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, and 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 . 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 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.

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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%).

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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 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

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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 , as well as Prescot, Huyton and . 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. Dane Court has a relatively poor perception of safety. It is isolated from Warrington Road due to the rise of the bridge which obstructs visibility unless stood on the bridge. Furthermore, there were low levels of footfall present at Dane Court at the time of the visit and there was no visible CCTV in place. This resulted in this part of the centre appearing less safe and being underused. Overall Rainhill has a balanced perception of safety, with high levels of natural surveillance and CCTV present within the central parade, but to a lesser extent at Dane Court.

Environmental Quality: Rainhill district centre has a good environmental quality. The centre appeared to be well maintained and low levels of litter were observed on the day of the visit in June 2016. There are a number of pockets within the centre that have particularly high quality public realm elements such as The Victoria Hotel public house, which includes an attractive seating area with seasonal planting to the front of the property on Warrington Road.

The retail frontages along Warrington Road are of moderate quality and there are a number of instances where improvements could help to increase the overall environmental quality of the centre. The retail units in Dane Court are dated and generally appear tired. Whilst there some efforts have been made to improve the environmental quality through a seasonal planting scheme, the area would significantly benefit from wider public realm improvements.

Overall, Rainhill district centre is a generally attractive shopping environment although the heavy vehicular traffic on Warrington Road and poor environmental quality of the Dane Court pedestrianised area does detract from this.

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Commercial Rents: Using online resources, it has not been possible to identify any retail units currently being marketed in Rainhill. This could be attributed to the low vacancy rate. A review has however been undertaken of historic deals in Rainhill using EGi. The available data covers Dane Court only and units below 100sq.m are leased at between £6,000 and £7,500 per annum, whilst the larger units above 200sq.m are leased at between £11,000 and £12,500 per annum. These figures are however not reflective of the entire district centre and relate only to retail units on Dane Court. It is considered that commercial rates will be similar throughout the district.

Digital High Street: Rainhill does not have its own website and there is no evidence of any other website which provides detail of the current provision other than those of individual retailers in the village. In terms other digital facilities, the district centre does not have any Collect + facilities although there are two located in close proximity to the district centre at McColls on Warrington Road and Jacks on Dunbeath Avenue. There are no premium BT Wi-Fi hotspots in Rainhill. However, there are two cloud hotspots located within the centre boundary at the Victoria Hotel and the Rainhill Ex Services Club.

BT Wifi Hotspots The Cloud Hotspots Collect+ Locations

Source: btwifi.co.uk/find Source: www.thecloud.net/hotspot-finder Source:collectplus.co.uk/store_locator

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Summary: Rainhill has a relatively good diversity of uses. Whilst there are a low proportion of convenience retailers, the available provision is sufficient to cover all of the basic local needs of residents and is significantly bolstered by the presence of the Co-Operative Foodstore. There is a lack of a large format foodstore, the closest being the Tesco Extra located approximately 2.7km to the north-west of Rainhill in Prescot on Cables Retail Park. There is a relatively good provision of community facilities with the village hall and a dentist located within the district centre boundary and the Millennium Centre (Church Hall), library and medical centre located just outside of the boundary to the east within approximately 100m walking distance which is considered to highly accessible on foot from the retail facilities.

The centre has good accessibility for those arriving by private vehicle and public transport, the presence of the railway station significantly enhancing the overall accessibility. The centre has a generally good environmental quality although Dane Court in particularly would benefit from public realm improvements which could in turn make the vacant units more attractive to potential tenants. The high levels of vehicular traffic on Warrington Road (A57) create a hazard for pedestrians using the retail facilities in the centre. Additional traffic calming measures and pedestrian crossing points could help to reduce this risk and promote pedestrian activity.

Overall, WYG considers Rainhill to have facilities consistent with a district centre in the context of the St. Helens administrative authority area. There is representation from all of the retail and service sectors respectively, with a particularly strong financial and business services offer. There are also a number of community facilities within and in close proximity to the centre that are considered to have close connections with the district centre. WYG recommend that a district centre boundary is designated in accordance with the Diversity of Use & Recommended Boundary Plan shown below.

Strengths: . The presence of Co-Operative Food providing an important convenience service for residents. . Strong financial and business services provision. . Generally good environmental quality.

. Low vacancy rate.

Weaknesses:

. Vacant units and poor environmental quality at Dane Court. . No public car park. . Some units are poorly maintained. Regeneration would contribute to improving the wider environmental quality of the centre. . No large format convenience operator within the centre to serve resident’s main food shopping requirements.

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Opportunities:

. There is a small opportunity site located at the south-eastern point of the recommended boundary as shown on the diversity of use plan. This site is considered suitable to accommodate additional retail units in Rainhill. . Improvement to the centre’s digital facilities. A coordinated approach by retailers could help to raise the profile of the village as a retail destination.

Threats:

. Competition from large format convenience operators such as the Tesco Extra in Prescot.

