Shopping Centres

7.4 The defined shopping centres in the borough are:

7.5 The shopping centres in the borough are diverse, serving different customers and purposes. Bury St Edmunds acts as a focus for shopping, leisure, business and cultural activities. It acts as a sub-regional centre serving both the town itself and surrounding smaller settlements, as well as the needs of residents outside the borough. Haverhill is an important centre serving a large area including the town itself and a considerable number of surrounding smaller settlements. The proximity of and ease of access to, larger centres (particularly Cambridge) limits Haverhill’s catchment in the wider area. By contrast, Clare is a large village but has a viable centre which plays an important role in serving local communities for day-to-day needs as well as being an important visitor destination. The centre also has a weekly market. Ixworth and Stanton both have a centre which also has a number of retail uses serving the village and surrounding settlements. Local centres in urban areas play an important role in providing for day-to-day requirements which supplement those provided in larger town centres. They are particularly important in providing accessible local services for those who are unable to get to larger centres.

7.6 The shopping centres serve as more than just a destination for shopping trips. They contain a rich diversity of uses which together give the centre its own local distinctiveness. The Borough Council wishes to maintain and improve the vitality of the town and local centres in the borough and will encourage a mix of uses which satisfy this aim. The use of upper floors can provide accommodation for people who want to live in a town centre but not necessarily at ground floor level. Furthermore, the occupation of upper floors can significantly improve the vitality of a town centre through increasing diversity Converting upper floors above shops to self-contained units for business or residential uses can be problematic, especially in listed buildings, but there are a number of successful examples where vacant spaceabove shops has been brought back into residential use through partnership working with housing associations.

7.7 It is recognised that town centres cannot accommodate all shopping needs, especially those which serve local neighbourhoods or which require large floorspace. Retail warehouses have added significantly to the amount of shopping floorspace in both Bury St Edmunds and, to a lesser extent, Haverhill. The presence of large supermarkets has also changed the shopping habits of many people. However, in accordance with the objective of maintaining the vitality and viability of town centres, restrictions will be placed on the further development of convenience goods stores and retail warehouses in the borough. Where there is a demonstrable need for the use, developers will need to ensure that there will be a minimal impact, both economically and environmentally, on existing centres. There will also need to be a clear indication that a sequential approach has been taken to identifying the site, starting from the primary shopping area of the town centre. In order to ensure that the character of any approved developments does not subsequently alter unacceptably the type of goods sold in these stores they will be controlled by planning conditions.

7.8 Outside of Bury St Edmunds and Haverhill’s defined local shopping centres, the provision of local shops can provide a benefit to the immediate community. However, care needs to be taken on the location and operational requirements of these shops in order to limit the potential impact on the locality.

POLICY TCR1: SHOPPING CENTRES

In Shopping Centres, as defined on the Proposals Map, the local planning authority will support proposals which would result in improved provision of one or more of the following uses:

• i) Shopping (Use Class A1);
  ii) Financial and professional services (A2);
  iii) Food and drink (A3, A4, A5);
  iv) Leisure and recreation;
  v) Business (B1) commercial uses;
• vi) Visitor accommodation; and
  vii) Residential uses.

Provided that, in addition to policies elsewhere in this plan:

• a) proposals are of a scale and function that is appropriate to the centre;
• b) appropriate provision is made for the use of upper floors

Developers will be expected to provide, wherever possible, mixed use schemes.

Proposals for uses i-v (as identified above) outside the defined shopping centres will only be permitted where they comply with the following criteria:

• 1. The need for the proposal is demonstrated; and
  2. That a sequential approach has been adopted in selecting the site demonstrating that all potential suitable, viable and available sites have been evaluated; and
  3. Where appropriate, the impact of the proposal on the vitality and viability of existing town and local centres, including the cumulative impact of recently completed developments and unimplemented planning permissions, taking into account the results of a shopping impact study and/or an environmental assessment; and
  4. That sites are accessible by a choice of means of transport in accordance with Policy T2.
  
  When applying the sequential approach site selection must accord with the following order of preference:

• a) The town centre;
• b) Edge of centre sites;
• c) Out of centre sites.
• 
  The Primary Shopping Area is defined on the Proposals Map where a predominance of shopping uses will be maintained.
  
  Proposals for small scale retail developments outside of defined shopping centres (not exceeding 150 sq. metres in net floor area), including the change of use of buildings, will be approved within the Housing Settlement Boundaries of Bury St Edmunds and Haverhill provided they can be demonstrated to meet a local need.