RETAIL AND TOWN CENTRES
INTRODUCTION
7.1 Retail employs an estimated 1500 people in the District. It is the most important commercial sector in terms of employment. The main shopping centres are the principal town centre of Maldon, the smaller town centre of Burnham-on-Crouch and the district centre of Heybridge. Local shopping centres are located within the urban areas and the larger villages. The majority of villages in the District still have a village shop. Village shops, Post Offices and Pubs play a vital role in the economic and social life of villages, helping to maintain sustainable rural communities and the quality of life of rural residents.
7.2 The town and district centres act as village centres for the urban areas they serve, as well as having a wider strategic role within the District. All three have strengths in the food and restaurant sectors and weaknesses in clothing and household goods and are vulnerable to out-of-centre retail development. The social, visual and economic links between the retail, leisure and tourism sectors could be built upon, especially the link from Maldon town centre to the Hythe and Promenade Park.
7.3 The Local Plan aims to consolidate the District's retail offer and recognises that widening, diversifying and improving the role of the main shopping centres as important hubs for the local economy is fundamental.
OBJECTIVES
7.4 Chapter 1 has set out the overarching strategy for the Local Plan. In this context the following objectives for town centres and retailing have been adopted.
Strategic Objective
Sv To retain and protect the existing retail base in urban and rural areas.
Retail and Town Centres Objectives
SHi To protect the existing retail facilities in Maldon District.
SHii To improve and enhance the shopping facilities for all in Maldon District.
SHiii To control retail development outside identified shopping locations.
RETAIL STRATEGY
National policy
7.5 7.5 The Government's objectives in Planning Policy Statement 6 (Planning for Town Centres) (2005) are:
- Ta) planning for the growth and development of existing centres; and;
- b) 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;
7.6 The Guidance also advises that comparison shopping should continue to be the mainstay of retailing in most sizeable town centres. It states that after considering the need for new development Local Planning Authorities should adopt the sequential approach to selecting sites for new retail development.
Countywide strategy
7.7 This strategy acknowledges that there are five sub-regional centres in the County at Basildon, Chelmsford, Colchester, Harlow and Southend. These centres are intended to provide large areas of the County with its specialist shopping needs as well as a wide range of retail outlets.
7.8 Maldon is named as a principal shopping centre. These centres are intended to provide the surrounding area with a conveniently located centre accommodating retail outlets selling a good range of convenience and comparison goods. The remaining retail centres of the District are categorised as shown in Table 7.
District Strategy
7.9 The District is sparsely populated with a high percentage of the population living in a proportionately small area of the District, focused on the towns of Maldon and Burnham-on-Crouch. The District is located east of the main transport links running through the County; therefore few people pass through the District en-route to other destinations. From many of District's settlements the sub-regional centres of Chelmsford, Colchester and Basildon are as accessible as Maldon.
| TYPE OF RETAIL FACILITY | LOCATION |
|---|---|
| Principal Town Centre | Maldon - High Street, parts of Market Hill and Fambridge Road |
| Smaller Town Centre | Burnham on Crouch - High Street and part of Station Road |
| District Shopping Centre | Heybridge - Bentalls Centre, The Street & adjacent shops in Hall Road |
| Local Shopping Centres | Burnham-on-Crouch - Fiveways, Station Road Heybridge - Wood Road Maldon - Cross Road/Wantz Road Maldon - Dryden Close Maldon - Washington Road |
| Village Centres | Latchingdon - The Street Mayland - Imperial Avenue Southminster - High Street Tollesbury - High Street & East Street Wickham Bishops - The Street |
| Village shops | Althorne Bradwell-on-Sea Bradwell Waterside Cold Norton Goldhanger Great Totham Purleigh St. Lawrence Tillingham Tolleshunt D'Arcy Woodham Walter |
| Farm shops | Althorne Burnham-on-Crouch Goldhanger Heybridge Great Totham Woodham Walter |
Source: Maldon District Council Planning Services, following PPS 6 definitions.
