8. Retail and the future of our centres
Vision – City of culture
Addressing the future of our centres links to the outcome in the 2040 vision of Exeter being a city of culture. Ensuring the continued vitality of the city centre and district and local centres will require a wider variety of uses in these locations, with cultural activities being increasingly important.
Vision – A liveable and connected city
Addressing the future of our centres links to the outcome in the 2040 vision of Exeter being a liveable and connected city. Ensuring the continued vitality of the city centre and district and local centres will mean that communities can thrive and build identity around their local centres.
Objective: Enhance the vitality of the city, district and local centres so they continue to provide a key role in our day-to-day lives, supporting communities, prosperity and cultural identity.
Introduction
8.1 Our centres are changing. Traditionally used for retail and work, in recent years the growth of internet shopping has dramatically changed how we use the city centre and our district and local centres (collectively referred to as ‘centres’). This change accelerated with the Covid-19 pandemic, meaning that we need a greater focus on the vitality of our high streets so that they continue to play an important role in how we live our lives during the day and into the evening. Shopping is likely to be just one part of this future; a greater variety of uses need to be included in the centres to widen their attractiveness and appeal
8.2 Policy RFC1 recognises the importance of our centres as hubs for the city as a whole and for our local communities more locally and provides the overarching approach to ensuring their ongoing vitality. A more diverse mix of uses and spaces will be a key part of this approach, whilst taking opportunities to promote the city’s heritage and bringing nature into the urban environment will build on the centres’ existing assets to provide attractive places. Policy RFC1 also sets out the role which the City Council will play in increasing the vitality of the centres, working alongside key partners. The focus for main town centre uses will continue to be our city, district and local centres.
RFC1: The future of our centres (Strategic policy)
The City Council will work with partners to protect and enhance the vitality, viability and resilience of the city centre, district centres and local centres to increase prosperity, provide a wider range of services and minimise the need to travel.
The City Council will support a mix of uses and activities which diversify the offer of the city centre, extend its hours of activity, enhance the night time and visitor economy, improve its cultural offer and ensure its future resilience as the major centre for the sub-region.
The City Council will promote attractive public spaces, provision for nature, enhancements of heritage assets and high-quality facilities for active travel and public transport in our centres, to provide vibrant places for people and increase footfall.
Our centres
8.3 Our centres are defined on the Policies Map and include:
• The city centre (including the primary shopping area at its heart);
• District centres; and
• Local centres.
8.4 These centres comprise town centres as defined in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)
8.5 Main town centre uses (as defined in the NPPF), including retail, will continue to be a vital component of these centres. However, the variety of uses will broaden in future to ensure the centres continue to play a central part in people’s lives. As part of this mix, residential development will help to provide greater viability, increase footfall, lengthen hours of activity, reduce antisocial behaviour and enhance safety in the centres.
8.6 Whilst planning policies that actively support a wider range of uses in the centres will enhance their viability, it will also be important to restrict main town centre uses outside of the centres when they do not meet the sequential test and when they would have significant adverse impact on the centres. This needs to be seen in the context of some modest convenience retail provision being considered appropriate in the strategic mixed use brownfield allocations where they will reduce the need to travel
8.7 The role of the city, district and local centres are discussed in turn in this chapter of the Plan.
The city centre
8.8 One of the key reasons for the success of Exeter is its city centre, which provides a strategic retail role for a large hinterland and travel to work area covering large parts of south Devon The city centre contains a rich mix of thriving businesses, shops, education establishments, historic buildings, public spaces, green spaces, offices and homes making it a vibrant and bustling place to visit, work, live and study Despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, footfall in Exeter city centre has
recovered well and vacancy rates are relatively low. This reflects Exeter’s status as a regional centre for a large surrounding area.
8.9 Looking forward, it will be vital to widen the way the city centre is used. It will need to provide liveable spaces which are attractive and people-friendly, so that the whole community wants to spend time there. It will need to be effectively connected to the rest of the city and its neighbourhoods so that people can travel there easily. It will need to be the cultural heart of the city, building on local identity and providing appropriate venues and public spaces to enable culture to flourish. It will need to celebrate the historic environment and local character through the provision of high quality buildings and public spaces, ensuring that heritage assets, their settings and historic streetscapes are conserved and enhanced. It will need to incorporate more green space and enhance places for nature. It will need to diversify, so that the whole community wants to spend time there and so that it can respond to future change. And finally, it will need to provide more homes and jobs in order to create a genuinely liveable neighbourhood. Because we recognise the importance of this issue, one of the key strands of the spatial strategy is to focus development in areas close to the city centre.
8.10 The City Council is currently working on a new city centre strategy which will set the direction for the city centre over the coming years, as a place to live, work, visit, shop, study and socialise. This work is reflected in the Exeter Plan.
8.11 Policy RFC2 determines the approach to development within and affecting the city centre. The primary shopping area is at the heart of the city centre and includes the High Street, Princesshay, Fore Street, Sidwell Street and Queen Street. Retail proposals will be supported here. Proposals for wider main town centre uses will also be supported where they provide a complementary mix of uses, improve vitality and enhance the historic, natural and cultural environments. A secondary shopping area, as was identified in the Exeter Local Plan First Review, is not included in the Exeter Plan.
