Policy DM18 Retail, leisure and other main town centre uses
Development for retail, leisure and other main town centre uses as defined in the NPPF, (with the exception of B1 offices) will be permitted within the city centre primary and secondary retail areas, large district centres and existing and proposed district and local centres as defined in appendix 4, where:
a) their scale is appropriate to the centre’s position in the hierarchy as set out in JCS policy 19 and does not exceed the indicative thresholds set out in Appendix 4; and
b) the proposal would not conflict with the overall sustainable development criteria set out in policy DM1 of this plan; and
c) if involving a change of use in a defined centre, the proposal accords with policies DM20 and DM21 of this plan.
Notwithstanding the criteria above, there will be no further retail development at the Riverside Large District Centre unless it provides sustainable transport improvements to significantly enhance accessibility by public transport and pedestrian and cycle linkages from the retail park to the primary and secondary retail areas, sufficient to offset any potentially harmful impacts on traffic congestion and highway safety arising from additional trip generation associated with the new development.
Proposals for main town centre uses (with the exception of B1 offices) which are not within a defined centre (other than those forming part of a specific development allocation within the Site allocations plan) will be permitted where
a) the proposal would not conflict with the overall sustainable development criteria set out in policy DM1 of this plan, and
b) the proposal is justified by a sequential site assessment (and where applicable, impact assessment) applying to the scale of development proposed.
Proposals for main town centre uses on employment areas will be assessed and determined in accordance with the criteria in policy DM16 (and, where applicable, DM17) prioritising these areas for employment and other economic development uses, and permitted exceptionally where:
a) the sequential and impact assessment requirements have been satisfied and it is demonstrated that it is not practical to accommodate the development on a more sequentially preferable or accessible site; and
b) the use is appropriate to the character and function of the employment area; or
c) the use is ancillary to or associated with an existing use already on the employment area.
The sequential and impact assessments must demonstrate clearly that:
•the proposal could not be accommodated on any reasonable alternative and available site or sites within or adjacent to a defined centre at the appropriate level of the hierarchy; and
•the proposal would not result in a significantly harmful impact on the vitality and viability of the city centre or other existing and proposed centres, would not compromise committed proposals for their expansion and would not significantly undermine prospects for their regeneration, improvement or enhancement.
The applicable floorspace threshold for such sequential and impact assessments will be as set out in appendix 4 of this plan.
Development accepted within or adjacent to centres in accordance with this policy must take opportunities, where reasonably practicable, to improve the quality of the public realm and the safety and attractiveness of the centre. Any improvements sought on a case-by-case basis will be commensurate with the scale and nature of the proposed development and may include environmental enhancement and new or enhanced public facilities.
Major schemes in the city centre will also be expected to demonstrate that provision will be made on-site to maximise accessibility for all, through measures such as shopmobility schemes and crèche facilities.
Supplementary text
18.1 The NPPF in section 2: Ensuring the vitality of town centres, states that planning policies should be positive, promote competitive town centre environments and set out planning policies for the management and growth of centres over the plan period. It requires local planning authorities to recognise town centres as the heart of their communities and to pursue policies to support their viability and vitality. This policy seeks to positively support town centre uses within the defined retail centres in Norwich to enhance their diversity and individuality, assure their future competitiveness and help deliver the appropriately managed and sustainably located development necessary to support them.
18.2 Norwich has been commended by government as an example of best practice in planning for town centres and has the highest proportion of its retailing in its centre of any major city in the country. This is the result of the long-term policy approach, from the late 1980s, of promoting a strong, vibrant and diverse city centre, attracting high quality retail development to the centre whilst supporting it with targeted public realm improvements. At the same time (in order to manage the growth of potentially harmful competitor facilities which would divert investment away from centres) it has been necessary to some extent to limit the spread of out-of-town retail development and to restrict retail diversification in less sustainable out of centre locations such as retail parks.