7.10 The highest priority within the Structure Plan strategy is to protect the existing shopping facilities not only in the towns of Maldon and Burnham-on-Crouch but also in the small villages scattered throughout the District. The deterioration of these facilities in a District, which has little public transport, would result in many of the small settlements becoming unsustainable and the town centres not fulfilling the role prescribed in the Structure Plan.
7.11 It is acknowledged that the shopping facilities in the District, and especially Maldon, do not provide a full range of retail outlets selling comparison non food goods, and that there is need for some further non food retail development that fits the scale and circumstances of the District. The Essex and Southend-on-Sea Replacement Structure Plan sets out the retail hierarchy for development in the County. It identifies that Maldon is a Principal Town Centre which provides a good range of comparison goods shopping. It also sets out a sequential approach to locating retail development.
7.12 Structure Plan policies TCR 1, 2, 3, & 4 apply to new retail development to determine the scale of proposed new development in line with any identified need for that type of provision.
7.13 Shopping for convenience goods in Maldon is undertaken at two large supermarkets located on the outskirts of the town and two smaller supermarkets in Heybridge and Maldon town centre. There is also a supermarket in Burnham-on-Crouch. The planning consents relating to both the larger supermarkets situated in Maldon restrict the range of goods that can be sold. These conditions have been imposed to protect the viability of Maldon town centre. Recent shopping surveys conclude that the present provision of convenience retailing in the District is adequate.
TOWN AND DISTRICT CENTRES
Town Centre Core Retail Areas
7.14 It is important to maintain the primary retail function of the town centres and district centre if they are to retain their importance in providing a centre for the surrounding community and District as a whole. The District's three main shopping centres - Maldon and Burnham-on-Crouch town centres and Heybridge district centre - are defined on the proposals map. This will enable the protection and enhancement of their retail function. Within the defined town / district centres, the priority ground floor use will be retail.
7.15 Retail outlets dominate the street frontages of the areas designated as Core Retail Areas. As part of the overall strategy it is important to support and retain these uses. Within these frontages are a number of other uses including restaurants and offices. In order to strengthen the retail character of the area, the District Council will not permit any change of use of these premises unless it results in the premises being converted to a shop.
POLICY SH1 Core Retail Areas
Within the Core Retail Areas of Maldon and Burnham-on-Crouch town centres and Heybridge district centre, ground floor retail units will be protected from changes to other uses with the exception of Class D1(a) uses relating to the provision of medical and health services. Within these areas only changes of use that result in A1 retail uses or D1 (a) uses will be permitted.
Development outside Core Retail Areas
7.16 Outside the Core Retail Areas changes of use of ground floor premises to town centre uses other than retail may be permitted. Changes of use to residential will be resisted as these detract from the essentially commercial nature of the shopping centres.
POLICY SH2 Protection of the retail function of town and district centres
Within the town and district centres, outside Core Retail Areas, changes of use from retail within the ground floor frontages, with the exception of Class D1(a) uses relating to the provision of medical and health services, will only be permitted if all of the following criteria are met:
They safeguard and promote the overall retail attractiveness, economic viability and vitality of the shopping centre;
They do not detract from the dominant retail appearance of the street frontage;
They are capable of attracting high numbers of visits from the general public;
Where appropriate, positive measures to enhance or restore the character of the building concerned and its retail appearance will be sought.
Changes of use from retail to residential uses within the ground floor frontages of the identified shopping centres will not be permitted.
Maldon market
7.18 Maldon has a twice-weekly market (Thursday and Saturday) on the public car park adjacent to the Rivendell (formerly Oakwood) Centre on White Horse Lane. The Market is an important feature of the retail offer and character of the town centre. Therefore the market site is safeguarded in this Plan to ensure that it is not lost to development.
POLICY SH3 Maldon Market
The market site on White Horse Lane, shown on the Maldon town centre proposals map, is reserved for that purpose.
Town and District Centre Development Sites
7.19 The adaptation and modernisation of shopping facilities to meet new retail demands is an important element in maintaining the viability of town centres. However, there is limited scope for development in Maldon or Burnham-on-Crouch town centres because of their historic nature, access requirements, the limited opportunities to expand public car parking and their capacity to absorb additional traffic generation. Therefore few development sites have been allocated in the Plan.