8.12 Beyond planning policy, revisions to the Use Classes Order made in 2020 grouped a much larger variety of commercial uses in Class E. Retail, food and drink, financial and professional services and various other commercial uses are now grouped together. Planning permission is not required for changes of use within the same use class. This means that many types of changes of use no longer require planning permission.
Our district and local centres
8.13 Whilst the city centre plays a crucial, strategic role for Exeter and the wider area, our district and local centres provide the shops, facilities and services which are used by our communities on a daily basis. The district centres sit between the local centres and the city centre and provide a wide variety of facilities and services. The local centres are located across the city, are smaller and provide a more limited, yet vital, range of facilities and services.
8.14 A high level review of the city’s centres has been undertaken. This has resulted in a small number of additional local centres being identified. Some of the existing local centres have also been renamed to clarify their location. The list of district and local centres is set out below:
District centres
• Topsham;
• Heavitree; and
• St. Thomas
Local centres
• Northern end of Sidwell Street / Blackboy Road;
• Mount Pleasant;
• Magdalen Road;
• Topsham Road - Countess Wear;
• Beacon Lane;
• Polsloe Bridge;
• Pinhoe;
• Whipton;
• Exwick;
• Isleworth Road;
• Alphington;
• The Quay and Canal Basin;
• Burnthouse Lane;
• Topsham Road - St Leonard’s; and
• Countess Wear
8.15 The changing way people live their lives and use local facilities will have an impact on how our district and local centres need to evolve over time. Similar to the city centre, these centres will need to provide for a greater variety of uses so they are resilient and can respond to change. On this basis, they will need to provide for more than just shopping.
8.16 Ensuring that these centres continue to thrive by providing retail, employment and easily accessible local facilities will reduce the need to travel, increase the potential for access by active travel and foster strong local identities and community spirit. Finally, providing easily accessible local facilities to the whole community will help to reduce inequalities.
8.17 Policy RFC2 sets out the approach to development within and affecting the district and local centres. Retail proposals will be actively supported in these centres, whilst proposals for other main town centre uses will be supported as part of a complementary mix of uses taking into account the impact on the local historic, natural and cultural environments.
Retail provision in the strategic mixed use brownfield allocations
8.18 The focal points for the main town centre uses, including retail, will be the city, district and local centres. However, it will be vital to ensure that the larger development areas provide some small scale local retail provision to provide convenient options for the new neighbourhoods, reduce the need to travel and help build local communities
8.19 Policy RFC2 sets out the approach to be taken to retail provision in the mixed use brownfield allocations. Small scale convenience retail provision of up to 500 square metres net sales area will be supported where the proposals reduce the need to
travel. This approach aims to support shops such as local convenience stores. Proposals for larger scale and comparison retail are unlikely to be appropriate in the mixed use brownfield allocations because this type of development will draw customers from a wider area, encouraging longer travel distances and potentially competing with the centres.
Out of centre retail
8.20 During the 1980s and 1990s, many towns and cities experienced significant growth in out of town/out of centre shopping developments. This trend allowed customers to travel by car to large stores with significant amounts of parking. Out of town shopping centres compete with existing centres and can undermine their success in a similar way to the more recent growth of online shopping. Out of centre shopping discourages active travel and limits the associated health benefits, relies on car use which will make achieving our net zero ambitions very challenging, is very landhungry and often leads to the creation of low quality places. Finally, out of centre shopping can lead to challenging inequalities because of the potential to exclude those groups who cannot afford the costs of car travel.
8.21 Policy RFC2 sets out that main town centre uses will not normally be considered acceptable outside of the centres unless they meet the sequential test. This reflects that main town centre uses should be located in our centres, then in edge of centre locations (as defined by the NPPF) and only if suitable sites are not available should out of centre sites be considered.
8.22 Furthermore, for retail and leisure proposals of more than 1,250 square metres gross internal area, the impact of the proposals on relevant centres will need to be considered in an Impact Assessment. In addition to passing the sequential test and demonstrating acceptability through an impact assessment, if proposals are to be considered acceptable, they will have to make high quality provision for sustainable travel and placemaking.
RFC2: Development in, and affecting, our centres (Strategic policy)
Development proposals for retail uses will be supported in the primary shopping area and district and local centres.
Development proposals for convenience retail provision of up to 500 square metres of net sales area will be supported as part of a wider mix of uses in the strategic mixed use brownfield allocations where it is demonstrated that the proposals will minimise the need to travel and provide access in accordance with the transport hierarchy.
Development proposals for main town centre and residential uses will be supported in the city, district and local centres where there is robust evidence that they will:
a. Provide a complementary mix of uses to support the retail, leisure and service functions of those centres;
b. Enhance the viability, vitality and resilience of those centres; and
c. Conserve and enhance the cultural, historic and natural environments of the centres.
Outside the city centre, district and local centres, development proposals for main town centre uses will not be permitted unless the proposals meet the sequential test and, for retail and leisure uses of more than 1,250 square metres gross internal area, it is clearly demonstrated in a robust Impact Assessment that the proposals will not have a significant adverse impact on investment in, and the vitality and viability of, the centres in the catchment of the proposal. Development proposals will be required to make provision for high quality active travel, public transport and a high quality and resilient public realm