planning report PDU/3047/01 6 February 2013 Sainsbury’s, Long Drive, South Ruislip in the London Borough of Hillingdon planning application no. 33667/APP/2012/3214 Strategic planning application stage 1 referral (new powers) Town & Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended); Greater London Authority Acts 1999 and 2007; Town & Country Planning (Mayor of London) Order 2008 The proposal Redevelopment of the existing Sainsbury’s store to allow for a replacement store comprising 11,706 sq.m. gross internal floorspace, increasing the provision of car parking to 582 spaces, providing retail/ commercial starter units adjacent to Long Drive, the refurbishment of the existing petrol filling station and landscaping improvements. The applicant The applicant is Sainsbury’s Supermarkets Ltd, and the agent is Turley Associates. Strategic issues The principle of the proposed retail development requires further justification and clarification. Other issues that need to be addressed before the application is referred back to the mayor at stage two relate to urban design and need for significant public realm investment, access, climate change mitigation, air quality, flood risk and transport. Recommendation That Hillingdon Council be advised that while the application is generally acceptable in strategic planning terms the application does not comply with the London Plan, but that the possible remedies set out in paragraph 103 of this report could address these deficiencies. Context 1 On 2 January 2013 the Mayor of London received documents from Hillingdon Council notifying him of a planning application of potential strategic importance to develop the above site for the above uses. Under the provisions of The Town & Country Planning (Mayor of London) Order 2008 the Mayor has until 12 February 2013 to provide the Council with a statement setting out whether he considers that the application complies with the London Plan, and his reasons for taking that view. The Mayor may also provide other comments. This report sets out information for the Mayor’s use in deciding what decision to make. S:\Planning Decisions\Cases\3047\Stage 1 page 1 2 The application is referable under Category 3E and 3F of the Schedule to the Order 2008: 3E (a) which does not accord with one or more provisions of the development plan in force in the area in which the application site is situated. 3E (b) comprises or includes the provision of more than 2,500 sq.m. of floorspace for use falling within any of the following in the use class order – (i) class A1 retail. 3F Developemnt for a use other than residential use, which includes the provision of more than 200 car parking spaces in connection with the use. 3 Once Hillingdon Council has resolved to determine the application, it is required to refer it back to the Mayor for his decision, as to whether to direct refusal or allow the Council to determine it itself, unless otherwise advised. In this instance if the Council resolves to refuse permission it need not refer the application back to the Mayor. 4 The Mayor of London’s statement on this case will be made available on the GLA website www.london.gov.uk. Site description 5 The site is located within South Ruislip local/neighbourhood centre and is occupied by an existing Sainsbury’s store. The site is located to the south of Long Drive, to the west of Victoria Road and east of the Chiltern Main Line. 6 The nearest section of the Transport for London Road Network (TLRN) is the A40 Western Avenue, which is to the south of the site at a distance of 2.7 kilometres away. The A312 Hill Road, part of the Strategic Road Network (SRN), is also at a similar distance to the southeast. 7 One bus route (144) operates along Victoria Road, with the southbound bus stop located directly opposite the site and the northbound stop to the north of the Victoria Road/Long Drive junction. This route operates between Mill Hill Broadway Station and Ruislip Station. South Ruislip station provides both Central Line services between Epping and Hainault, and West Ruislip, and mainline services between Marylebone and Gerrards Cross. The Public Transport Accessibility Level (PTAL) for the site is moderate and estimated at 3 (based on a scale of 1 to 6 where 6 is the highest). Details of the proposal 8 Redevelopment of the existing Sainsbury’s store to allow for a replacement store comprising 11,706 sq.m. gross internal floorspace, increasing the provision of car parking to 582 spaces, providing retail/ commercial starter units adjacent to Long Drive, the refurbishment of the existing petrol filling station and landscaping improvements. Case history 9 The site has an extant consent from a planning permission granted on 13 November 2006 for the extension of the existing Sainsbury’s store, the provision of a new borough library, decked car park and associated landscaping. This allowed the supermarket an additional 1,444 