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Town Centre Retail Areas

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Town Centre Retail Areas

We consulted on a draft local plan from November 2022 to January 2023 that referred to Town Centre Areas and Primary Shopping Areas. At that stage we suggested possible policy wording but did not show proposed boundary lines on maps. We are now consulting on:

The Policy Wording (this has been revised from the previous consultation)
Town Centre Area Boundaries
Primary Shopping Area Boundaries

In considering these we would encourage you to look at the Draft East Devon Local Plan as this sets out the context for the policy and also to read our background technical paper.

The idea behind Town Centre Areas and Primary Shopping Areas is to protect important services and facilities at the heart of local communities. These policies will only apply to the main towns and villages with a large range of shops and services; other policies in the plan will protect shops and services elsewhere.

Image of Sidmouth town centre

Sidmouth town centre

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The Strategic Policy below sets out the settlements where town centre areas will be identified and the Town Centre Area and Primary Shopping Area policies will apply.

As well as shops, these areas will offer a wide range of facilities often including: leisure and entertainment; sport and recreation; offices; cultural spaces and tourism development which are essential for local communities.

In order to help town centres to thrive, we will not usually allow larger scale town centre uses (based on national planning policy) to be developed elsewhere if town centre locations are available. The policy also explains how these applications will be dealt with. We welcome your views as to whether the policy wording is appropriate:

Strategic Policy – Town centre hierarchy, sequential approach and impact assessment

The tier one and two town centres will be the preferred location for the development of main town centre uses as defined in the NPPF. Proposals must be appropriate in terms of their scale and design to the centre in which they are proposed, as well as the function of the centre and accord with other policies in the plan. The hierarchy of centres in East Devon is defined as follows:

Tier one - Town Centre: Exmouth
Tier two - Town Centre: Axminster, Cranbrook (this is subject to the Cranbrook Plan policies), Honiton, Ottery St Mary, Seaton, Sidmouth
Tier three - Local Centre: Broadclyst, Budleigh Salterton, Colyton, Lympstone, Woodbury
Tier four - Village Centre: Clyst St Mary, Uplyme, Beer, West Hill, Newton Poppleford, Feniton, Whimple, Kilmington, Otterton, East Budleigh, Stoke Canon, Tipton St John, Musbury, Sidbury, Chardstock, Broadhembury, Payhembury, Branscombe, Plymtree, Dunkeswell, Hawkchurch, Exton

Settlements shown in bold text have defined Town Centre Areas to which town centre development policy will apply

Applications for main town centre uses that are not proposed in the defined town centres and are not allocated for development through other policies of this Plan will only be permitted where the applicant can demonstrate that:

The proposal accords with (satisfies) the sequential test as set out in the NPPF, and flexibility has been demonstrated on issues such as the format and scale of development
For retail proposals greater than 500sq.m, and other town centre use proposals greater than 2,500sq.m, an impact assessment has been undertaken, which shows that the proposal will not have a significant adverse impact in line with requirements set out in the NPPF, either alone or cumulatively. Neighbourhood Plans may set different thresholds where local considerations, supported by evidence, indicate this is appropriate
Retail development will only be allowed on sites allocated for other uses if equally suitable alternative provision can be accommodated in the immediate locality

Edge-of-centre* and out-of-centre sites, which satisfy the sequential test, should be accessible by public transport, bicycle and foot and well-connected to the centre by these modes. Routes to the centre should be clearly signed. In order to ensure that land is retained for the benefit of the local economy, permitted development rights allowing changes to alternative uses will be withdrawn.

*Edge-of-centre locations are defined for retail purposes, as locations that are well connected and within 300 metres of the Primary Shopping Area. For all other main town centres uses, it is a location within 300 metres of a town centre boundary, however for office development this includes locations outside of the town centre but within 500 metres of a public transport interchange. Local circumstances should be taken into account when determining whether a site falls within the definition of edge-of-centre.

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Over recent years the national rules have been relaxed to allow a wider range of activities in town centres and to allow buildings to change between uses without the need for planning permission.

This, combined with changes to the way that people shop and greater online shopping and home deliveries, has led to fewer shops and leisure uses in town centres.

We are still very keen to ensure that town centres offer a wide range of good quality shopping, along with other uses and activities to draw in customers and visitors and ensure that everyone is able to meet their day-to-day shopping needs.

We have identified areas within town centres where most shops are located and where it is particularly important to maintain retail uses. We will resist changes to non-retail or leisure uses within these ‘Primary Shopping Areas’. It should be noted that in some cases, the Town Centre Area and the Primary Shopping Area share the same boundary.

Image of Honiton town centre

Honiton town centre

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We have drafted new policy wording for the town centres, as set out below. This explains what we would allow within these areas. We welcome your views as to whether the policy wording is appropriate:

Policy - Town Centre development

Town Centre Areas and Primary Shopping Areas are defined on the Proposals Map for the tier one and two towns (excluding Cranbrook which is subject to the policies of the Cranbrook Plan) and the settlements of Budleigh Salterton, Beer and Colyton.

To ensure that Town Centre Areas are vital and viable, proposals for development will be permitted where they improve the quality and/or broaden the range of retail and leisure facilities and enhance the role of the town centres as sustainable shopping and leisure destinations.

Proposals must not undermine the shopping character or visual amenity of the town centre, either alone or cumulatively, or adversely affect the amenity of the surrounding area through noise, smell, litter, traffic or disturbance arising from operating hours. Development proposals should make a positive contribution to the townscape of the centre in which it is proposed.

Opportunities to enhance the natural and historic environment will be sought wherever possible.

High quality, safe routes through the town centre will be sought wherever possible, both for pedestrians and cyclists (to include properly designed and located cycle parking) and to act as well designed, connected, diverse natural corridors for wildlife.

The Primary Shopping Areas will be the focus for retail and appropriate leisure uses. Development proposals for other town centre uses within the Primary Shopping Areas will only be permitted where the majority of the total number of ground floor units in the Primary Shopping Area are in retail or leisure uses. Unless it can be demonstrated that there is no longer a retail or leisure demand, other town centre uses (including residential) will not be permitted on the ground floor within the Primary Shopping Areas. Evidence of demand should be outlined in a marketing statement. Criteria on what will be considered an adequate marketing statement will be published and available online via the Council’s website.

Where change of use of a shop is permitted within the town centre and the shopfront, entrance or other features are considered to be of architectural or historic merit they should be retained and incorporated into the new development scheme.

Throughout the Town Centre Area appropriately designed development proposals for residential or community use of upper floors will be encouraged. Such use should be independently accessed, have provision for refuse storage and should not result in adverse impacts on any retail use of the building.

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The maps that follow show the areas of land that we think should be designated as Town Centre Areas and/or Primary Shopping Areas because they are really important in terms of providing shopping, leisure and associated uses at the heart of local communities. We think that development in these should enhance the range and quality of town centre, shopping and leisure facilities.

We include maps of the proposed Town Centre Areas and Primary Shopping Areas in the remainder of this report and we would welcome your views on whether you think we have shown appropriate boundaries. If you think that different boundaries would be more appropriate, please tell us where they should go and why.

Maps of proposed Town Centre Areas and Primary Shopping Areas

Alternatively, you can view this responsive map

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