7 creative minds safe hands

St Helens Council Ref: A095133 Rainhill District Centre Diversity of Use and Recommended Boundary

Key

Recommended District Centre Boundary Convenience Comparison Retail Service Leisure Service Financial and Business Services Vacant Other

 Scale:1:1,750 June 2016

Thatto Heath District Centre Health Check Appraisal

District Centre Overview is a defined district centre in the St. Helens Core Strategy (2012). It is located approximately 2.1km to the south west of St. Helens town centre. The centre contains 42 retail units and 4,839 sq.m of floorspace. The centre is situated around Thatto Heath Lane and Elephant Lane, with the majority of the retail units located along the west of Thatto Heath Lane and to the south of Elephant Lane. To the north of Elephant Lane and east of Thatto Heath Lane is an area of existing and former community buildings, include the Police Station, the medical centre and a children’s nursery. These uses are situated around a landscaped area and a relatively newly created car park.

The district centre has a Co-op foodstore and Betfred. The other uses are primarily retail services (barbers, hairdressers and beauty salons), along with a number of take-aways. The centre is well served by public transport, with the Thatto Heath Railway Station and bus stops scattered across the centre.

Further afield, on the opposite side of the railway line is the Thatto Heath Library, which is not located within the defined district centre boundary but does serve an important purpose. The centre is surrounded by a range of terraced and semi-detached housing, with Thatto Heath park to the north and St Austins RC Church and Nutgrove Methodist Primary School both located to the south west.

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, although the overall convenience and comparison retail offer is relatively limited.

Table 1: Key Facilities Located in the District Centre National Operators Total Key Anchor Store: Co-op 6 Other National Retailers: Betfred, Post Office, Rowlands Pharmacy, Londis Community Facilities Police station, medical centre and library located to the north of the railway line (outside of 2 the defined boundary)

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Photographs of Thatto Heath District Centre (June 2016)

Diversity of Uses Table 2a: Diversity of Use by Units Table 2b: Diversity of Use by Floorspace Thatto Heath District Centre - June 2016 Thatto Heath District Centre - June 2016 No of Units % UK Floorspace % UK Convenience 5 10.4% 8.6% Convenience 911 15.2% 15.2% Comparison 8 16.7% 32.0% Comparison 919 15.4% 35.9% Retail Service 10 20.8% 13.9% Retail Service 711 11.9% 6.7% Leisure Service 15 31.3% 23.4% Leisure Service 2,448 40.9% 24.4% Financial and Business Service 3 6.3% 10.6% Financial and Business Service 189 3.2% 8.0% Vacant 7 14.6% 11.2% Vacant 802 13.4% 9.0% Total 48 100% 100% Total 5,980 100% 100% Other Uses 1 - - Other Uses 710 - - Source: WYG site visit - June 2016 Source: WYG site visit - June 2016 * UK Average Figure, Experian Goad, June 2016 * UK Average Figure, Experian Goad, June 2016

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Looking at Tables 2a and 2b above, the proportion of convenience units and floorspace within Thatto Heath are above the UK average at 10.4% (units) and consistent with the UK average at 15.2% (floorspace) respectively (the UK averages are 8.6% and 15.2% respectively). This is in light of the various smaller convenience stores on offer, including the Co-op, the Londis, a bakers, a deli and newsagent facilities and an independent discount retailer. The Co-op appeared to be the busiest operator at the time of the visit.

The proportion of comparison units and floorspace is 16.7% (units) and 15.4% (floorspace), which in both cases is significantly below the UK average at 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. The level of retail service uses is above the UK average in terms of both the proportion of units and floorspace at 20.8% and 11.9% respectively (the UK averages are 13.9% and 6.7% respectively). Such operators include hairdressers, barbers, a hair and beauty salon, an optician and a 4D baby scanning centre.

The proportion of leisure service units and floorspace is considerably greater than the UK national average at 31.3% (units) and 40.9% (floorspace) respectively (the UK average being 23.4% for leisure units and 24.4% for proportion of leisure floorspace). The high proportion of leisure service floorspace can be attributed largely to the presence of the Thatto Heath Labour Club which has a gross floorspace of 1,040 sq.m and is the largest unit within the district centre.

The proportion of vacant units is at 14.6% and the proportion of vacant floorspace is 13.4%, on both counts greater than the national averages of 11.2% and 9.0% respectively. The proportion of vacant floorspace is exacerbated by the vacancy of the former local authority building (Heath Park Lodge), leaving the site to the rear now vacant.

Accessibility There are good local highway connections for those travelling to Thatto Heath by car. There are a number of available routes which connect the centre to the St. Helens Linkway which travels north to St. Helens town centre and south to the M62 but also to Prescot Road which also heads north to St. Helens town centre and south west to Eccleston and Prescot. A free car park is available within the centre of Thatto Heath and spaces are also available on the sides of the roads for a maximum of 1 hour Monday-Friday. There is also an additional car park located to the east of the centre along Elephant Lane, which was vacant at the time of our visit. Car parking spaces were available at the time of our visit both within the car parks but also along the roads.

In terms of access via public transport, the district centre has bus stops in both directions along Thatto Heath Road and along Elephant Lane. A number of bus routes serve the stops along Thatto Heath Road and Elephant Lane, including numbers 10A, 33, 139, 196, 708 and 716. The buses travel to and from Liverpool, St. Helens, Sutton Manor and Sutton Heath approximately every 10 minutes throughout the day. The bus stops along Elephant Lane and Thatto Heath Lane have shelters and are in good condition and well used by residents.

