West Berkshire District Council Written Statement

5.1.1 West Berkshire has maintained a variety and quality of shopping facilities in a range of locations, principally in town centres. Provision for future shopping needs is required to help meet the needs and aspirations of the population whilst improving the environment of existing centres and maintaining their viability and vitality. Shopping is also a major source of local employment so contributing to the vitality of the local economy.

5.1.2 Government policy guidance on shopping issues is primarily contained in PPG6: Town Centres and Retail Developments, though PPG13 (Transport) is also of special relevance. PPG6, published in June 1996, emphasised:

Commercial competition between retailers however remains outside the range of matters to be considered when making a planning decision.

5.1.3 Regional Planning Guidance for the South-east (RPG9) supports the thrust of PPG6, in supporting town centres and retailing. The sequential test in PPG6 states that wherever possible new retail schemes should be located in either town or district centres. If such sites are limited, then edge of town centre sites can be considered, which have good access to public transport. If this is still not possible, then alternative sites within the urban area may be acceptable, provided a number of criteria can be fulfilled.

S1 identifies the hierarchy of shopping centres; Newbury is a major town centre, whilst Hungerford, Thatcham and Pangbourne are small town/district centres.

S2 encourages proposals which will assist the vitality and viability of retail centres.

5.2.2 The local centres in West Berkshire are Lambourn, Mortimer, Theale, and Tilehurst. In addition there are a number of villages with shops which are locally very important and in the towns of Newbury, Thatcham and Tilehurst there are a number of shopping 'parades'. There are also two concentrations of retail warehouses in West Berkshire; one at Pincents Lane, Theale, and the other on the London Road, Newbury. There are two further retail parks in Newbury town, at Pinchington Lane and Greenham Road.

5.2.3 Given the guidance on retailing from the Government and the policies in the Structure Plan, it is considered that detailed policies in the Local Plan are only needed on the following issues;

5.3.1 The Council commissioned a retail study of Newbury, Thatcham and Hungerford in the summer of 1995, the aim of which was to assess the capacity of the three catchment areas to support new shopping floorspace up to the year 2006. The principal conclusions of the report were as follows:

5.4.1 On shopping issues the Council will continue to work with the retail industry and other organisations to;

(i) maintain and where possible enhance the vitality and viability of shopping provision in West Berkshire by promoting new shopping development, assisting the refurbishment of centres and applying policies that protect the character of centres.

(ii) improve accessibility to shopping centres for all members of the community; one recent example is the introduction of the shopmobility scheme in Newbury town centre.

(iii) improve security for both retailers and shoppers; a good example is the introduction of a CCTV scheme in Newbury town centre.

(iv) support the existing open markets at Newbury, Thatcham, Hungerford and Lambourn.

5.5.1 The advice in PPG 6 includes a statement (in Annex B) that Plans may distinguish between primary and secondary frontages in town centres and that changes of use from retail to non retail in primary frontages may be restricted, so as to maintain the attractiveness of that town centre. A primary frontage is where normal (class A1) shop uses predominate, whereas a secondary frontage is where uses such as banks, building societies and cafes / restaurants become more prevalent. The Council considers that such a policy should be applied not only to the town centres of Newbury, Thatcham, Pangbourne and Hungerford, but also to the village centre of Theale .

5.5.2 The primary frontages referred to in the policy are identified on the Proposals map (Insets 4, 5, 31, 33 and 34). For the purposes of PPG 6, all other shopping frontages within the defined commercial core areas, shown on the town centre inset maps, are considered to be secondary frontages.

POLICY SHOP.1 The Council will refuse planning applications for the change of use from class A1 retail uses, to other purposes, within the primary shopping frontages of Newbury, Hungerford, Thatcham, Theale and Pangbourne, where it would result in a concentration of non-retail uses, which would be harmful to the vitality of the shopping centre.

5.6 MIXED USES IN TOWN CENTRES

5.6.1 In accordance with Government policy on town centres (PPG 1 and PPG 6) which promotes mixed uses in town centres to encourage their vitality and viability, the following policy is relevant;

5.6.2 In regarding mixed uses, the Council will encourage the following uses, in the commercial cores of West Berkshire's five town centres noted in Policy ECON.5 i.e. Pangbourne, Thatcham, Theale, Hungerford and Newbury.

Newbury: as above, but also leisure facilities (e.g. cinema), hotels, small conference facilities, and museums.

5.6.3 In appropriate instances, planning conditions and obligations will be employed in the proposals concerned, in order to facilitate the provision of such uses. For clarity, where primary shopping frontages are involved, only retail (A1) uses will normally be allowed on the ground floor of the relevant premises.

