Ministerial guidelines
Retail Planning: Guidelines for Planning Authorities
The retail hierarchy, the sequential approach that puts town centres first, and caps on the size of shops and retail warehouses.
Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government · April 2012 · 73 pages
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- 15 2 2.5.2 Sequential Development Approach The second national policy objective is to promote greater vitality in city and town centres by promoting a sequential approach to retail development. Sequential development means that: The overall preferred location for new retail development is within city and town1. centres. Retail development may also be appropriate within District Centres identified in the settlement hierarchy at a scale appropriate to the needs of the area. See Section 3.4 - District Centres; and Subject to the requirements below, only where the applicant can demonstrate,2. and the planning authority is satisfied, that there are no sites or potential sites within a city, town centre or designated district centre should an edge-of-centre site be considered. In addition, only in exceptional circumstances where it can be demonstrated that there are no sites or potential sites available either within the centre or on the edge of these centres should an out-of-centre site be considered. In this regard, these guidelines require development plans and their supporting analyses to adopt a vigorous approach to: Assessing the vitality and viability of city and town centres;- Investigating development opportunities aimed at city and town centres;- Activating potential development and redevelopment opportunities in city andtown centres; (See Annex 2) and assisting the private sector in the resolution of impediments to city and towncentre redevelopment opportunities that may arise through infrastructural, flood risk, land ownership and built heritage considerations. Further advice and guidance on the application of the sequential approach in a development management context is outlined in Chapters 3 and 4. 2.5.3 Competitiveness in the Retail Sector The third national policy objective is to ensure that the planning system continues to play its part in ensuring an effective range of choice for the consumer, thereby promoting a competitive market place. Strong competition is essential to reduce retail costs and ensure that savings are passed on to retail customers through lower prices. Competition also promotes innovation and productivity. The planning system should not be used to inhibit competition, preserve existing commercial interests or prevent innovation. In interpreting and implementing these Guidelines, planning authorities and An Bord Pleanála should avoid taking actions which would adversely affect competition in the retail market. In particular, when the issue of trade diversion is being considered in the assessment of a proposed retail development, planning authorities and An Bord Pleanála should assess the likelihood of any adverse impacts on the vitality and viability of the city or town centre as a whole, and not on existing traders. However, competition is only one factor to be considered in assessing an application for development, and a decision should not be made on grounds of competition alone.
- 16 2.5.4 Encouraging Sustainable Travel The fourth national policy objective relates to securing a general shift towards sustainable travel modes through careful location and design of new retail development relative to the catchment area being served. While the private car tends to be attractive for activities such as more substantial convenience goods shopping or bringing home bulky goods, careful location of retail developments and attention to detail in terms of how they are connected by footpaths and cycle facilities to surrounding areas can substantially boost trips on foot or bicycle for smaller purchases and make a substantial difference in encouraging smarter travel in line with the Smarter Travel strategy. Moreover, by encouraging appropriate retail development in locations with good public transport facilities such as the centres of cities and larger towns, increased usage of public transport can be encouraged. 2.5.5 Retail Development and Urban Design The fifth national policy objective is to ensure that retail development plays its part in realising quality outcomes in relation to urban design. Quality design aims to create attractive, inclusive, durable, adaptable places for people to work in, to live in, to shop in, or pass through. Planning authorities should promote quality design in retailing in their development plan and/or retail strategies and then implement this through the development management process. This is of particular importance for retail development because of the dominant visual and use role it plays in a city, town or village streetscape. More detailed advice in relation to design issues is provided in Chapter 5 and the Retail Design Manual. 2
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- 20 Key Messages Regional Planning Guidelines should set a strategic context for development plans• in addressing retailing. The Development Plan must set out clear evidence-based policies and objectives• in relation to retailing in a discrete section of the plan titled Retail Development. Joint or multi-authority retail strategies required by these guidelines will- broadly identify the quantity and spatial distribution of future retail floorspace requirements for certain NSS Gateways and their catchments to guide the preparation of retail policies and objectives in the relevant development plans. Joint or multi-authority retail strategies may also be prepared by other- planning authorities for other towns and their environs straddling administrative boundaries which will also guide the preparation of policies and objectives in the relevant development plans. Outside of areas above, development plans should include a discrete section• setting out general retail development objectives for other areas including rural areas. The need for any additional retail warehousing should be carefully assessed in• view of the significant levels of recent provision and potential impacts on vitality and viability of city and town centres. 3.1 Introduction This chapter outlines specific retail planning requirements to be met by regional authorities and planning authorities in carrying out their regional planning and development functions respectively. 