Woking Borough Council TOWN, DISTRICT AND LOCAL CENTRES STUDY Final Report September 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 doubledouble----sidedsided printingprinting. P1937 CONTENTS 111 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................. ............ 111 Terms of Reference .................................................................................................... 1 Context ........................................................................................................................ 2 Report Structure .......................................................................................................... 4 222 NATIONAL AND REGIONAREGIONALL POLICY .................................................................................................................................................................... ............ 777 Planning Policy Statement 6: Planning for Town Centre ............................................ 7 PPS12 : Local Spatial Planning ................................................................................ 13 Potential Changes to National Policy ........................................................................ 14 Good Practice Guidance ........................................................................................... 15 South East England Regional Spatial Strategy ........................................................ 16 Implications of National and Regional Policy ............................................................ 18 333 VITALITY AND VIABILIVIABILITYTY OF CENTRES IN WOKWOKINGING BOROUGH ...................... 191919 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 19 Woking Town Centre ................................................................................................. 20 West Byfleet .............................................................................................................. 26 Knaphill ..................................................................................................................... 29 District Centres in Woking Local Plan ....................................................................... 31 Local Centres in Woking Local Plan ......................................................................... 34 Competing Centres ................................................................................................... 35 Summary of Town Centre Hierarchy......................................................................... 37 444 KEY FINDINGS FROM VIVISITORSITOR SURVEYS ................................................................................................................ 393939 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 39 Mode of Travel .......................................................................................................... 39 Frequency of Visits to the Centres ............................................................................ 40 Main Purpose of Visit ................................................................................................ 41 Likes and Dislikes ..................................................................................................... 41 Environmental Satisfaction Ratings .......................................................................... 43 Accessibility Satisfaction Ratings ............................................................................. 44 Suggestions for Improvement ................................................................................... 46 Leisure Facilities ....................................................................................................... 46 Cultural Offer within Woking ..................................................................................... 47 555 CURRENT PATTERNS OF RETAIL AND LEISURE SSPENDINGPENDING .......................... 494949 Household Survey Methodology ............................................................................... 49 Study Area................................................................................................................. 51 Comparison Goods Spending Patterns .................................................................... 51 Household Survey Results in 2004 compared to 2009 ............................................ 54 Comparison Goods Catchment Areas ...................................................................... 55 Patterns of Convenience Goods Expenditure .......................................................... 55 Convenience Goods Catchment Areas .................................................................... 60 Pattern of Spending on Leisure Services ................................................................. 62 Conclusions in Relation to Retail & Leisure Spending Patterns ............................... 64 666 RETAIL NEED ................................................................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................... ...... 676767 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 67 Methodology for Assessing Quantitative Retail Need .............................................. 67 Findings in Relation to Quantitative Retail Need ...................................................... 76 Qualitative Retail Need ............................................................................................. 78 777 NEED IN THE LEISURE SECTOR ....................................................................................................................................................................... ....... 838383 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 83 Leisure Expenditure Growth ..................................................................................... 83 Assessment of Commercial Leisure Requirements .................................................. 84 888 OTHER TOWN CENTRES UUSESSES ......................................................................................................................................................................... ......... 919191 Offices ....................................................................................................................... 91 Hotels ........................................................................................................................ 93 999 STRATEGIC DIRECTION AND RECOMMENDATIONS .............................................................................. 979797 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 97 Recommendations for Hierarchy of Centres in Woking Borough ............................. 98 Summary of Need for Town Centre Floorspace in the Borough ............................... 98 Strategy for Woking ................................................................................................... 99 Strategy for West Byfleet ........................................................................................ 105 Strategy for Knaphill ................................................................................................ 108 Strategy for Local Centres in the Borough .............................................................. 111 Development Control Recommendations ............................................................... 112 Monitoring Framework ............................................................................................ 114 APPENDICES (see separate volume) Appendix 1 Project Brief Appendix 2 Healthcheck Appendices Appendix 3 Records of Stakeholder Consultations Appendix 4 Smaller Centre Service Audit Appendix 5 Demand Survey Appendix 6 Visitor Survey Appendix 7 Household Survey Data Appendix 8 Quantitative Retail and Leisure Spreadsheets Appendix 9 Catchment Areas Appendix 10 National Trends in the Retail and Leisure Sectors Appendix 11 Town, District and Local Centre Plans and Suggested Defined Boundaries Woking Town, District and Local Centres Study Final Report 111 INTRODUCTION Terms of Reference 1.1 Woking Borough Council (‘the Council’) commissioned Roger Tym & Partners (RTP) to undertake a ‘Town, District and Local Centres Study’ (‘the study’) in March 2009, following a competitive tender process. The project brief (‘the brief’), which is reproduced as AAAppendixAppendix 11, explains that the study is to form part of the evidence base for the retail and leisure policies and proposals in the emerging Local Development Framework (LDF). Thus, the study has to reflect the Government’s requirements as set out in PPS6 and PPS12; these are discussed in Section 2 of this report. The study has a timeframe to 2026, although the assessments of quantitative need from 2021 to 2026 are essentially indicative.