5.7.1 In September 1988, the Council approved a policy statement and development brief for Parkway and the Wharf areas of Newbury town centre. Planning application 138011 was considered in December 1990. The applicants were invited to enter into legal agreements. These agreements have not been completed. However, it remains the Council's intention to progress a retail scheme in Parkway, in order to enhance the attractiveness of the town centre, provide new housing and create additional shopping facilities to meet increasing demand as recognised in the Council's Retail Study.

POLICY SHOP.2 The Council will promote additional Town Centre shopping development, together with leisure and community facilities, housing development and car parking on land adjoining Park Way and The Wharf, Newbury as shown on inset map 4. The development shall be in accordance with the following criteria in that:

(a) it consolidates and improves the retail provision of the town centre with an increased variety of shop units and uses; and

(b) it is of a scale, form, design and character compatible with the character and amenities of the town centre, including the Kennet and Avon Canal and will bring about significant improvements and townscape enhancement; and

(c) it protects and enhances pedestrian rights of way and improves the quality of the environment for pedestrians, particularly for the elderly, disabled or those with children and cyclists; and

(d) it rationalises access and circulation for vehicles, servicing arrangements and limiting on-street parking; and

(e) it provides for off-street car parking in accordance with policy TRANS.1; and

(f) it provides for the implementation of a phased scheme, minimising the impact of redevelopment on the Town Centre; and

(g) it provides for the retention, enhancement and/or replacement of community facilities affected by the proposed development; and

(h) it provides for an archaeological assessment of the site.

5.8.1 In view of the conclusions of the Retail Study referred to earlier, the Council will seek to retain provision for existing retail warehousing and to permit the redevelopment of existing employment premises to retail warehousing, where this is in accord with policy ECON.2 in this Plan and policies S3, S4 and BU3 in the Structure Plan. There are two areas in West Berkshire where retail warehousing predominates, namely along the London Road between Newbury and Thatcham, and in the Pincents Lane Commercial Area to the north east of Theale. In both these defined areas, there are also a limited number of leisure uses, such as a public house and nightclub.

POLICY SHOP.3 Within the retail and leisure areas shown on inset maps (1 & 3) the Council will normally refuse planning applications for the redevelopment/change of use of buildings to non-leisure/retail uses. Further, the Council will permit non-food, bulky goods retail warehousing only where:

(a) there is no detrimental impact upon the amenity of existing uses of adjacent land, by reason of noise, smell, and visual impact;

(b) the application site can be easily accessed from the main road network, with adequate parking facilities and no detriment to local highway safety;

(c) they, either by themselves, or cumulatively with such proposals have no significant detrimental impact on the vitality and viability of Newbury town centre or other nearby shopping centres;

(d) the scheme concerned satisfies the sequential test relating to retail proposals, as noted in para 1.11 of PPG6 and Policy S4 of the Structure Plan.

5.9.1 The provision of a market on open land is permitted for up to 14 days in a calendar year, without the need for planning consent. There has been considerable demand for such markets over and above the time limit, leading to numerous planning applications and enforcement problems.

POLICY SHOP.4 The Council will permit proposals for markets and car boot sales, where the following criteria are met;

(a) there is no detrimental impact upon the amenity of occupiers of nearby property by reason of noise, smell, litter and visual impact;

(b) the application site can be easily accessed from the main road network, with adequate parking facilities, with no detriment to local highway safety;

(c) there is no adverse effect on the ecology of the site and surrounding area.

5.9.2 Whilst retail competition is not a land-use planning matter, new markets and car boot sales will be assessed, both individually and together with other such markets, in relation to potential impact upon existing (and proposed) established town markets and other nearby shopping centres

5.10.1 The Council is proposing a number of housing sites across West Berkshire. As a consequence, demand in these areas for local shops will increase, together with the importance of retaining existing local shops.

5.10.2 It should be noted that West Berkshire has a considerable scatter of settlements in the rural area, some quite large, such as Mortimer and Burghfield to the east, and Kintbury and Lambourn to the west. The importance of the shops in these villages is significant to the local community, albeit the numbers may be small and the range limited. The vitality of the rural economy is, in part, dependent upon village shops and therefore every encouragement should be given to their retention. It is not possible, however, for the Council to prevent the closure of these shops. Farm shops are also valuable to the local economy and the local consumer, but their potential impact on the vitality of nearby village shops must be taken into consideration in any development proposed.

SHOP.5 The Council will encourage proposals for the provision and retention of local shops within both new and existing residential areas and in village settlements. It will also encourage the provision and retention of farm shops, provided that they do not adversely affect the vitality of nearby village shops.