7.1 Core Strategy Strategic Objective 8 is to maintain and enhance the viability, vitality and variety of shops and services within the Principal Town and Key Centres and to retain shops and services in other smaller settlements.
7.2 Core Strategy Policy CP7 sets out a retail hierarchy (reproduced at Figure 7.1) showing the size and relative importance of retail centres in the District.
Figure 7.1: Hierarchy of Retail Centres
| Town Centre | ||
Rickmansworth Town Centre – the principal shopping and service centre in Three Rivers containing a range of facilities and services, serving a District-wide catchment area. |
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District Centre |
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South Oxhey |
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centres comprising a varied but more limited range of shops and services and serving a smaller catchment area. |
Local Centres |
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Croxley Green (Watford Road) |
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smaller centres serving more local needs. |
Local Shops |
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A range of local shopping parades, groups or individual shops distributed throughout the District normally serving very local convenience needs. |
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7.3 Core Strategy policy CP7 also states that the character and diversity of shopping centres will be maintained by:
7.4 The Core Strategy identifies the need to provide 2,000sqm comparison (non-food) retail floorspace to 2021 and to broadly maintain existing levels of convenience (food) floorspace over the same period whilst meeting locally identified needs. It notes that these targets are to be reviewed regularly and amended in light of new evidence in relation to forecast expenditure and population.
7.5 An updated Retail and Leisure Study was completed in 2012. This found that in respect of comparison goods, there is no need to plan for significant additional provision within the District over the plan period and that for convenience goods, there is a need for only modest increases in provision across the board which should address local day to day needs and be located so as to reduce the need to travel for local residents. The assessment found that in terms of qualitative provision, there was a need to re-balance provision in South Oxhey to assist in regeneration and recapture trade currently leaking from the area.
7.6 Where there is an identified need for new town centre development, Town and District Centres will be the focus for this development. Retail development will specifically be directed to within the existing retail areas within these centres in the first instance.
7.7 Primary Frontages include the main retail core of a centre where class A1 premises such as shops, post offices, travel agencies, hairdressers and dry cleaners are normally protected.
7.8 Secondary Frontages include premises on the edge of centres where a wider mix of uses are permitted including financial and professional services, restaurants and cafés, pubs and hot food take-aways.
7.9 Local centres and local shops include a mix of premises, normally smaller in scale, that cater for local day-to-day needs of local people.
Identification of Retail designations
7.10 The adopted Local Plan Proposals Map identifies Primary and Secondary Frontages and Local Centres across the District. The Site Allocations document has reviewed these allocations taking into account changes that have taken place over the last ten years and responses received to consultations.
7.11 National and local planning policy will guide planning decisions on sites which are not specifically allocated for retail.
Retail Allocations
7.12 Details of retail allocations are set out below. Appendix 2 shows the retail site allocations alongside all other allocations by parish area.
7.13 In addition to the larger retail centres that are allocated, there are a number of smaller parades and individual shops throughout the District (listed below). These are not designated individually within the Site Allocations document. However, Core Strategy Policy CP7 protects these shops where they cater for local day to day needs.
Other Local Shops
57-63 High Street, Bedmond
61-65 Station Road, Kings Langley
15 Bridge Road and 5 Old Mill Road, Hunton Bridge
17-22 School Mead, Abbots Langley
5-7a and Sherwood News, College Road, Abbots Langley
1-14 Katherine Place, Abbots Langley
Sarratt Post Office, The Green, Sarratt
41-55 and 295-309 Baldwins Lane, Croxley Green
193-197 Watford Road, Croxley Green
4-12 Scots Hill, 1-3 The Green and 1-4 New Parade, Croxley Green
1-11 Tudor Parade, Mill End
68-82 Church Lane, Mill End
2-28 Main Avenue, Moor Park
10-24 Hallowes Crescent, South Oxhey
305-317 Prestwick Road, South Oxhey
1-18 The Parade, Delta Gain, Carpenders Park
18-48 Little Oxhey Lane, South Oxhey
46-52 Heronsgate Road, Heronsgate
2-4 Station Approach, Chorleywood
Sheratons, Wyatts House and Shell Filling Station, Rickmansworth Road,
Chorleywood.
POLICY SA4: RETAIL ALLOCATIONS |
Retail development will be acceptable in principle within the identified shopping hierarchy of centres:
Shop fronts and displays should be appropriate to the character and function of the area. Within identified Primary Frontages, the loss of class A1 retail uses will generally be resisted. Within the identified Secondary Frontages, the retention of retail will be encouraged. Uses complementary to the Primary Frontages will be encouraged. Identified Local Centres and Local Shops will be protected and enhanced where they are catering for local day-to-day needs. The retention of retail uses will be encouraged. Uses complementary to the Local Centre and Local Shops will be encouraged. Applications for new retail development outside the identified centres will only be considered if the applicant has established that there is a need for the development and that there is no suitable and viable site likely to become available within or on the edge of the existing centres that could satisfactorily accommodate the development. In all locations proposals for new retail development, involving gains and/or losses, will be considered taking into account its accessibility, its impact on existing centres and appropriateness of the type and scale of development. New shopping facilities will be encouraged where they are supported by up to date evidence of need, where they contribute to the vitality and viability and general economic well-being of the area and where they do not impact detrimentally on existing centres. |
Site Ref |
R(a) |
Site |
Rickmansworth Town Centre |
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Site Ref |
R(b) |
Site |
South Oxhey |
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Comments |
The frontages may be reviewed in future as part of any masterplan for the South Oxhey area (see chapter 9 for more information). |
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Site Ref |
R(c) |
Site |
Abbots Langley |
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Site Ref |
R(d) |
Site |
Chorleywood |
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Site Ref |
R(e) |
Site |
Watford Road, Croxley Green |
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Site Ref |
R(f) |
Site |
Moneyhill Parade, Rickmansworth |
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Site Ref |
R(g) |
Site |
New Road, Croxley Green |
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Site Ref |
R(h) |
Site |
Maple Cross |
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