Rainhill District Centre Health Check Appraisal District Centre Overview Rainhill is defined as a district centre in the St. Helens Core Strategy (2012). It is located approximately 8km to the south of St. Helens town centre and is accessed by via the St. Helens Linkway from the north. Junction 7 of the M62 is located just south of the wider settlement of Rainhill, providing the district centre with good access to the national strategic road network. The centre currently contains 64 retail and service units which comprise 6,478 sq.m (gross) of floorspace. The majority of the centre is situated on Warrington Road (A57), the principle highway route and therefore the centre is subject to high volumes of vehicular traffic. There is also a pedestrianised element to the centre, ‘Dane Court’ which comprises 14 retail and service units. Rainhill is located on the south-western edge of the St. Helens authority area and has close ties with the neighbouring settlements of Whiston, Huyton and Prescot which are located within the Borough of Knowsley. The district centre is anchored by a Co-Operative Foodstore that is located on Warrington Road. Retail and service units are present from across all of the sectors respectively giving Rainhill a good diversity of use. There is also a low vacancy rate, three vacant units currently present within the centre. Rainhill is well served by public transport, with the railway station located within the district centre boundary, forming part of the Liverpool City Line. There are also a number of bus stops within the centre with regular local and regional services available. The centre is surrounded predominately by a residential suburb, as well as the Rainhill St Ann’s Church of England Primary school, which is currently located within the southern part of the centre’s boundary. The centre’s combination of retail and service uses results in a destination which caters for most day-to-day needs of the local population and there is relatively good representation from across the various retail and service sectors respectively. There is however poor representation from national multiple retailers, with three of the 64 units currently occupied by national traders. Table 1: Key Facilities Located in the District Centre National Operators Total Key Anchor Store: Co-Operative Food Other National Retailers: Hallmark, Post Office, Betfred 4 Community Facilities Chiropodist, Dentist, Village Hall, School 4 There is a library and medical centre located south of the centre boundary. 1 Diversity of Uses Diversity of Uses in Rainhill District Centre Table 2: Number of Units in Rainhill District Centre (June 2016) Table 3: Floorspace in Rainhill District Centre (June 2016) Category No. % UK* Category Sq.m % UK* Convenience 4 6.3% 8.6 % Convenience 923 14.2% 15.2% Comparison 14 21.9% 32.0 % Comparison 1,345 20.8% 35.9% Retail Service 17 26.6% 13.9 % Retail Service 1,532 23.6% 6.7% Leisure Service 15 23.4% 23.4% Leisure Service 1,797 27.7% 24.4% Financial and Business Service 11 17.2% 10.6% Financial and Business Service 721 11.1% 8.0% Vacant 3 4.7% 11.2% Vacant 160 2.5% 9.0% Total 64 100% 100% Total 6,478 100% 100% Source: WYG survey, June 2016 Source: WYG survey, June 2016 *UK average from Experian Goad Category Report, June 2016 *UK average from the Experian Goad Category Report, June 2016 *Totals include 1st floor uses that do not appear on Diversity of Use Plan *Totals includes 1st floor uses that do not appear on Diversity of Use Plan The convenience goods offer in Rainhill is limited, with just four units comprising 6.3% of the total units. This is below the national average of 8.6% for total convenience units. In respect of convenience floorspace, the four units equate to 923 sq.m (gross) which comprises 14.2% of the total retail and service floorspace. This is 1.0 percentage point lower than the national average of 15.2% for total convenience floorspace. Notwithstanding this, the four convenience units include a Co-Operative Foodstore, butchers, bakery and greengrocer and despite the low proportion of convenience units, the available service is considered sufficient to meet the day to day needs of the local residents. The Co-Operative Foodstore is the largest retail and service unit in Rainhill district centre. In respect of comparison goods there are 14 units, comprising 21.9% of the total units and 1,345 sq.m (gross) floorspace, which equates to 20.8% of the total floorspace. In both cases this is significantly lower than the national averages of 32.0% and 35.9% respectively. These levels are more commensurate with the ‘typical’ averages within district centres due to the day-to-day retail offer they provide to surrounding residents. That being said, the diversity of comparison uses in Rainhill is good for a centre of its size, with units including Hallmark Cards, four clothing and footwear