7.20 Within the town and district centres, as shown on the proposals maps, small and medium scale shopping, office and other related town centre uses will be encouraged. The redevelopment sites have been identified to incorporate a specific use within the development proposal. The proposed uses are considered to be those required for the area in question and those which cannot be provided on other sites. The change of use of buildings to retail uses will be encouraged within both town centres and along The Street in Heybridge.
7.21 Those sites that are capable of being re-developed within Maldon, Heybridge and Burnham-on-Crouch are shown on the Proposals Map. These sites are not being promoted to extend the shopping provision in the District and their development in Maldon and Burnham for these purposes will be encouraged.
In respect of these sites:
7.22 SH4/1, Quest Motors, High Street/Butt Lane, Maldon: Proposals for residential and retail development of this site have been received by the Council. It is unlikely that part of the site will be available for public car parking.
7.23 SH4/2, Transco Site, Victoria Road, Maldon: This site may be viable for a small housing development filling the existing gap between established housing in Victoria Road. The site abuts the High Street East town centre car park and the District Council will seek to extend this car park onto part of the site.
7.24 SH4/3, Orth's Garage, White Horse Lane, Maldon: The site lies adjacent to the White Horse Lane car park and the Council has agreed measures to seek the acquisition of this site.
7.25 SH4/5, Former Houlding's Garage Site, Heybridge: This site is currently fully occupied by a range of commercial uses. It will be suitable for expansion of the adjacent District Centre if the site is made available for development
POLICY SH4 Town and District Centre development proposals
The sites shown in the table below and defined on the Proposals Map will be reserved for town centre related development. Planning permission will only be permitted if the proposals include provision for the uses/development as indicated.
Schemes for the re-development of these sites will be required to meet all of the following criteria:
Not give rise to unacceptable problems of access, road safety or traffic congestion;
Provide car parking and servicing facilities in accordance with the relevant standards, together with facilities for non-car users;
Promote high standards of design, be of an appropriate scale and not cause unreasonable loss of amenity to adjoining land uses;
Not materially prejudice the provision of other major land uses, particularly the supply of land for employment, housing and community uses such as open space.
Table 5 Town and District Centre Redevelopment Sites
| Site reference | Inset No. | Location | Parish | Size (ha) | Preferred Uses | Constraints* and Development Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SH4/1 | 14A | Quest Motors, High Street/Butt Lane | Maldon | 0.49 | Mixed use of Housing and Retail |
|
| SH4/2 | 14A | Transco Site, Victoria Road | Maldon | 0.15 | Housing, Public Car Parking |
|
| SH4/3 | 14A | Orth's Garage, White Horse Lane | Maldon | 0.21 | Public Car Parking, Mixed use including Retail |
|
| SH4/5 | 14B | Former Houlding's garage site, corner of Colchester Road and Stock Chase | Heybridge | 0.48 | Public Car Parking, Retail, Community Health Facilities |
|
| TOTAL | 1.18 | |||||
* This is not an exhaustive list of constraints, other policies in the Local Plan also apply to these sites.
Town centre car parking
7.26 The background to public car parking policy is set out in the Transport chapter. Maldon is the largest retail and service centre in the District and relies on access by car from the rural areas both for businesses and customers. Adequate and appropriately priced public car parking is therefore an important component of the town centre's function.
7.27 The car parks in Maldon town centre are operating at capacity on most weekdays and on Saturdays. They therefore impose a restraint on the capacity of the Town Centre to increase its overall turnover. There are limited opportunities for re-development within the Town Centre but where these areas have been identified it is the intention of the District Council to require that part of those sites be made available for additional public car parking.
7.28 Provision has been made for a small park and ride car park as part of a scheme to extend the Tesco store at Maldon. This scheme will also provide improved pedestrian and cycle routes to the town centre. These improvements together with improved transport links will increase the ability of the town centre to receive more shoppers.