18.3 The NPPF requires local plans to define a network and hierarchy of centres that is resilient to anticipated future economic changes. Policy 19 of the JCS sets out the network and hierarchy of centres which will apply in greater Norwich, as follows:
1. Norwich city centre;
2. Large District Centres of Anglia Square/Magdalen Street and Riverside;
3. District Centres;
4. Local Centres.
18.4 The geographical city centre of Norwich – broadly the area within the historic city walls with the addition of Riverside to the east and the area around Queens Road and Brazen Gate to the south – is very extensive, reflecting its historical pattern of development. As a result it contains not just one traditional “centre” but several. As well as a thriving primary retail area and numerous secondary and specialist shopping streets and areas, Norwich benefits from two large district retail centres within the city centre. The centre at Anglia Square/Magdalen Street, is based around a 1970s shopping development which is the subject of large-scale regeneration proposals including the expansion of its retail offer. The centre at Riverside is a relatively recent retail park and leisure complex close to Norwich rail station. These locations act as neighbourhood centres serving the north and the east of Norwich respectively as well as complementing the overall retail offer of the city centre as a whole.
18.5 The city centre also has distinct areas dominated by leisure and hospitality uses (pubs, bars and restaurants) areas with a focus on culture and the arts and zones of major office employment. Thus the “city centre” as defined in the JCS is in fact made up of several interdependent, overlapping and complementary functional “centres”. The most appropriate location for proposed development within the city centre will generally depend on its intended function, its scale and catchment, the nature of the use proposed and how it relates to other similar uses and activities.
18.6 Norwich city centre is the preferred location at the top of the hierarchy to accommodate the full range of facilities serving the Norwich area, whilst district and local centres lower down the hierarchy are appropriate locations for smaller scale locally based facilities. The JCS sets out a clear and reasoned enhancement strategy in policy 11 to strengthen the city’s role as a cultural centre and international visitor destination, expand the role of evening economy, leisure and hospitality uses, plan for a major expansion of comparison retail floorspace whilst promoting retail diversity and significantly expanding the city centre’s role as an employment centre.
18.7 The NPPF recognises the primacy of town centres for a wide range of main town centre uses. In Norwich, as elsewhere, the multiplicity of retail facilities and supporting services which sustain the long-term competitiveness, viability and vitality of a successful city centre are interdependent. To maintain and build on the proven success of Norwich’s planning strategy the council considers it necessary not only that a majority of retail and leisure services should remain located sustainably and accessibly in the centre of Norwich, but also to have policies in place to keep people living and working there. Therefore it is essential to sustain and expand a strong city centre employment base, thus ensuring that there is continued support for existing and proposed retail and leisure facilities and to assist in physical and economic regeneration, and to encourage a complementary, diverse and beneficial range of hospitality, arts and cultural services and visitor accommodation to keep the city centre thriving, vibrant, competitive and attractive. A strategy which allowed the dispersal of these facilities to less sustainable out of centre locations would be likely to seriously undermine the objectives of the JCS.
18.8 To successfully implement the strategy and comply with the NPPF this policy requires main town centre uses to be located in defined centres unless there is a clear case (justified by sequential and impact tests as set out in paragraphs 24-26 of the NPPF) for locating them elsewhere. It also seeks to manage the scale and location of new development in accordance with a local hierarchy of retail centres. This is to ensure that large-scale development is located in larger centres and everyday shopping needs can be met locally in smaller centres. Consequently Appendix 4 includes indicative thresholds for maximum scales of development in different types of centre: (1,000 sq. m for district centres; 500 sq. m for local centres).
18.9 For the purposes of this policy, main town centre uses are as defined in the NPPF, comprising:
- retail development (including warehouse clubs and factory outlet centres);
- leisure, entertainment facilities and the more intensive sport and recreation uses (including cinemas, restaurants, drive-through restaurants, bars and pubs, night-clubs, casinos, health and fitness centres, indoor bowling centres and bingo halls);
- offices;
- arts, culture and tourism development (including theatres, museums, galleries and concert halls, hotels and conference facilities).
18.10 This policy applies to any applications which create additional floorspace, including applications for internal alternations where planning permission is required, applications to vary or remove conditions changing the range of goods sold and applications for change of use.
18.11 The NPPF also advises local authorities to “set policies for the consideration of proposals for main town centre uses which cannot be accommodated in or adjacent to town centres” (paragraph 23). The council acknowledges the importance of these uses in supporting centres and will continue to prioritise development which benefits those centres, accepting development exceptionally where it is demonstrated that proposals cannot reasonably be located in centres and would not harm their vitality and viability or prospects for their improvement. Any proposals that come forward for sites outside centres would therefore need to demonstrate that they would not harm existing centres.
