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GLOUCESTER CITY COUNCIL

COMMITTEE : PLANNING DATE : 2ND

APRIL 2013

ADDRESS/LOCATION : UNIT 3 (FORMER MFI) GLOUCESTER RETAIL PARK, EASTERN AVENUE, GLOUCESTER

APPLICATION NO. & WARD : 12/00794/FUL BARNWOOD EXPIRY DATE : 5TH

OCTOBER 2012

APPLICANT : B&M RETAIL LTD PROPOSAL : VARIATION OF CONDITION 6 OF PLANNING

PERMISSION REFERENCE 11123/02/OUT TO VARY THE TYPES OF GOODS THAT CAN BE SOLD FROM THE STORE TO INCLUDE SOFT FURNISHINGS, TOYS, TOILETRIES, NON FASHION CLOTHING AND FOOD/DRINK AND CONFECTIONERY.

REPORT BY : JOANN MENEAUD NO. OF APPENDICES/ : 1. SITE LOCATION PLAN OBJECTIONS 2.REPORT FROM DPDS RETAIL

CONSULTANT 1.0

SITE DESCRIPTION AND PROPOSAL

1.1 This application relates to Unit 3 at Gloucester Retail Park on Eastern Avenue. The building is currently vacant but was last occupied by MFI and comprises 2731 square metres gross floor area.

1.2 Planning permission for the erection of the three retail units that comprise Gloucester Retail Park was granted in October 1987 following an appeal considered by public inquiry. The permission included a restrictive condition that limited the range of goods that could be sold from the units as follows:

The buildings which are the subject of this permission shall be used for the sale of carpets, furniture and electrical goods and for the sale of DIY maintenance and improvement proposes for the home, garden and car and for no other purpose.

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1.3 This application is submitted to vary the goods to be sold to include soft furnishings and also for up to 684 sqm of net retail floor area to include:

• Up to 137 sqm for the sale of food, drink and confectionery sold at ambient temperature.

• Up to 137 sqm for the sale of non fashion clothing • Up to 137 sqm for the sale of toiletries • Up to 273 sqm for the sale of toys.

1.4 The variation is proposed to allow occupation of the unit by B&M Retail Ltd.

Members will be aware that there is a B&M Bargains store currently trading in the former Marks and Spencer store in Southgate Street.

2.0

RELEVANT PLANNING HISTORY

2.1 Planning permission for the erection of the three retail units that comprise Gloucester Retail Park was granted on October 1987 following an appeal considered by public inquiry. The permission included a restrictive condition that limited the range of goods that could be sold from the units as follows:

The buildings which are the subject of this permission shall be used for the sale of carpets, furniture and electrical goods and for the sale of DIY maintenance and improvement proposes for the home, garden and car and for no other purpose.

3.0

PLANNING POLICIES

3.1 The statutory development plan for Gloucester remains the 1983 City of Gloucester Local Plan. Regard is also had to the policies contained within the 2002 Revised Deposit Draft Local Plan which was subject to two comprehensive periods of public consultation and adopted by the Council for development control purposes. The National Planning Policy Framework has been published and is also a material consideration.

3.2 For the purposes of making decisions, the National Planning Policy

Framework sets out that policies in a Local Plan should not be considered out of date where they were adopted prior to the publication of the National Planning Policy Framework. In these circumstances due weight should be given to relevant policies in existing plans according to their degree of consistency with the National Planning Policy Framework.

3.3 The policies within the 2002 Local Plan remain therefore a material

consideration where they are consistent with the National Planning Policy Framework.

3.4 From the Second Stage Deposit Plan the following policies are relevant:

Policy BE21 – Safeguarding of amenity Policy TR31 – Road safety

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Policy S4a – new retail development outside designated centres 3.5 In terms of the emerging local plan, the Council is preparing a Joint Core

Strategy with Cheltenham and Tewkesbury Councils and has recently published for consultation a Developing the Preferred Options Document in December 2011. In addition to the Joint Core Strategy the Council is preparing a its local City Plan which is taking forward the policy framework contained within the City Council’s Local Development Framework Documents which reached Preferred Options stage in 2006.

3.6 On adoption, the Joint Core Strategy and City Plan will provide a revised

planning policy framework for the Council. In the interim period, weight can be attached to relevant policies in the emerging plans according to

• The stage of preparation of the emerging plan • The extent to which there are unresolved objections to relevant policies; and • The degree of consistency of the relevant policies in the emerging plan to the policies

in the National Planning Policy Framework

3.7 All policies can be viewed at the relevant website address:- Gloucester Local Plan policies – www.gloucester.gov.uk/planning; Gloucestershire Structure Plan policies – www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=2112 and Department of Community and Local Government planning policies - www.communities.gov.uk/planningandbuilding/planning/.

