Retail & Leisure Capacity Study
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London Borough of Tower Hamlets RETAIL & LEISURE CAPACITY STUDY Final Report January 2009 ROGER TYM & PARTNERS Fairfax House 15 Fulwood Place London WC1V 6HU t (020) 7831 2711 f (020) 7831 7653 e [email protected] w www.tymconsult.com This document is formatted for double-sided printing. P1868 CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 1 2 POLICY CONTEXT ...................................................................................................... 3 National Policy and Guidance ...........................................................................................3 Regional Policy and Guidance ..........................................................................................7 Local Policy and Guidance ..............................................................................................11 3 CURRENT SHOPPING AND LEISURE PATTERNS IN THE STUDY AREA .............. 23 Introduction ......................................................................................................................23 Comparison shopping patterns .......................................................................................25 Convenience shopping patterns ......................................................................................31 Leisure patterns ...............................................................................................................35 4 SURVEY RESULTS CANARY WHARF ...................................................................... 39 Introduction ......................................................................................................................39 Healthcheck .....................................................................................................................39 Summary of in-centre survey results ............................................................................... 44 5 BETHNAL GREEN ..................................................................................................... 45 Healthcheck .....................................................................................................................45 Summary of in-centre survey results ............................................................................... 48 6 CHRISP STREET ...................................................................................................... 51 Healthcheck .....................................................................................................................51 Diversity of Uses ..............................................................................................................52 Summary of in-centre survey results ............................................................................... 53 7 CROSSHARBOUR..................................................................................................... 55 Healthcheck .....................................................................................................................55 Summary of in-centre survey results ............................................................................... 56 8 ROMAN ROAD EAST ................................................................................................ 59 Healthcheck .....................................................................................................................59 Diversity of Uses ..............................................................................................................59 Development Opportunities .............................................................................................61 Summary of in-centre survey results ............................................................................... 62 Summary of market traders and shopkeepers survey results......................................... 62 9 ROMAN ROAD WEST ............................................................................................... 65 Healthcheck .....................................................................................................................65 Development Opportunities .............................................................................................67 Summary of in-centre survey results ............................................................................... 67 10 WATNEY MARKET .................................................................................................... 69 Healthcheck .....................................................................................................................69 Development Opportunities .............................................................................................71 Summary of in-centre survey results ............................................................................... 71 11 WHITECHAPEL ......................................................................................................... 73 Healthcheck .....................................................................................................................73 Summary of in-centre survey results ............................................................................... 76 12 SURVEY RESULTS OTHER CENTRES .................................................................... 79 Neighbourhood Centres ..................................................................................................79 Central Activities Zone (CAZ) Frontages ........................................................................ 85 Bromley by Bow ...............................................................................................................85 13 NEEDS OF ADDITIONAL RETAIL AND LEISURE FLOORSPACE ............................ 87 Introduction ......................................................................................................................87 Retail assessment - approach .........................................................................................87 Comparison goods sector ...............................................................................................89 Convenience goods sector ..............................................................................................96 Commercial leisure assessment ...................................................................................103 14 CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................................107 Context ..........................................................................................................................107 Borough-wide ................................................................................................................108 Centre designations ......................................................................................................111 Central Activities Zone (CAZ) ........................................................................................113 Tower Hamlets Activity Area .........................................................................................113 Major Centre ..................................................................................................................113 District Centres ..............................................................................................................114 Neighbourhood centres ................................................................................................. 118 Bromley by Bow .............................................................................................................119 Local Shops ...................................................................................................................119 Monitoring ......................................................................................................................120 Tower Hamlets Retail & Leisure Study Final Report 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 In May 2008, the London Borough of Tower Hamlets commissioned a consultant team comprising Renaisi, Roger Tym and Partners and Space Syntax to produce a Town Centres Spatial Strategy. As stated in the brief, this will “serve to update the Borough’s retail and town centre research base, inform the Local Development Framework and more fundamentally serve as a robust, well evidenced strategy for managing and improving the Borough’s town centres”. 1.2 This Retail & Leisure Capacity Study is part of the evidence gathering phase and is structured as follows: . Section 2 sets out the relevant national and local policies, both existing and emerging. Section 3 provides an overview of the current shopping and leisure use patterns in the study area, utilising the findings of a household survey. Sections 4-12 set out the baseline position for each centre, including results from in-centre surveys and trader consultation as well as centre healthchecks. Section 13 provides an assessment of quantitative needs in the retail and leisure sectors in the study area up to 2020 and looks at the Borough’s capacity to provide new development. Section 14 sets out our conclusions. 1.3 The recommendations are informed by survey work, consultation, and data from the Council and published sources. We acknowledge that any survey work has limitations if it relies on a sample and that data from published sources can sometimes miss local factors. However, we consider that, bearing in mind these limitations, the recommendations