Rother District Wide Shopping Assessment June 2008 PREPARED BY GL Hearn Property Consultants 20 Soho Square London W1D 3QW Tel: +44 (0)20 7851 4900 Fax: +44 (0)20 7851 4910 Email: [email protected] www.glhearn.com Date: June 2008 Ref: J: Planning/Job Files/J019130/Reports/Rother District Wide Shopping Assessment - Final Rother District Wide Shopping Assessment 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 GL Hearn was instructed by Rother District Council in October 2007 to undertake a District-wide Shopping Assessment. The purpose of this assessment is to inform and guide retail planning in the District and to form a robust evidential base for the preparation of the Council’s Local Development Framework Core Strategy. 1.2 The main objectives of the Assessment were set out in the Council’s Brief (Appendix 1) and these comprised: a) Current, and trends in (over the last 10 years), shopping rental levels in each town using published data; b) An assessment of the position of town shopping centres in Rother within the sub-regional retail hierarchy, drawing on comparative data on existing floorspace, catchments, accessibility, etc factors (to include Eastbourne, Hastings, Tunbridge Wells, Ashford and Folkestone); c) A residents survey for these catchment areas (a statistically representative 1% sample) on where they shop for convenience goods, comparison goods, and service trade services, on how often they shop in the various locations and their view of future provision for additional shopping in Rother District; d) The views of key stakeholders and the implications for the assessment of future shopping development; e) The extent of trade being ‘lost’ from Bexhill, Rye and Battle to other shopping centres outside the District, the reasons for this and potential to re-capture trade; f) The definition of the shopping catchment areas of Bexhill, Rye and Battle Town Centres; g) The need for additional shopping floorspace in the three towns, and an indication of type of suitable location, required to accommodate a realistic assessment of future market share in 5 year periods up to 2026 and then split by convenience, comparison and service trade sectors, in the context of policy objectives and sustainability considerations for Rother’s town centres. 1.3 To address the requirements of the Brief, the Assessment incorporates a comprehensive up to date review of retailing within the District utilising a specifically commissioned Household Telephone Survey (Appendix 2) which provides an indication of the relative role of the Districts town centres and other shopping J:\Planning\Job Files\J019130-Rother District Wide Shopping Assessment\Reports\Rother District Wide Shopping Assessment-Final.doc Page 3 of 82 June 2008 Rother District Wide Shopping Assessment facilities. The Household Telephone survey results have been supplemented by information gathered at retailer and town centre stakeholder meetings conducted in Bexhill, Battle and Rye town centres. 1.4 In addition, we have also reviewed the health of Rother’s main town centres against the appropriate vitality and viability indicators set out in PPS6. 1.5 The District-Wide Shopping Assessment is structured as follows: 1.6 Section 2 provides a brief overview of national, strategic and local planning polices which are relevant to retail planning and town centres. 1.7 Section 3 provides commentary upon national trends in consumer spending and retailing 1.8 Section 4 reviews the sub regional context, considering in particular the influence of competing centres in the wider area on Rother’s main town centres. 1.9 Section 5 describes the qualitative shopping provision and attraction of Rother’s main town centres. 1.10 Section 6 sets out the methodology, assumptions and findings of our quantitative need assessment, providing estimates of capacity for new convenience and comparison goods shopping floorspace in the District over the period to 2026. 1.11 Section 7 provides our interpretation of the quantitative and qualitative assessment and suggest how this may be applied to the Districts main shopping locations. 1.12 Finally, Section 8 provides the conclusions to the District-wide Shopping Assessment. J:\Planning\Job Files\J019130-Rother District Wide Shopping Assessment\Reports\Rother District Wide Shopping Assessment-Final.doc Page 4 of 82 June 2008 Rother District Wide Shopping Assessment 2 RETAIL PLANNING POLICY FRAMEWORK 2.1 This section provides an overview of current national, regional and local planning policy guidance in relation to town centre development. This policy guidance sets the background to the shopping assessment. National Planning Context Planning Policy Statement 6: Planning for Town Centres (March 2005) 2.2 Planning Policy Statement 6: Planning for Town Centres (PPS6) was published on 21 March 2005. This document sets out Government guidance on retail planning policy and planning for town centres. 