7.29 Future provision of public car parking within the town centre will be made through inclusion of small extensions to existing car parks where these adjoin identified development sites. The transport chapter sets out a strategy for public car parking for Maldon town centre that includes management of the existing space, on-street parking, out-of-centre provision and new sites in the town centre.
Local Shopping Centres
7.30 Local Shopping Centres are located close to or in residential areas and have been purpose built to serve a local community. The role of these centres has been under pressure in recent years with the advent of more centralised and focused shopping habits.
7.31 To retain this role the District Council will protect these centres from changes that undermine the viability or function of the centre as a shopping facility. Equally important, because these centres tend to be located in or close to a residential area, is to prevent uses being introduced that are individually or collectively detrimental to the neighbouring area.
POLICY SH5 Local Shopping Centres in urban areas
The change of use of shop units in Local Shopping Centres in urban areas, as defined in Table 7, to residential use will not be permitted. Changes of use to other uses may be permitted if the District Council is satisfied that:
The change of use does not undermine either the viability or function of the centre as a Local Shopping Centre;
The change of use either individually or collectively is not detrimental to the general amenities of the area or occupiers of neighbouring residential properties.
RURAL SHOPPING
7.32 Inhabitants of the rural settlements rely heavily on services being provided within the confines of the village settlements to provide day to day requirements. These services frequently relate to convenience food shopping, pharmacy services, community facilities in the form of public houses, post offices and petrol filling stations/garages. . Disabled and elderly people and those without access to private transport would find life difficult without their existence. The retention of these facilities ensures that the countryside retains a socially and economically balanced community.
7.33 The strategy of the Plan is to restrict the growth of retailing outside the development boundaries, unless it is associated with agriculture, to prevent the closure of rural services. Within development boundaries the policy will be to examine thoroughly any proposal which results in the loss of a shop or local service as well determining whether the premises can be occupied by a replacement village business. Included within this assessment will be whether the increased value of the property for residential purposes has brought about the closure rather than lack of viability.
7.34 This will help ensure that the social and economic life of the community remains focused where possible on the village. In parallel with this strategy extensions to retail premises in scale with the community it is serving will be permitted.
7.35 However, it is appropriate that the scale of new development is kept to a level which is compatible with the size and character of the village and surrounding rural area, and that it does not conflict with the retail strategy outlined earlier in this Chapter. The effect on vitality and viability of both the village and other retail centres should not be adversely affected by new retail development
POLICY SH6 Village shops and services
Planning Permission will not be granted for development which would result in the loss of a village shop or service unless:-
The existing business has been marketed by estate agents operating in the locality for at least 3 months immediately prior to the application at a realistic price that reflects the existing business use;
The existing business use is not and cannot be made viable;
There is no alternative business use for the premises.
Where change of use is allowed, the shop front will be preserved to retain the character of the street scene.
Farm shops
7.36 There has been a trend in recent years towards the direct sales of the produce from agricultural or horticultural holdings. The sale of produce from an agricultural or horticultural holding does not need planning permission. This income generated by this business is becoming increasingly important to the farming community and has for a long time been a recognised form of farm diversification.
7.37 However, farm shops that sell goods which are not produced on the farm do require planning permission. These shops are effectively grocery stores in remote rural locations. They can cause visual intrusion and have an adverse impact on nearby village shops. In such circumstances development would be contrary to the strategic objectives of the Plan.
POLICY SH7 Farm Shops
The introduction of a retail use on a farm will only be permitted if:-
The scale and scope of the retailing proposal will not harm the viability of retail facilities in any nearby town or village
The scale and nature of the proposed retail accommodation including any possible new construction is compatible with that of existing buildings in the farm
The proposal does not harm the rural character of the landscape and the amenities of the locality.
RETAIL USES IN EMPLOYMENT AREAS
7.38 Although the wish is to concentrate retailing in the town centres, there are items that are so heavy and bulky that they require direct loading into the customer's vehicle. Uses of this nature involving goods, which are retailed or sold wholesale, have to be located in out of town locations and generally in employment areas. There are also uses where the goods, such as cars, caravans and boats, require extensive external display areas and these also are more appropriately located in employment areas.