18.12 As noted in paragraph 16.5 above, the Greater Norwich employment growth and sites and premises study 2008 (the Arup Study) identifies a need to ensure adequate provision of employment land and premises to support strategic employment growth in greater Norwich. Accordingly, JCS policy 5 requires employment areas identified in local plans to be protected for their designated purpose. Thus, when considering proposals for main town centre uses on the employment areas identified under policy DM16 of this plan, it will be necessary to ensure that the proposed development would not only be appropriate in terms of its sequential suitability and impact, but also would not compromise the function of the employment area concerned or undermine prospects for its regeneration or improvement.
18.13 There are also a number of smaller district and local centres in suburban areas providing everyday services. These are identified on the Policies map and a list of these centres is provided in Appendix 4 of this plan. Many have been expanded in recent years through the addition of small-scale supermarkets complementing local shops and services, thus reducing the need to travel to out-of-town superstores for top up shopping. A new district centre is planned for Hall Road, serving the south of Norwich.
18.14 All development within these defined centres should be of a scale appropriate to the form and function of the centre. The NPPF requires both applicants and local authorities to demonstrate flexibility on issues such as format and scale, but the principle applied here is that new development should not be clearly out of scale with the centre in which it is proposed. The comparatively good accessibility of Norwich city centre, the lack of competing retail centres and the relatively small extent of the urban area of Norwich results in there being few larger suburban district centres of the scale which might be expected in major conurbations.
18.15 Although district centres such as Bowthorpe and Eaton are anchored by medium-sized foodstores, others are more akin to large local centres. For Norwich therefore, the default 2500 sq. m floorspace threshold set by the impact test requirement of the NPPF may be excessive when assessing impact on the suburban district centres and local centres. The local threshold used in this plan is, therefore lower than the national threshold (1,000 sq. m gross internal area) and reflects a proportionate and reasonable approach tailored to local circumstances.
18.16 This policy also requires that development is only permitted where it accords with policies DM20 and DM21 of this plan. This is to ensure that the emphasis is on protecting a critical mass of retail activity within defined retail frontages within the primary and secondary retail areas and the large district centres and that the local and district centres continue to provide for the day to day needs of the local community.
18.17 Riverside is designated in policies 11 and 19 of the JCS as a large district centre and as an area for change. Riverside is a mixed use development, including leisure facilities, housing and retailing. The Norwich city centre key diagram within the JCS indicates that the main focus for change should be on commercial development as opposed to future retail development, to strengthen the mix of uses.
18.18 Despite Riverside Retail Park falling within the city centre boundary, it consists of retail warehouse style units and functions as a separate retail destination to the city centre, with very few linked trips. The retail park is currently a car based destination with a large surface car park. To promote the sustainable development objectives of this plan, further retail development should not be accepted at Riverside unless it significantly strengthens the linkages between the city centre and the retail park through stronger public transport connections and enhanced pedestrian and cycle links.
18.19 Proposals for town centre uses outside defined centres will only be permitted where they satisfy the sequential assessment and, where applicable, the impact assessment. The sequential approach ensures that all in-centre options are considered before less central sites. Where no in-centre sites are able to accommodate a proposed development, preference will be given to edge of centre locations which are well connected to the centre by means of easy pedestrian access.
18.20 JCS policies 11 and 12 encourage significant improvement of the external environment of the city centre and require local and district centres to be protected and enhanced. New development in centres will often present the opportunity for environmental improvements to enhance accessibility to, or the setting of, new development, to better integrate it with the remainder of the centre and provide public realm improvements. It is expected that larger scale off-site improvements to the public realm would be funded directly by the Community Infrastructure Levy, whereas smaller scale improvements necessary as a result of new development, for example footway improvements or pedestrian crossings to connect a new edge of centre facility with a defined centre, would be secured by a site specific planning obligation and/or highways agreement.
References
- NPPF: CLG, 2012: Section 2: Supporting the vitality of town centres.
- National Planning Practice Guidance, CLG 2014: Ensuring the vitality of town centres.
- JCS policy 9: Strategy for growth in the Norwich Policy Area.
- JCS policy 11: Norwich city centre.
- JCS policy 12: The remainder of the Norwich urban area, including the fringe parishes.
- JCS policy 19: The hierarchy of centres.
- Retail and leisure topic paper, April 2013.
- Greater Norwich Employment Growth and Sites and Premises Study, Arup/Oxford Economics 2008.
