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Study of Black Country Centres. GVA Grimley

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Study of Black Country Centres. GVA Grimley BLACK COUNTRY CONSORTIUM STUDY OF BLACK COUNTRY CENTRES August 2005 BLACK COUNTRY CONSORTIUM STUDY OF BLACK COUNTRY CENTRES CONTENTS Page No. Executive Summary (i) 1. Introduction 1 2. National Policy Guidance 5 3. Regional Planning Guidance/Economic Strategy 8 4. Towards A Polycentric Framework for the West Midlands 16 5. 1971-2001 – The Last 30 Years 20 6. Current Market Context 29 7. The Black Country Sub-Region Today 43 8. Economic Capacity Projections 55 9. Defining the Network of Centres 77 10. Policy Options for the Strategic Centres 99 11. The Brierley Hill/Dudley Issue 108 12. Recommended Strategy 118 13. Summary of Key Recommendations 129 APPENDICES Appendix A – On Street Survey Appendix B – Household Survey Appendix C – Capacity Analysis BLACK COUNTRY CONSORTIUM STUDY OF BLACK COUNTRY CENTRES PLANS Plan 1: West Midlands Regional Context Plan 2: The Polycentricity Structure of the West Midlands – 1 Plan 3: The Polycentricity Structure of the West Midlands – 2 Plan 4: Black Country Strategic Centres: 1971 Turnover Plan 5: Black Country Strategic Centres: 2004 Turnover Plan 6: Study Area Plan 7: Birmingham Comparison Goods Market Share Plan 8: Solihull Comparison Goods Market Share Plan 9: Sutton Coldfield Comparison Goods Market Share Plan 10: Stafford Comparison Goods Market Share Plan 11: Telford Comparison Goods Market Share Plan 12: Kidderminster Comparison Goods Market Share Plan 13: Tamworth Comparison Goods Market Share Plan 14: Cannock Comparison Goods Market Share Plan 15: Lichfield Comparison Goods Market Share Plan 16: Redditch Comparison Goods Market Share Plan 17: Network of Black Country Centres Plan 18: Wolverhampton Comparison Goods Catchment Area Plan 19: Merry Hill Comparison Goods Catchment Area Plan 20: West Bromwich Comparison Goods Catchment Area Plan 21: Walsall Comparison Goods Catchment Area Plan 22: Strategic Development Option 1 Plan 23: Strategic Development Option 2 Plan 24: Strategic Development Option 3 Plan 25: Strategic Development Option 4 BLACK COUNTRY CONSORTIUM STUDY OF BLACK COUNTRY CENTRES EXECUTIVE SUMMARY NATIONAL AND REGIONAL POLICY CONTEXT 1. In the light of the Government’s recent Policy Statement on Town Centres (PPS6) the Black Country authorities’ development plans should anticipate a requirement for a much more proactive approach to the expansion of their main centres, improvements to the range of services offered in local centres and managed decline and change in any centres which can no longer realistically hold their place in the retail hierarchy. This requires a shared vision, and a co- ordinated strategy which is clearly articulated in the RSS, and applied at the local level by the Black Country Local Planning Authorities in their Local Development Frameworks (LDFs). 2. The study of the West Midlands hierarchy of centres undertaken in 2001 concluded that regional guidance should avoid a prescriptive hierarchy of established centres but acknowledge the overall importance of Birmingham City Centre. The study identified a network of 23 major centres including Dudley, Walsall, West Bromwich and Wolverhampton as the focus for new retail, leisure, office and other uses which attract large numbers of people, and recommended that town and city centre strategies should be prepared to guide future public and private sector investment. 3. Regional Planning Guidance (RPG11) proposes a fundamental shift in policy direction to the previous guidance, to reverse the pattern of decentralisation of population from the Black Country and seek step change in investment and regeneration of the urban areas. The focus of the Black Country is on continuing economic, physical and environmental renewal and improved infrastructure and regeneration of the town and city centres. 4. RPG11 identifies Dudley, Walsall, West Bromwich and Wolverhampton to have a key role to play in achieving urban renaissance and identifies Dudley and West Bromwich as being particularly vulnerable. It recognises Merry Hill as a regional shopping destination which may assist in the regeneration of the South Black Country, but this role and the timing of any future large scale development need to be addressed by the Regional Planning Body (RPB) in the light of the Black Country Study. A POLYCENTRIC FRAMEWORK FOR THE WEST MIDLANDS 5. The West Midlands economic strategy identifies regeneration zones which include Brierley Hill, Dudley, West Bromwich, Walsall and Wolverhampton and key initiatives are identified and being brought forward in each centre. The RPG strategy for the West Midlands advocates a polycentric (i) BLACK COUNTRY CONSORTIUM STUDY OF BLACK COUNTRY CENTRES framework of centres. Polycentricity can be broadly defined as a region with a number of cities without hierarchical ranking in reasonable proximity and with functional interconnection. 