Policy E7
Town centres
In the designated Town Centre shopping frontages (as shown on the Policies Map and defined in Appendix 1), where planning permission is required changes from retail, food and drink uses at street level will be permitted for alternative uses which can be shown to be complementary to the shopping frontage, maintain or increase the vitality and viability of the Town Centre, and do not have an adverse impact on the local area.
- Where planning permission is required, proposals for changes of use and new development will be considered on the following basis:
a) a minimum of 40% of the length of the prime retail frontage would retain its main shopping function;
b) additional E class uses, pubs, bars and hot food takeaways, betting shops, pay day loan shops, amusement centres, mini cab offices or residential uses will not be permitted on the ground floor of the prime retail frontages;
c) the nature and characteristics of the proposed use are complementary to the shopping frontage; and
d) the proposed use contributes to the function of the centre in terms of the size of the unit, the length of its frontage and the location of the unit within the centre.
- Planning conditions may be imposed in any permission for such changes of use to:
a) specify a particular use or uses within use class E(a) and restrict future changes of use;
b) to secure provision of a shop style fascia, and window display at street level; and
c) to control the hours of operation.
- Planning permission will not be granted for residential use within the ground floor of frontages. In non-prime retail frontages, criteria 1c) to 2c) above will apply.
6.59 As high streets and town centres seek to adapt to the economic impact of online shopping, working from home and recover from the pandemic, they will need to provide a wider range of facilities and services. The council's Industrial Strategy – Upstream - sets out ambitions for economic growth and successful town centres, promote evening economy uses to diversity from shopping and extend the trading day. Upgraded public realm and encouraging active travel rather than car use can help make town centres attractive and successful places.
Changing high streets
6.60 Whilst there may be opportunities for diversification of town centre uses within the protected parades, a balance needs to be struck between supporting growth and change, and meeting local housing needs, it is important to maintain a balance of uses and avoid over-concentrations of uses that could give rise to harmful impacts. Work is underway on an updated Retail and Leisure Needs Study which will provide further information to support this chapter. This will identify the quantum of needs and justify the broad locations for protection within the Local Plan period, and looking 10 years ahead. Policies elsewhere in this draft Local Plan are aimed at managing town centres uses, hot food takeaways, pubs, gambling premises, protecting pubs and supporting leisure and community uses.
6.61 In respect of the shopping frontages, the council has defined prime and non-prime retail frontages to assist in safeguarding and managing the distribution of retail uses and related facilities and services within the three Town Centres. For a town centre to operate successfully, it is necessary for shops to group together. Intrusion of non-retail uses on too large a scale can inhibit this process, reducing the attractiveness of a centre and damaging its trading position. Non-retail uses for these purposes are defined to include all uses other than those included within Class E(a) (former use class A1). Some non-retail uses, such as a bank, restaurant or pub, are complementary to the town centres' primary shopping function because they may provide a vital local service, are essential to the operation of the shops, or are heavily used by shoppers. However, the retail function will be adversely affected if the mix of uses is affected by too great a loss of shops, and by making comparison shopping more difficult through dispersal of those which remain. The council's current policy approach to protected policy frontages had previously relied on the ability to control the amount of shopping ( class A1 retail) and non-A1 businesses by limiting the amount of frontage that can be in non-retail uses. This had proved to be a workable management tool in the past whilst some flexibility for change of use within the frontages and the achievement of a good mix of uses. Since the last local plan was published the government has simplified the classification of town centres uses (formerly Class A1, A2, A3, B1 and parts of D2) into a new Class E. The aim was to allow greater flexibility by allowing changes of use within this use without the need for planning permission. This can help diversification and fill vacant shops.
6.62 This change does mean that current policy approach to having prime and non-prime parades and to setting out quotas/proportions of a particular use cannot be taken forward into the new Local Plan, and as changes of use between uses within Class E of the Use Classes Order do not require planning permission, the ability of the council to apply this policy will be limited. The council's Retail and Leisure Needs Study will inform the preferred policy approach going forward, and taking account of stakeholder and consultation responses to his draft document, and the outcome of the draft Article 4 Direction to remove the permitted change of use from class E to residential use in the defined centres and parades.
Changes of use
6.63 Community uses and evening economy uses may also provide enhanced amenities for the local community, and changes to these uses may be supported in principle at a scale appropriate to its location and position in the shopping hierarchy. Whilst a flexible approach can help high streets recover from the pandemic and respond to online trading competition for example, unforeseen negative outcomes could include loss of local shopping uses, or an over-concentration of uses such as food, drink and other evening uses which could lead to noise and disturbance to local residents and closed up units during the day. Therefore, in circumstances where planning permission is required the Council may impose conditions to restrict further changes of use in the future.
6.64 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 shopping parades which are protected for shopping and related uses.
Active frontages
6.65 The clustering of non-retail uses may create dead frontages because of a lack of interesting window displays and for this reason all premises in the prime retail frontage should provide appropriate window displays. In addition, the avoidance of blank frontages, such as office or residential uses can be a major contribution to retaining pedestrian activity, retaining commercial life in the area, and to crime prevention. Although new ground floor residential use will not be permitted in the prime retail frontages, access to residential upper floors will be encouraged.