SPD9 Vitality & Viability of Centres
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Supplementary Planning Document (SPD): Vitality and viability of retail centres Introduction 1.1 This Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) supplements policies in the Hull Local Plan 2016 to 2032. It provides additional planning guidance on Policy 9 - City Centre and Policy 12 - District, Local and Neighbourhood Centres. 1.2 The Hull Local Plan 2016 to 2032 establishes a hierarchy of shopping centres within the city. In the hierarchy, after the city centre there are 4 district centres, 29 local centres and 29 neighbourhood centres. 1.3 It will set out how to apply the policies in order to protect and enhance the vibrancy and viability of Hull City Centre and the city’s district, local and neighbourhood centres and to ensure that new food and drink, drink establishments and hot food takeaway outlets are directed to the most appropriate locations. This includes restricting hot food takeaway development in places where older school children and young adults can routinely access poorer food choices. 1.4 Beyond the city centre Hull has a network of over 60 district, local and neighbourhood centres that act as a focus for shops, retail services, leisure opportunities and community facilities. They differ greatly in size and primary function but all enable people to access a range of shops and facilities locally. These centres help support healthy communities through access to fresh food and allow greater social interaction and support local economies by providing opportunities for smaller-scale independent businesses to open, employing and often owned by local people. 1.5 An important element for maintaining and increasing the vitality and vibrancy of all centres, including the city centre, involves preserving a healthy diversity of uses within them, including non -retail uses such as banks, restaurants and public houses. These are complimentary to the primary shopping function of a centre and help attract people to, and stay longer in them. There is however, a need to maintain a balance between A1 shops and services and these non- A1 uses. 1.6 This SPD has been prepared to guide those who wish to change the use of a property to a non-A1 use within defined frontages of the city centre and district centres and within the primary shopping area of local centres and for those seeking to submit a planning application for a new hot food takeaway. Policy background 2.1 The NPPF requires Local Plans to plan positively, to support designated centres to generate local employment, promote beneficial competition within and between centres and create attractive, diverse places people want to live, visit and work. In particular they should: • recognise designated centres as the heart of their communities and pursue policies to support their viability and vitality; and • promote competitive centres that provide customer choice and a diverse retail offer and which reflect the individuality of centres. 2.2 It also advises that the planning system has an important role to play in facilitating social interaction, creating healthy communities and supporting the reduction of health inequalities. It requires planners to consider health matters in a variety of ways, and these include creating strong community centres with active frontages where people who might not otherwise meet can mix together and improving local access to fresh food, so, potentially helping people to make healthier food choices and eat well. 2.3 Public Health England has the stated ambition to take action to adress rising obesity levels nationwide and they recognise that planning has an important role to play in achieving this aim. Obesity and excess weight is a major public health issue for the country in the 21st Century with the number of obese adults trebling in the last twenty years (Government Office for Science). Obesity can reduce life expectancy by between three and ten years, depending on the severity of the obesity and excess weight increases the risk of numerous health conditions, and is the leading cause of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Alongside these ill health issues it can reduce people’s prospects in life generally affecting their ability to get and hold work, their self-esteem and their underlying mental health. 2.4 National Planning Practice Guidance (NPPG) refers to how planning can help in creating healthier food environments, stating that “planning can influence the built environment to improve health and reduce obesity and excess weight in local communities. It has a role in enabling healthier environments by supporting opportunities for communities to access a wide range of healthier food production and consumption choices”. The NPPG goes on to give the example that Local Plans can consider bringing forward (where supported by an evidence base) policies which limit the over-concentration of certain use classes in specific areas, when a change of use planning application is required. 2.5 Local planning policy for Hull is contained in the Hull Local Plan 2016 – 2032. The relevant policy concerning the vitality and viability of the city centre are contained in Policy 9 (section 5) and the vitality and viability of district, local and neighbourhood centres, food and drinking establishments and hot food takeaways in Hull are contained in Policy 12 (sections 5 - 14) and are repeated below: Policy 9 Vitality and viability of the primary shopping area 5. The primary shopping area (of the city centre) as shown on the policies map will be the focus for A1 - A5 and related D2 leisure uses. Within the PSA a concentration of A1 shops and services should be maintained in primary frontages to promote its strong shopping role and continuing vitality and viability. Change of use within primary frontages from A1 shops to other A class uses, related high street sui-generis uses or D2 leisure uses will be permitted where the proportion of non-A1 ground floor frontage length within individual streets, or malls within shopping centres, would not exceed 30%. Elsewhere in the PSA within secondary frontages, change of use from A1 to other A classes, related high street sui-generis uses and also D2 leisure uses will be permitted where the proportion of non-A1 ground floor frontage length within individual streets, or malls within shopping centres would not exceed 60%. Where proportions in either frontage would be exceeded, development should demonstrate that it would not undermine the vitality and viability of the centre. Policy 12 Vitality and viability of centres 5. Within primary frontages of Hessle Road and Holderness Road District Centre, a high proportion of the ground floor frontage length should remain in A1 shopping use. Change of use from A1 shops to non-A1 class uses within the primary frontage will be permitted where the proportion of non-A1 ground floor frontage length would not exceed 30%. Within remaining parts of the primary shopping areas of these centres, change of use from A1 shops to non-A1 class uses will be permitted where the proportion of non-A1 ground floor frontage would not exceed 50%. 6. Within the primary frontage area of North Point District Centre, a high proportion of the ground floor frontage length should remain in A1 shopping use. Change of use from A1 shops to non-A1 class uses will be permitted where the proportion of non-A1 ground floor frontage length within the primary shopping area would not exceed 30%. 7. Within Kingswood District Centre, a mix of service and community uses will be encouraged to supplement the high proportion of A1 shopping frontage. 8. Within local centres, change of use to non-A uses will be permitted where the proportion of non-A1 ground floor frontage units within the primary shopping area would not exceed 50% to maintain the strong A1 shopping role of these centres. 9. Where stated proportions would be exceeded, development should demonstrate that it would not undermine the vitality and viability of the centre. Where current non-A uses within centres are converted to retail use, or new retail units are developed on the edge of centres, they will be considered as part of the overall mix of uses for the purpose of determining proportions. 10. In the city’s neighbourhood centres, development that leads to the loss of food shops will not be supported when that loss would lead to a lack of easy access to food shops within easy walking distance of surrounding residential neighbourhoods. 11. In areas outside of defined centres, the Council will not support conversion or change of use of corner shops and local convenience stores to other uses where this would lead to a lack of easy access to food shops within easy walking distance of surrounding residential neighbourhoods. Food & drink, drinking establishments and hot food takeaways 12. Development of food and drink, drinking establishments or hot food takeaway outlets (A3 – A5) will be permitted within centres where they do not lead to an over-concentration of inactive frontages within stretches of properties that would undermine vitality and viability or would harm local amenity. 13. Development to accommodate hot food takeaway (A5 use) will not be supported in local or neighbourhood centres where a threshold of 20% of all units would be or has already been reached, to prevent over-proliferation where this could undermine objectives to promote healthy eating in the city 14. Development to accommodate hot food takeaway (A5 use) will not normally be supported within 400m of a secondary school or sixth form college, or playing fields. 2.6 The NPPF also gives clear advice that local planning authorities should “work with public health leads and organisations to understand and take account of the health status and needs of the local population”. In Hull local strategies concerned with the health and wellbeing of residents include the Health and Wellbeing Strategy and the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA).