Planning matters

With climate change, biodiversity net gain and housing need hogging the news, the high street has fallen down the planning agenda (again). However, the recently introduced Private Members Bill on proposed new High Street Improvement Plans looks to change this. The Bill has reached Second Reading stage in the House of Commons and, although not guaranteed to get through in this Parliament, is notable for the support it has from the Government.

Jacob Young MP, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, said during the Second Reading debate:

If successful, the Bill would require each Local Planning Authority (LPA) to designate at least one ‘High Street’ (and a maximum of three), with an ‘Improvement Plan’ to be prepared for each one. LPAs would need to consider the High Street Improvement Plan when exercising its planning functions. There would be periodic reviews of the condition of those high streets and – more proactively - five yearly reviews.

So, what’s to like about these plans? The increased focus on the high street (whatever this is ultimately defined as) for one thing. Whilst a range of recent funding opportunities have benefitted town centres – the Future High Streets Fund, Towns Fund and Levelling Up Fund to name a few – the investment they have generated needs to be sustained. And a clear plan of how this will be achieved, based on an up-to-date picture of how a centre is performing, is therefore essential.

LPAs would have to publish a draft version of the improvement plan within six months of the High Street’s designation, with the final version being published within twelve months. The plan would have to contain information on the condition of the High Street – including its importance to the local economy – and would need to be consulted on. Sounds great in theory – if somewhat ambitious - but could the idea go further?

We think so. Our understanding is that improvement plans would be material considerations only in planning decision-making. However, whilst slightly out of fashion, the ability to use Area Action Plans (AAPs) to provide a geographic focus and more tailored approach to planning policy still exists, so why not adapt them to town centres? Unlike the proposed High Street Improvement Plans, they have status as part of the adopted development plan. Although this means more onerous consultation requirements, such consultation is important and indeed provides a great opportunity to bring key stakeholders together. Stakeholders that can help to deliver the change needed in town centres – developers, asset managers, operators, other businesses, community groups and of course the general public.

Many authorities will of, course, have been through consultation on other documents – for example town centre masterplans, regeneration frameworks and Town Investment Plans. Or they may feel that their towns are doing just fine. For those that aren’t, or lack a clear framework to attract investment with planning policy status, this could be the way forward. It would bring together two key strands of regeneration and provide a consistency of approach, which is often lacking.

Whilst AAPs are not expressly mentioned in the new (yet to be introduced) development plan system, Supplementary Plans - with their new found development plan status - could perform the same role. A two and a half year period (i.e. 30 months) should be sufficient to produce such documents. This would allow time to gather the necessary evidence base and produce an initial plan for the town centre, which can be subject to the aforementioned stakeholder consultation. This should help to ensure ‘buy-in’ from these stakeholders and also provide confirmation that any proposals contained within the document are realistic. Publication stage consultation would also be necessary, ahead of Examination by an inspector to ensure its Soundness.

An AAP or Supplementary Plan in this form could provide an effective combination between the policy status of the development plan and commercially-grounded investment plan, as developed by many towns across the country to bid for Towns Fund money. Through direct experience in a number of locations, Lichfields has seen how these plans can provide an effective framework to deliver town centre transformation.

This experience has also confirmed, however, that both a robust evidence base and buy-in from the local population – through a thorough process of engagement - is essential. Our experience of working with the Redcar Town Deal Board, in particular, has shown what can be achieved with a committed and talented group of local stakeholders. Elsewhere in the north-east, the evidence base underpinning the proposals for the Stockton Waterfront site confirmed the need for a radical approach, which involved the demolition of an existing shopping centre and creation of a new urban park, linking the town centre with the river.

This does not preclude other planning tools being adopted by the LPA in such areas. These could include Local Development Orders and High Street Rental Auctions. Ultimately, a range of measures will be needed in order to bring fresh life to our town centres, and planners and property professionals can only achieve so much. But planning can and should be central to both establishing a vision and showing how that vision can be achieved. The development plan should contain that vision and be more than just a set of generic development management policies.

Lichfields toolkit for transforming town centres – Revitalise – aims to address the substantial challenges facing town centres whilst capitalising on the significant opportunities presented by recent Government initiatives. We are experienced in preparing regeneration strategies, business cases and funding bids, and can tailor our approach to the various stages of the transformation process. To find out how we can help you achieve your ambitions for your town centre, please feel free to contact us.