Policy E9
Non-designated parades and clusters
Outside town centres, key local centres, and neighbourhood parades, the council will seek to retain shops and other local services to meet local needs. Where planning permission is required, the council will seek to protect continued retail use through use of planning conditions to secure use class E(a) and restrict future changes of use.
Residential use and changes to other small scale Class E and community uses may be permitted, except where this will result in a demonstrable shortage of retail uses in the locality. In assessing an application in a non-designated parade or cluster for a change of use from a retail use to any other use, the council will take into account:
a) the proximity and the range of shops in the locality to meet local needs (where town centres, key local centres, protected parades and satellite parades are not within 400 metres);
b) the length of time that the application premises may have been vacant and the marketing of the premises;
c) the nature and characteristics of the proposed use and evidence of need;
d) the location of the unit within the centre; and
e) public access and retention of the shop front appearance.
Corner shops are important for meeting local needs and where planning permission is required, will be protected for continued retail use through use of planning conditions to secure use class E(a) and restrict future changes of use. Where planning permission is required, changes of use of corner shops from retail use will not be permitted where there is a shortage of alternative shopping (where town centres, key local centres, protected parades and non-designated parades and clusters are not within 400 metres).
6.69 A substantial amount of the borough's retail floorspace is located outside of the Local Plan retail hierarchy. These un-designated retail premises can provide important goods and services for local residents close to home. The council does not wish to see a significant reduction in the stock of such premises continue to provide a vital function for meeting day to day needs, providing top-up and emergency shopping for the surrounding communities and helping avoid unnecessary trips by car.
Changes of use
6.70 In April 2021 the government further relaxed planning rules so that changes of use of shops and other units in the shopping parades to residential units is now permitted development. This also limits the application of the policy to meet current and forecast local shopping, and day to day needs. Further changes to this policy will partly depend on the outcome of the draft Article 4 Direction which seeks to remove permitted development rights which allow change of use from business, commercial and service use to residential without the need for planning permission in the council's protected employment and shopping locations. The Direction is subject to consideration by the Secretary of State and is expected to be effective by December 2025, and will apply in the identified locations such as town and local centres and parades which are protected for shopping and related uses.
Similarly to the policies for town, key local centres and designated parades, permitted changes of ground floor shop units to residential use, and within the new use class E, means that current policy approach to setting out quotas/proportions of a particular use cannot be taken forward into the new Local Plan. Changes of use between uses within Class E of the Use Classes Order do not require planning permission, therefore ability of the council to apply the draft revised policy will be limited. Where planning permission is required, the Council may impose conditions to restrict further changes of use in the future, for example to uses that could compromise the ability of the parade, cluster or corner shop to meet retail and related local needs. Class E uses, such as community uses and evening economy uses may also provide enhanced amenities for the local community. Changes of use to these uses may be supported where the parade or cluster would still provide local shopping facilities, subject to meeting other policies in the plan, and would be at a scale appropriate to the location.