sq.m. (net) of retail floorspace delivering a store of 4,998 sq.m. net sales area. Hillingdon Council have confirmed the scheme has been implemented. S:\Planning Decisions\Cases\3047\Stage 1 page 2 10 The applicant attended a pre-application meeting on 6 November 2012 and a pre- application report was issued on 21 November 2012. Strategic planning issues and relevant policies and guidance 11 The relevant issues and corresponding policies are as follows: Mix of uses London Plan Retail/town centre uses London Plan Urban design London Plan; Transport London Plan; the Mayor’s Transport Strategy; Land for Transport Functions SP;, Land for Industry and Transport SPG Parking London Plan; draft Early Minor Alteration to the London Plan; the Mayor’s Transport Strategy Access London Plan; Accessible London: achieving an inclusive environment SPG; Planning and Access for Disabled People: a good practice guide (ODPM) Equal opportunities London Plan; Planning for Equality and Diversity in London SPG; Equal Life Chances for All (Mayor’s Equalities Framework); Equalities Act 2010 Air quality London Plan; draft Early Minor Alteration to the London Plan; the Mayor’s Air Quality Strategy; Sustainable development London Plan; Sustainable Design and Construction SPG; Mayor’s Climate Change Adaptation Strategy; Mayor’s Climate Change Mitigation and Energy Strategy; Mayor’s Water Strategy 12 For the purposes of Section 38(6) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, the development plan in force for the area is the Hillingdon Core Strategy 2012, the saved policies of the Hillingdon Unitary Development Plan, Hillingdon Draft early Consultation Site Allocations DPD and the 2011 London Plan. 13 The following are also relevant material considerations: The National Planning Policy Framework and Technical Guide to the National Planning Policy Framework The Hillingdon draft Site Allocations DPD The revised Early Minor Alteration to the London Plan Principle of retail development 14 The proposal is to redevelop the existing Sainsburys store to allow for a replacement extended store. The replacement store will comprise 13,204 sq.m. (gross) with a net sales area of 6,563 sq.m. This will result in a net increase of 3,005 sq.m of floorspace (Table 1) and is more than 4,692 gross/1,566 sq.m. net floorspace than the extant consent. 15 London Plan policy 2.15 (Town Centres), policy 4.7 (retail & town centres) and policy 4.8 (supporting a successful & diverse retail sector), provide the strategic policy context in which the applicant’s proposals are considered. S:\Planning Decisions\Cases\3047\Stage 1 page 3 Table 1: Existing, consent and proposal floorspace Existing Consented Proposed (sq.m.) (sq.m.) (sq.m.) Gross internal floorspace 6,000 7,561 11,706 Retail net tradable area 3,553 4,997 6,563 16 At the pre-application stage the applicant was requested to provide further retail impact analysis in relation to the proposed extension of its existing supermarket. The main issues raised were: Justification of the scale of development. The sequential test. Impact on the vitality and viability of centres in the London Plan hierarchy. Impact on proposed investment in existing centres. Evidence of discussion with Hillingdon Council and surrounding boroughs in the preparation of retail impact assessment 17 The applicant has undertaken further analysis in its retail impact assessment as requested at the pre-application stage and this is welcome. Scale of development Town Centre Classification 18 The applicant has stated in its planning and retail statement that the South Ruislip supermarket proposals are in a local/neighbourhood centre that is identified in the Hillingdon Core strategy and this means the proposals are supported by NPPF policy which supports retail development that is located in town centres. In this instance the proposals are not within a centre identified in the London Plan town centre classification, nonetheless this is a centre identified in the up to date core strategy. As local/ neighbourhood centre, the issue of scale in policy 4.7(a) is of direct relevance, this states: “The scale of retail, commercial, culture and leisure development should be related to the size, role and function of a town centre and its catchment.” 19 For this reason further justification for the proposals was requested at the pre-application stage to explain the case for development which exceeds the identified typical neighbourhood centre 500 sq.m. threshold (Paragraph A2.3 of London Plan Annex). 20 The applicant has set out information (table 1) that in this case the existing Sainsbury’s supermarket is 6,000 sq.m (gross internal floorspace)/ 3,553 sq.m. (net tradable area) and already exceeds the typical floorspace threshold set out in the London Plan for local centres. Furthermore, an extant and implemented planning permission (see below) exists to extend the Sainsbury’s Supermarket to almost 7,561 sq.m.