Thatto Heath Railway Station is located to the north of the defined centre boundary which during the daytime, is served by trains every 30 minutes between

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Liverpool Lime Street and North Western, also serving St. Helens Central Station, with some trains also continuing to Preston. The centre’s flat topography assists pedestrian and disabled access. Controlled crossing points are in place at Elephant Lane and Thatto Heath Lane, plus an additional controlled crossing point connects to the railway station.

Environmental Quality The centre’s environmental quality is generally good, with well maintained open space in the centre and no obvious littering or large areas of graffiti. The areas on the periphery of the centre are generally less-well kept and there are also more vacant units in these areas.

Existing units within the core retailing area are of a reasonable standard. However, they deteriorate proportionality as you move away from core area. There is an area of landscaping in the centre of Thatto Heath creating an attractive shopping environment, although the busy nature of the surrounding roads does detract from this.

Pedestrian flows At the time of the survey in June 2016, the busiest parts of the centre were around the Co-op and the Londis stores, with some movement also around the medical centre. Pedestrian activity diminishes towards the periphery of the centres, particularly to the east along Elephant Lane where a dedicated car park was completely vacant at the time of the visit. The railway station to the north also attracted some pedestrian activity, albeit was also relatively quiet.

Generally, the level of pedestrian movement was limited across the centre, although the levels increased around the main retail facilities and around the bus stops.

Perception of Safety The district centre generally feels safe and secure, particularly within the ‘heart’ of the centre around the medical facility and bus stops. CCTV was evidenced at some locations across the centre, one example being outside the Co-op store to the east. However, beyond the Elephant Public House, the overall perception of safety drops, with a large underused car park and other commercial uses fronting Elephant Lane. Furthermore, the large vacant site to the rear of Leicester Street is out of natural surveillance and has the perception of being less safe and overlooked. Overall, the fact that residential properties are inter dispersed with the retail units, results in a centre which has a good perception of safety due to the natural surveillance present.

Commercial Rents Using online resources, we have found one unit within the centre which is being publically marketed to let. 152 Thatto Heath Road is being marketed on EGi via Parkinson Commercial Property Consultants as a second-hand retail unit measures 47 sq.m (gross ground floor) at a rent of £7,540 per annum.

Digital High Street Thatto Heath does not have its own website and there is no evidence of any other website which provides details of the current provision. In terms of other digital

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BT Wifi Hotspots The Cloud Hotspots Collect+ Locations

Source: btwifi.co.uk/find Source: www.thecloud.net/hotspot-finder Source:collectplus.co.uk/store_locator facilities, the District Centre does not have a current Collect+ facility but does have two BT Hotspots at the Springfield Hotel and Elephant Hotel public houses.

Summary Overall, Thatto Heath district centre has a relatively strong convenience offer, particularly with the presence of the Co-op and the Londis plus smaller independent convenience specialists. There is a lack of a large format foodstore, with the closest being the Tesco Extra and Aldi, both approximately 2.5km (as the crow flies) to the north east of the centre. The centre has a relatively good offer of community facilities with a medical centre and police station and the library is located to the north of the defined centre on the opposite side of the railway line, and is therefore in reasonable walking distance.

The centre has good accessibility from those arriving by private vehicle and via bus, plus the presence of the railway station significantly enhances the overall accessibility. The centre is relatively well maintained, particularly within the centre but this high level of maintenance falls away towards the edges of the centre. Furthermore, the centre’s proximity to high densities of residential dwellings promotes sustainable travel and provides facilities to meet the day-to-day needs of local residents.

The level of available digital facilities is mixed, with no Collect+ facilities available but there are available BT and Sky hotspots.

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Strengths . Good provision of convenience facilities, albeit these are small facilities serving a more ‘top-up’ role. . Good community facilities in the presence of the medical centre, police station and library to the north just outside of the defined boundary. . Well maintained public areas in the centre of Thatto Heath. . Good accessibility by private vehicle with sufficient car parking available and good public transport and cycle facilities.

Weaknesses . Relatively high vacancy rate and below average comparison offer. . No Collect+ facilities available within the centre. . An underused car park is located to the east, which detracts from the centre somewhat. . Some units are less well maintained and could do with improvements. . Large vacant building to the rear of the Police station and large vacant site off Leicester Street. . No large format convenience operator within the centre to serve resident’s main food shopping requirements.

Opportunities . Opportunity to occupy the former local authority building to the rear of the Police Station or redevelop the site for alternative uses. . Improvement on the centre’s digital facilities, particularly by adding a Collect+ facility to the centre.

Threats . Competition from large format convenience operators.

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7 creative minds safe hands

St Helens Council Ref: A095133 Thatto Heath District Centre Diversity of Use and Recommended Boundary

Key

Recommended District Centre Boundary Convenience Comparison Retail Service Leisure Service Financial and Business Services Vacant Other

 Scale:1:2,000 June 2016