy Guidance for the South East, the Kent and Medway Structure Plan: Deposit Plan (September 2004), and the Sevenoaks District Local Plan (March 2000). PPS6: PLANNING FOR TOWN CENTRES, MARCH 2005 2.2 PPS6 covers town centres and the main town centre uses. It states that the Government’s key objective is to promote their vitality and viability by: Planning for the growth and development of existing centres; and Promoting and enhancing existing centres, by focusing development in such centres and encouraging a wide range of services in a good environment, accessible to all. 2.3 There are other Government objectives which need to be taken into account in the context of the above key objective, and these are: Enhancing consumer choice by making provision for a range of shopping, leisure and local services, which allow genuine choice to meet the needs of the entire community, and particularly socially excluded groups; Supporting efficient, competitive and innovative retail, leisure, tourism and other sectors, with improving productivity; and Improving accessibility, ensuring that existing or new development is, or will be, accessible and well served by a choice of means of transport. 2.4 PPS6 also states that wider Government policy objectives are also relevant, insofar as they would not be inconsistent with the key objective highlighted above. These include promoting social inclusion; regeneration of deprived areas; promoting economic growth; sustainable patterns of development; transport choices; and high quality and inclusive design. 2.5 Regional and local planning authorities are to implement the Government’s objectives for town centres in the following ways: Develop a hierarchy and network of centres. Assess the need for further main town centre uses and ensure that there is capacity to accommodate them. Focus development in, and plan for, the expansion of existing centres as appropriate, and at the local level identify appropriate sites in development plan documents. Promote town centre management, creating partnerships to develop, improve and maintain the town centre. 3 SEVENOAKS DISTRICT COUNCIL Retail Study, May 2005 Regularly monitor and review the impact and effectiveness of their policies for promoting vital and viable town centres. 2.6 PPS6 states that local planning authorities should actively plan for growth and change in town centres over the period of their development plan documents by: Selecting appropriate existing centres to accommodate the identified need for growth by: making better use of existing land and buildings, including where appropriate, redevelopment; and where necessary, extending the centre. Managing the role and function of existing centres by, for example, promoting and developing a specialist or new role and encouraging specific types of uses in some centres; and Planning for new centres of an appropriate scale in areas of significant growth or where there are deficiencies in the existing network of centres. 2.7 The Statement indicates that Wherever possible growth should be accommodated by more efficient use of land and buildings within existing centres. Local planning authorities should aim to increase the density of development and identify opportunities within existing centres for sites suitable for development or redevelopment or where conversions and change of use will be encouraged for specific buildings or areas. Local planning authorities should also seek to ensure that the number and size of sites identified for development or redevelopment are sufficient to meet the scale and type of need identified. 2.8 Where growth cannot be accommodated in identified existing centres, local planning authorities should plan for the extension of the primary shopping area if there is a need for additional retail provision or, where appropriate, plan for the extension of the town centre to accommodate other main town centre uses. 2.9 Where existing centres are in decline, PPS6 states that local planning authorities should assess the scope for consolidating and strengthening these centres by seeking to focus a wider range of services there, promote the diversification of uses and improve the environment. Where reversing decline is not possible, local planning authorities should recognise that these centres may need to be reclassified at a lower level within the hierarchy of centres, and reflect this revised status in the policies applied to the area. 2.10 In creating a pro-active plan led system PPS6 sets out the role of plans at the local level. Local planning authorities are to: Assess the need for new floorspace for retail, leisure and other main town centre uses, taking account of both quantitative and qualitative considerations. Identify deficiencies in provision, assess the capacity of existing centres to accommodate new development. Identify the centres within their area where development will be focused, as well as the need for any new centres of local importance. Define the extent of the primary shopping area and the town centre.
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