stores, a florist, a jeweller and a charity shop. The provision of retail service units in Rainhill is significantly greater than national average of 13.9% with 17 units comprising 26.6% of the total units. The same can be said for the provision of retail service floorspace, with 1,532 sq.m (gross) equating to 23.6% of the total retail and service floorspace and the national average being 6.7%. There are 15 leisure service units which comprise 23.4% of the total units in the centre. This is commensurate with the national average. The leisure units comprise 1,797 sq.m (gross) of floorspace, which equates to 27.7% of the total retail and service floorspace. This is greater than the national average of 24.4%. Rainhill also has strong representation from the financial and business service sector, uses including five estate agents, a mortgage broker, and five solicitors. In total there are 11 units which comprise 17.2% of the total units. This is significantly greater than the national average of 10.6%. The provision of financial and business service floorspace is also greater than the national average at 11.1% (the national average is 8.0%). 2 Dane Court The Flower Shop, Warrington Road The Victoria, Pub, Hotel and Restaurant Vacancies: There are currently three vacant units in Rainhill. These represent 4.7% of the total units and have a combined floorspace of 160 sq.m (gross), equating to 2.5% of the total retail and service floorspace in Rainhill. This is considerably lower than the national averages of 11.2% for total vacant units and 9.0% for proportion of vacant retail and service floorspace. The low vacancy rate is one indicator which goes towards demonstrating that Rainhill is a viable district centre. Pedestrian flows: At the time of the survey in June 2016, Rainhill was observed to be a busy district centre with relatively high levels of pedestrian activity, particularly along Warrington Road. The busiest part of the centre was the eastern stretch of Warrington Road which comprises the highest density of retail uses, including the Co- Operative Foodstore which anchors the centre and was subject to concentrated flows of pedestrian activity. The western cluster of retail units on Warrington Road also had relatively high levels of pedestrian activity and the car parking provided in front of the eight units was at full capacity. Pedestrian activity diminished considerably within the pedestrianised, ‘Dane Court’. This can be attributed to the presence of some vacant units, as well as the lack of a convenience store. Accessibility: Rainhill district centre has good local highway connections. Warrington Road links directly with junction seven of the M62 motorway and the St. Helens Linkway which provides direct access to St. Helens town centre. There is also free car parking available on Station Road and at the Co-Operative Foodstore and Dane Court for customers. There is a small off-street car park in front of the western cluster of retail units. This was observed to be at full capacity on the day of the visit. There 3 is also on-street car parking available at various points within and on the periphery of the centre and overall Rainhill is considered to have good accessibility for private vehicles. In terms of public transport, the district centre has three bus stops within the boundary, with further bus stops located on the periphery. There are regular services available between St. Helens and Widnes, as well as Prescot, Huyton and Liverpool city centre. The railway station has approximately four trains per hour and operates a service between Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Victoria. Rainhill is considered to be well served by public transport. The centre’s generally flat topography assists pedestrian and disabled access. There is however poor connectivity between the western cluster of units with the central parade to the east and the connecting bridge has a slightly sloping topography. There is a controlled crossing point serving the western cluster of units, as well as one within the retail core on Warrington Road. Further crossing points could be provided to increase accessibility. Furthermore, Warrington Road was subject to high levels of vehicular traffic on the day of the visit which increases the need for an additional crossing point around Station Road. Perception of Crime and Safety: The district centre generally feels secure in the context of opportunities to commit crime. There is good natural surveillance along Warrington Road and CCTV is present and visible within the centre. However, the heavy vehicular traffic through the centre significantly increases danger to pedestrians and it considered that further traffic calming measures could be introduced such as additional crossing points or promoting shared space between pedestrians and vehicles through public realm works.