Replacement Calderdale UDP : Adopted 25 August 2006 (as amended August 2009)

Replacement Calderdale UDP : Adopted 25 August 2006

• Foreword
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Calderdale in Context
• Strategic and Core Part One Policies
• 3 Guiding Principles and Key Themes
• 4 Employment, The Economy, Tourism and Regeneration
• 5 Housing
• 6 Retailing and Town Centres
  • Introduction
  • Objectives for Retail Policy
  • Location of Retail and Key Town Centre Uses
  • Major Development Opportunities
  • Sequential Approach to Retail, Key Town Centre and Leisure Developments
  • Criteria for Asssessing Retail Development
  • Local Shopping
  • Retailing in the Green Belt and Open Countryside
  • Shopping Frontages in Town Centres
  • Halifax Town Centre
  • Temporary Retailing / Car Boot Sales
  • Hot Food Takeaways
  • Shop Fronts
• 7 Open Space, Sport and Recreation Facilities
• 8 The Built and Historic Environment
• 9 Transport
• 10 Infrastructure, Education and Community Facilities
• 11 Natural Environment and the Countryside
• 12 Environmental Protection
• 13 Minerals
• 14 Waste Management
• 15 Monitoring and Review of the Plan
• Annex A Privacy, Daylighting and Amenity Space
• Annex B Trees On or Adjacent to Development Sites
• Appendix 1 National Planning Policy
• Appendix 2 National Minerals Policy
• Appendix 3 Supporting Published Documents
• Appendix 4 Glossary of Terms
• Appendix 5 Acronyms and Abbreviations
• Appendix 6 Policy Topic Index
• Appendix 7 Policy Number Comparison
• Appendix 8 Supplementary Maps

6 Retailing and Town Centres

Introduction

6.1 Retailing is an essential sector of the local economy. It has a key role to play in everyone’s life; it is a major component in the structure of town centres and also an important employer within the District. The Replacement UDP incorporates land use policies to foster a successful, sustainable and competitive retailing sector, which will enable Calderdale’s residents to benefit from the effects of competition, as well as securing the future vitality and viability of existing town and shopping centres. Policies will seek to ensure that any new retailing development that is provided:-

• meets the needs of the community;
• does not adversely effect the vitality and viability of any existing town centre;
• is in locations which are accessible by all modes of transport, where public transport, cycling or walking access is good;
• reduces the overall need to travel, by providing retail facilities which are generally within town centres and by encouraging new facilities within accessible locations, determined by the ‘sequential approach’, which will reduce the need to travel to other towns and centres for goods and services; and
• does not have adverse traffic, environmental, amenity, safety, security or economic effects.

6.2 The Government's latest policy statement on retailing was published in 2005. PPS6 'Planning for Town Centres' consolidated the planning policy advice from the former PPG6 'Town Centres and Retail Developments' (1997) and a number of Ministerial Statements. These statements expressly considered the issue of 'need' for retail development which has been rolled forward into PPS6. In respect of the 'need' for retail development PPS6 has made it clear that there are two types of need which may be identified. Firstly 'Quantitative Need' and secondly 'Qualitative Need'.

• Quantitative need derives from a realistic assessment of existing and forecast population levels; forecast expenditure for specific classes of goods to be sold within the broad categories of comparison and convenience goods; together with forecast improvements in productivity in the use of floorspace.
• Qualitative need may be considered to be a key consideration in ensuring consumer choice by providing an appropriate distribution of locations for retailing and promoting the vitality and viability of town centres and issues relating to improving the accessibility of the whole community. In this respect the range of sites for retail facilities leisure and local services which allow for genuine choice to meet the needs of the whole community particularly in deprived areas.

6.3 Showing that 'need' exists is therefore an essential part of the justification for major retail developments, outside town centres. As a result development that seeks to serve a wide catchment area should be located within a centre that seeks to serve a similar catchment area. The Replacement UDP therefore takes into account this change in national policy.

6.4 At the regional level, Regional Spatial Strategy for Yorkshire and the Humber (RSS) (2004) includes policies to ensure that town centres are the main focus of shopping, cultural, social, leisure and business services. The Replacement UDP has taken this approach into account.

6.5 In order to assess retail trends and to give guidance as to the future potential for retail development, the West Yorkshire Planning Forum, (comprising each of the Districts within the County), commissioned the West Yorkshire Retail Capacity Study (WYRCS) (1999) from consultants Colliers Erdman Lewis. This Study provides the background to retail planning within each District. The findings of the WYRCS with respect to the future capacity for new retail development in Calderdale suggest that there is little scope for additional retail provision through the next decade up to 2011. These findings are, however, based upon a number of broad assumptions including there being no changes in the identified patterns of spending, the take-up of existing unimplemented shopping planning permissions and the prospect of a declining population.

6.6 Whilst accepting that the findings of the WYRCS are valid given the assumptions, the Council does not believe that the existing patterns of retail spending should be regarded as supporting sustainability in the long term. These patterns display significant outflow of spending on 'high street' comparison goods and smaller but still large spending flows on convenience goods, to centres and shops outside Calderdale. These flows mean much unnecessary longer distance travel to obtain goods and purchases. As a result the Council is supportive of additional retailing to provide Calderdale’s residents with better retail facilities which will be attractive to them, and help to reduce the need for travel to Huddersfield, Bradford, Leeds, the White Rose, Meadowhall and Trafford Centres for many comparison goods items. It is important however to ensure that any additional major retailing development does not have adverse effects upon the vitality or viability of any existing centre and is wherever possible located within or close to an existing centre in order to support sustainable development.

6.7 One major factor on future changes in the retail sector relates to the development of the internet as a market place. In future, more people will be able to go shopping on their computers and as a result there may be a reduced requirement for actual physical floorspace dedicated to shopping. This development makes the planning for future retail development particularly difficult. Even if people buy items on the internet it is likely that showrooms will be required to enable hands-on comparison of goods to take place, and as part of the leisure/entertainment activity that is the shopping experience. Despite the unknown consequences of e-retailing it is likely that additional floorspace will be required during the Plan period for both comparison and convenience goods retailing, and there does not appear to be any reason to suggest at this time that shopping centres will decline as a result of e-retailing.

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