6. In the West Midlands context, Birmingham City Centre will remain the dominant, regional centre; the region as a whole and the Black Country in particular, all directly benefit from the success of the city centre which will continue to be the focus for regional scale activity. However, this does not necessarily preclude options to increase the market share of the Black Country Centres relative to Birmingham City Centre. In particular, it may be appropriate for the Black Country to seek to retain a larger proportion of indigenous retail expenditure from its existing and projected population. 7. Below the regional centre, a polycentric network of strategic centres provides a basis for meeting retail, leisure and employment needs of a series of discrete catchments. In addition to providing a comprehensive range of facilities commensurate with their status as strategic centres, the concept recognises that each centre is likely to have a distinct character and additional specialist strengths and functions serving a wider, sub-regional function. 8. Below the strategic centres, the more extensive network of town centres, and district/local centres would be expected to meet everyday needs as a local focus for predominantly convenience retail, services, leisure and community facilities. The role of the Black Country Study is to identify the appropriate scale and functions of the network of strategic centres, while specific initiatives for individual town and district centres will be prepared through local development frameworks. THE LAST 30 YEARS 9. To put the Black Country Centre Study into context, examination of the changing national, regional and sub-regional network of centres over the last 30 years provides a graphic indication of the scale of change which has taken place, identifies ongoing trends, and illustrates the scale of change which can be anticipated over the next 30 years with and without policy intervention. 10. In 1971 Birmingham City Centre was still the dominant regional centre. However, Wolverhampton was the second largest centre, with a comparable number of shops and a turnover of more than 60% of that of Birmingham. The Black Country comprised a dense network of centres, collectively achieving a comparable turnover to the combined turnover of Birmingham, Solihull and Sutton Coldfield. Within the Black Country, there was a clear hierarchy, dominated by Wolverhampton, with Walsall, Dudley and West Bromwich each performing a significant, and complementary but lower order function. 11. As a consequence of population and economic decline, and wider economic trends, the position of all the Black Country Centres has been eroded over the last 30 years. Compounded by the (ii) BLACK COUNTRY CONSORTIUM STUDY OF BLACK COUNTRY CENTRES development of Merry Hill, the current network of centres shows a radical change; in retail terms Merry Hill has overtaken Wolverhampton as the largest shopping centre, Wolverhampton’s turnover is now only circa 20% that of Birmingham. Walsall, and in particular Dudley and West Bromwich have all witnessed significant and continuing decline in relative terms. THE CURRENT MARKET CONTEXT AND KEY TRENDS 12. We have examined current market trends in the retail, service, leisure, office and housing sectors, to examine the implications for the future pattern of development within the Black Country Centres. 13. Retailing, and in particular comparison retailing, underpins the function of most major centres and has seen sustained growth with renewed interest in town centre development reinforced by the current national policy context. However, the out of centre market has continued to gain market share at the expense of traditional high streets, and growth in new comparison based development is increasingly polarising towards major schemes in a smaller number of large centres. 14. Continuing structural changes in the convenience and services sector have particular implications for smaller town and district/local centres. As the main food superstore operators increase their market share and diversify into everyday non food goods and services, large food superstores increasingly define and underpin the network of town and district centres. 15. In the commercial leisure sector, changing social and demographic trends and increased personal disposable income will fuel sustained growth in mainstream commercial leisure activities, including cinemas, bars, restaurants and post deregulation, significant additional investment in the gambling and entertainment industry. As a consequence of market trends and policy, many main stream leisure activities, including the cinema, are increasingly returning to traditional town centre locations. 16. Birmingham
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