3.2 Regional Planning Guidelines and Retailing The regional planning guidelines which support the implementation of the NSS should provide the strategic retail context for planning authorities. Through their policies and objectives they should give guidance to the planning authorities on the role and function of the retail sector within the different levels of the regional settlement hierarchy and also on other strategic matters including the importance of good design, connectivity, use of public transport etc. While it is not considered necessary that a retail strategy be prepared at the regional level, the regional authorities may be useful partners in supporting the delivery of the joint or multi-authority retail strategies to be prepared by relevant planning authorities in accordance with the requirements and advice of these guidelines. 3.3 Development Plans and Retailing The function of the development plan is to establish an overall strategy for the proper planning and sustainable development of its area. 3 Retailing and Spatial Planning
- 21 3 Specifically in relation to retailing, the development plan must be: Evidence-based through supporting analysis and data to guide decision making;- Consistent with the approach of these guidelines; and- Clear and concise with regard to specific objectives and requirements.- At a minimum, City and County Development Plans must therefore: 1. State the elements of their settlement hierarchy in line with the relevant regional planning guidelines and their core strategy; 2. Outline the level and form of retailing activity appropriate to the various components of the settlement hierarchy in that core strategy; see district centres below; 3. Define, by way of a map, the boundaries of the core shopping areas of city and town centres and also location of any district centres (See Section 3.4); 4. Include a broad assessment (square metres) of the requirement for additional retail floorspace only for those plans in the areas covered by a joint or multi-authority retail strategy (See Section 3.7 for areas not covered by such strategies); 5. Set out strategic guidance on the location and scale of retail development to support the settlement hierarchy, including where appropriate identifying opportunity sites which are suitable and available and which match the future retailing needs of the area; 6. Identify sites which can accommodate the needs of modern retail formats in a way that maintains the essential character of the shopping area; 7. Include objectives to support action initiatives in city and town centres; such as Mobility management measures- that both improve accessibility of retail areas while aiming to develop a pedestrian and cyclist friendly urban environment and vibrant street life; and Public realm interventions- aimed at improving the retailing experience through high quality civic design, provision of attractive street furnishing, lighting and effective street cleaning/business improvement district type initiatives; and 8. Identify relevant development management criteria for the assessment of retail developments in accordance with these guidelines. In preparing policies and objectives relating to the location and scale of future development, planning authorities are reminded that they must disregard the potential benefits of commercial rates which may accrue as a consequence of planned retail development. The effect on local authority financial resources of retail development is not a material land use planning consideration. 3.4 Development Plans and District Centres As referred to in Chapter 2, the core strategy in the development plan for cities and large towns must set out a settlement hierarchy for that city or town and its future development in line with relevant regional planning guidelines and in the cases of town development plans, the county core strategy. In such cases, the location of retail functions in line with the spatial plan/core strategy for that city or town including where appropriate district centres must be stated and mapped. The role of a district centre is to provide a range of retail and non-retail service functions (e.g. banks, post office, local offices, restaurants, public houses, community and cultural facilities for the community at a level consistent with the function of
- 22 that centre in the core strategy. They should not serve as a retail destination in their own right sufficient to adversely impact on the city/town centre to which they are subservient. (See Annex 1 - Types of Centres) They can be purpose built serving new or expanding suburbs or traditional serving long established communities. The need for additional retail development in particular district centres to serve future population growth or for any significant extension to an existing district centre should be identified in the development plan and be based on a significant growth in population in the intended location or on a demonstrable level of under-provision of retailing or other services to meet the regular convenience and lower order comparison shopping needs of new communities as provided for and quantified by the relevant core strategy. 3.5 Joint or Multi-Authority Retail Strategies While planning authorities will prepare development plans for their functional areas, the nature of the retail sector is such that, regardless of whether retailing is for convenience and comparison goods, the catchments for such activity frequently transcend local authority boundaries (and in some cases the boundary with Northern Ireland), especially those in the vicinity of the larger urban areas. Accordingly, certain development plans and local area plans must be informed by joint or multi-authority retail strategies which should assess retail activity and demand needs that transcend planning authority boundaries (See Annex 3 for further guidance on the preparation of joint or multi-authority retail strategies). To give these strategies statutory backing the policies and objectives of the strategy should be adopted into the development plan and local area plan as appropriate or adopted as a variation to a development plan (See also Annex 3). The joint or multi-authority retail strategies for urban areas identified in the guidelines must be prepared or reviewed as appropriate to inform the relevant development plan review process. Table 1 below identifies locations where joint or multi-authority retail strategies must be prepared. Beyond these locations, it is a matter for the relevant planning authorities to consider, in addition to inclusion of policies and objectives in their development plans, the preparation of such joint retail strategies for towns and their environs particularly where they straddle planning authority areas and especially other NSS Gateways, Hub towns etc. Table 1 - Authorities who must prepare joint or multi-authority retail strategies Strategy Area Participating Planning Authorities Dublin Dublin City Council and Counties Fingal, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown and South Dublin, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow County Councils Cork Cork City and County Councils Waterford Waterford City/County Council, Wexford, Kilkenny, Tipperary County Councils Galway Galway City and County Councils Limerick/ Shannon Limerick City and County Council, Clare and Tipperary County Councils Midlands Westmeath, Offaly and Roscommon County Councils 33
