Planning matters blog | Lichfields

Planning matters

Our award winning blog gives a fresh perspective on the latest trends in planning and development.

The High Street Improvement Plans Bill - town centres back on the agenda?
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:
“I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent South (Jack Brereton) on his success in the ballot and his sponsorship of this important and worthwhile private Member’s Bill. His unwavering commitment and efforts to champion our high streets, including those he mentioned in his remarks, has led to this matter being raised in the House. I thank other hon. Members for backing the Bill. I confirm that the Bill has the Government’s full support”.
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.

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The Economic Benefits of Town and City Centre Living
The final blog in our Town and City Centre Living series explores the economic benefits that a vibrant town and city centre residential offer can help to unlock. 

In general terms, the economic benefits of new housing delivery are widely recognised. They have been considered in detail – by Lichfields – in economic footprint reports produced on behalf of the Home Builders Federation and Homes for Scotland and include: 
  • Creating new jobs and economic output;
  • Attracting additional expenditure to an area; and
  • Increasing local authority revenues (via Council Tax and New Homes Bonus payments).
In town and city centres, the opportunity to bring together residential development with high concentrations of employment and leisure uses can help to create a uniquely concentrated cluster of economic activity.  This can support a range of additional benefits such as:

  • Enhancing the vitality and vibrancy of centres;
  • Supporting higher levels of expenditure retention; and
  • Attracting a pool of talent that can help to drive economic growth.
Lichfields regularly supports clients to deliver town centre transformation, applying our Revitalise toolkit In many instances, the package of interventions developed to reinvigorate a centre will include the reintroduction of a high-quality residential offer, for the reasons outlined above.

Vitality and Vibrancy

In response to the rise of online shopping, town and city centres are transitioning away from a retail-led offer, with their role increasingly defined by the experiences they can provide. This was highlighted in a 2021 survey of economic development professionals conducted by Lichfields and the Institute of Economic Development, which identified the two key drivers of town/city centre footfall as:
  • Leisure and cultural attractions (deemed as important/very important by 80% of respondents); and
  • Food and beverage offer (considered as important/very important by almost 75% of respondents).
The additional population attracted by residential development helps to animate town and city centres outside of core office and retail trading hours. This plays an important role in supporting the shift to a 24-hour economy, providing additional demand for bars, restaurants and leisure attractions. This can also help to establish a virtuous circle, with a stronger, more distinctive leisure and cultural offer creating more reasons for people to travel into the centre from elsewhere. 
  

Expenditure Retention

A key benefit of town centre and city centre living is the convenience that it offers. Residents are often just a short walk from a variety of shops, restaurants, bars and leisure activities. This generally encourages higher rates of expenditure retention, as residents’ needs are met within their local authority of residence.  This contrasts with residents of more suburban locations – who are often more inclined to travel out of their immediate area to meet their retail and leisure needs – sometimes to facilities in surrounding boroughs.
This is illustrated in Figure 1, which is underpinned by data from a sample of local authority retail studies. It highlights that the proportion of expenditure retained within Nottingham is much higher for those living in the city centre (91.7%) than the wider authority average (37.9%)[1]. A similar picture can also be observed with respect to Leeds[2] and Durham[3].

Figure 1: Spend Retention Rates in City Centres vs Wider Local Authority Averages

Source: Lichfields analysis

Higher retention rates can benefit a host of town centre stakeholders. Businesses benefit from increased revenues as well as (typically) higher footfall and greater vibrancy. Such conditions are also likely to result in a lower unit vacancy rate within the town centre, thereby unlocking additional business rates income for the local authority.

Attracting Talent

Previous research (including work by the Centre for Cities) indicates that city centre housing markets are dominated by younger residents, with many well-educated and in professional occupations[4]. Whilst residents are generally attracted to city centres by the concentration of employment opportunities, the availability of good quality housing and a vibrant nighttime economy can position centres favourably to attract and retain talent. With the Levelling Up White Paper seeking to boost UK productivity, and labour markets continuing to tighten, the availability of a skilled workforce will be critical to achieving economic ambitions at the national and local level.

Figure 2: Age Profile of Town Centres vs Wider Local Authority Areas

Source: ONS/Lichfields analysis

NB: analysis based on a sample of towns in the north of England

Summary

A vibrant town centre living offer can play an important role in strengthening successful town centres – and in rejuvenating less successful ones. Introducing more high-quality housing can help to increase footfall and vibrancy and increase levels of expenditure retention. Both factors can encourage the development of a leisure and cultural offering with greater breadth and depth – helping to draw people into a centre more regularly and from a wider catchment.

[1] Greater Nottingham Retail Study (2015)

[2] Leeds City Centre, Town and Local Centres Study (2011)

[3] County Durham Retail and Town Centre Study (CBRE) (2018)

[4] Figure 2 shows the age profile of selected town centres in the north of England, benchmarked against their wider local authority areas

 

Header image: 2 Berol Yard (Credit: Berkeley Square Developments)
 

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