2.3 PPS6 replaces Planning Policy Guidance Note 6 which was published in June 1996. 2.4 The Government’s key objective for town centres is to promote their vitality and viability by planning for the growth and development of existing centres; and promoting and enhancing existing centres, by focusing development in such centres and encouraging a wide range of services in a good environment, accessible to all (paragraph 1.3). 2.5 Other Government objectives which need to be taken account of in this context, include: • Enhancing consumer choice by making provision for a range of shopping, leisure and local services, which allow genuine choice to meet the needs of the entire community, and particularly socially excluded groups; • Supporting efficient, competitive and innovative retail, leisure, tourism and other sectors with improving productivity; and • Improving accessibility, ensuring that existing or new development is, or will be, accessible and well served by a choice of means of transport (paragraph 1.4). J:\Planning\Job Files\J019130-Rother District Wide Shopping Assessment\Reports\Rother District Wide Shopping Assessment-Final.doc Page 5 of 82 June 2008 Rother District Wide Shopping Assessment 2.6 In addition, it is confirmed that wider policy aims are also relevant including the need; • To promote social inclusion; • To regenerate deprived areas, creating new employment opportunities and an improved physical environment; • To promote economic growth of regional, sub-regional and local economies; • To deliver more sustainable patterns of development; and • To promote high quality and inclusive design (paragraph 1.5). 2.7 Paragraph 1.7 confirms that it is not the role of the planning system to restrict competition, preserve existing commercial interests or to prevent innovation. 2.8 The main town centre uses, to which PPS6 applies, are set out at paragraph 1.8 of the guidance. These include, retail (including warehouse clubs and factory outlet centres), leisure, entertainment facilities, the more intensive sport and recreation uses, offices, and arts, culture and tourism facilities. 2.9 Within a regional planning context, local planning authorities should actively plan for growth and manage change in town centres over the period of the plan by; • Selecting appropriate existing centres to accommodate the identified need for growth by; • Making better use of existing land and buildings; • Where necessary, extending the centre. • Managing the role and function of existing centres; and • Planning for new centres of an appropriate scale in areas of significant growth or where there are deficiencies in the existing network of centres (paragraph 2.3). J:\Planning\Job Files\J019130-Rother District Wide Shopping Assessment\Reports\Rother District Wide Shopping Assessment-Final.doc Page 6 of 82 June 2008 Rother District Wide Shopping Assessment 2.10 Local planning authorities should aim to increase the density of development, where appropriate. Opportunities within existing centres should be identified for development or redevelopment. Local planning authorities should seek to ensure that the number and size of sites identified for development is sufficient to meet the scale and type of need identified (paragraph 2.4). Where growth cannot be accommodated in identified existing centres, local planning authorities should plan for the extension of the primary shopping area if there is a need for additional retail provision or, where appropriate, plan for the extension of the town centre to accommodate other main town centre uses (paragraph 2.5). 2.11 An extension of the primary shopping area or town centre may also be appropriate where a need for large developments has been identified and this cannot be accommodated within the centre. Larger stores may deliver benefits for consumers and local planning authorities should seek to make provision for them in this context. In such cases, the local planning authority should seek to identify, designate and assemble larger sites adjoining the primary shopping area (paragraph 2.6). 2.12 Paragraph 2.8 confirms that where existing centres are in decline, local planning authorities should assess the scope for consolidating and strengthening these centres by seeking to focus a wider range of services there, promote the diversification of uses and improve the environment. Where reversing decline is not possible, local planning authorities should recognise that these centres may need to be reclassified at a lower level within the hierarchy of centres, and reflect this revised status in the policies applied to the area. 2.13 Local planning authorities should adopt a positive