- 23 3 In order to plan for future development, the central objectives of joint or multiauthority retail strategies are to identify: the broad (m2) requirement for additional retail floorspace development overa. the plan period in the overall area to support the settlement hierarchy; the retail floorspace requirements both quantity and type by constituentb. planning authorities; and broad guidance as to location and function of retail activity, taking account ofc. the policy objectives in Chapter 2 and the relevant settlement hierarchy. 3.6 Retail Floorspace Projections Assessment of any retail floorspace needs should take account of both emerging trends in the retail market and general estimates of future demand, based on projected changes in the local population and consumer spending. Estimates of future retail requirements are only intended to provide broad guidance as to the additional quantum of convenience and comparison floorspace provision; they should not be treated in an overly prescriptive manner, nor should they serve to inhibit competition (See Annex 4). Planning authorities and An Bord Pleanála should balance quantitative estimates of future demand for retail floorspace of development plans, when assessing applications for new or expanded retail development with considerations in regard to vibrancy, choice, vitality and other qualitative issues. It is acknowledged that both the performance of the national economy and local market forces will inevitably change over time. Therefore, current projections of floorspace requirements that are relevant to a given development plan from a corresponding joint or multi-authority retail strategy and/or development plan may not turn out to be completely accurate or relevant in the prevailing circumstances. Therefore, the groups of planning authorities listed in Table 1 above should regularly monitor trends on a yearly or biennial basis in their area and update their joint or multi-authority retail strategies and/or development plans accordingly. Annex 3 and Annex 4 provide more technical guidance on the manner in which planning authorities should assess the need and market demand for additional retail development. This methodology will continue to apply for the immediate future. However, taking account of the observations received by the Department on foot of the public consultation of the Issues Paper (June 2010) and the consultation draft of these guidelines, a simplified methodology is being developed by the Department to ensure a strategic and resource efficient approach in estimating future retail floorspace requirements. In this regard, an outline framework for such an approach is also set out in Annex 4. Following the publication of these guidelines, the Department will further develop and finalise its research into the data availability to support the new simplified approach for the locations to be covered by joint or multi-authority retail strategies through appropriate stakeholder consultations and will communicate the outcome of its work by way of circular guidance, which, once issued, shall replace Annex 4 to these guidelines.
- 24 3.7 Development Plans outside Joint or Multi-Authority Retail Strategies Such development plans should include more general statements of policy and objectives with regard to retail development in line with points 1-3 and 5-8 in Section 3.3. In relation to the requirement from Section 3.3 concerning the requirement for the development plans to give details of the level and form of retailing activity appropriate to the various components of the settlement hierarchy in the core strategy, for plans outside areas covered by joint or multi-authority retail strategies it is sufficient to state the general retail function appropriate to the settlement e.g.: Principally convenience retailing;- Mixed convenience and comparison retailing;- Higher order comparison retailing and convenience goods; and- Retail warehousing or other specialist retailing functions. (See Chapter 4).- While there is therefore no specific requirement to estimate detailed floorspace requirements for additional retail development for plans outside the areas covered by joint or multi-authority retail strategies as mentioned in point 4 of Section 3.3, a general statement of additional retail development requirements, reflecting the local evidence of market interest and the need to provide good opportunities for retail provision to serve the main population centres in the county, ought to be sufficient in order to formulate appropriate policies and criteria for dealing with new development proposals. Such a statement might indicate that there is a need for an improvement of the convenience retail offer in a particular town or district centre or that there is a need to enhance the higher order comparison offer of another town. 3.8 Development Plans and Retail Warehousing Planning authorities are recommended to carefully consider the zoning of land for any additional retail warehousing development in their areas, given the level of provision of this category of development in recent years in and around the main centres of population, the levels of vacancy in such centres and thus pressure to entertain uses inappropriate to the edge-of-centre or out-of-centre locations of many of these developments. See Chapter 4, Section 4.11.2. 33
Source Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government: Retail Planning: Guidelines for Planning Authorities (April 2012) · Licence the publisher's termsText read from the publisher’s PDF; tables, maps and drawings do not survive as text, and page numbers are the PDF’s (its first page is 1). Check the original before relying on a passage.