4.0

PUBLICITY AND REPRESENTATIONS

4.1 The application has been advertised with a site notice and 23 individual letters have been sent properties in the immediate vicinity. At the time of writing the report no letters of representation have been received.

4.3 The full content of all correspondence on this application can be inspected

online via the Councils website or at the reception, Herbert Warehouse, The Docks, Gloucester, prior to the Committee meeting.

5.0

OFFICER OPINION

5.1 The main issue for consideration with this application relates to retail policy and whether the variation of the condition to allow for a wider range of goods to be sold would have an unacceptable impact upon the city centre.

5.2 The applicant has produced a retail statement to accompany the application.

Supporting information states that the company has two different store formats – B&M Bargains based in central locations, selling a wide range of convenience and comparison goods and secondly B&M Homestores selling predominantly bulky goods and including paint, wall paper, DIY products, garden and leisure products, furniture etc. The applicants state that the new store would create up to 30 jobs.

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5.3 The NPPF sets out two key tests for retail proposals that are not located in a designated centre and not in accordance with an up-to-date development plan; the sequential test and the impact test. Given the technical nature of the planning application, the Council has commissioned the input of an expert retail planning consultancy (DPDS Consulting) in the assessment of the retail element of the planning application and their report is attached at Appendix 2.

5.4 Sequential Test The NPPF requires Planning Authorities to apply a sequential test to

applications for town centre uses that are not in an existing centre and not in accordance with an up-to-date development plan. The purpose of the sequential test is to establish if the proposal could reasonably be accommodated in or on the edge of a designated centre.

5.5 The supporting information states that the applicant normally requires a

minimum store size of 2,000sqm gross to provide a net trading area of 1,500sqm and a level store with sufficient parking close by so that bulky items can be easily transported to customers’ cars. Bulky items are displayed in their assembled form with the flat pack equivalents displayed next to them and therefore a level of storage occurs on the shop floor. This unit is considerably larger at 2,731 sqm gross and a net area of 2,279sqm. It is accepted that there are no units that meet these requirements currently available within the city centre or district centres and given the predominantly bulky goods nature of the business, this format is not ideally suited to the proposed redevelopment at Kings Quarter. Additionally the company already have their B&M Bargains store format in Southgate Street and it would be unreasonable to expect a retailer to have a further store, albeit of a different format, within close proximity.

5.6 The advice from DPDS is that the integral nature of the range of goods sold

by B&M and the limited area of floor space proposed for the non bulky items by B&M means that the scope to disaggregate goods or a range of goods is unrealistic and unreasonable. It is therefore accepted in these circumstance that there are no suitable sites available in the city or district centres that could accommodate a store of this format.

5.7

The NPPF also requires an assessment on impact and this comprises two elements – the impact on existing, committed and planned public and private investment in a centre or centres within the catchment of the proposal and also the impact of the proposal on town centre vitality and viability, including local consumer choice and trade in the town centre and wider area, up to five years from when the application is made

Impact Test

Given the nature of the proposal it is considered that it would not impact upon investment in the city centre and would not threaten or prejudice the delivery of Kings Quarter and therefore is acceptable in this respect.

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5.8 The DPDS report discusses sales density and turnover in detail and concludes that on the whole trade draw would be most likely from other bulky goods stores and also from the main food stores and convenience shops around Gloucester (many of which themselves are in out of centre locations and therefore not subject to policy protection). They state that (in a worse case scenario, which would be very unlikely) if all the turnover associated with the variation in relation to non fashion clothing, toys and toiletries were diverted from the city centre this would represent an impact of less than 0.5%, which is considered to be insignificant. Additionally the limited turnover associated with the ambient food and drink would be drawn mainly from the main food and convenience stores throughout the city, located predominantly in out of centre locations. In this respect it is considered that the proposal would not adversely impact upon the vitality and viability of the city centre or other protected centres in Gloucester.

5.9

DPDS also comment on the general principles relating to out of centre retail proposals and the importance of controlling conditions to restrict the goods that can be sold so as to protect the city centre. They also stress the importance of taking a consistent approach in considering any applications to vary conditions and an acceptance that different retail units may be subject to different conditions depending on the times that the conditions were originally applied or any variations that may have been granted.

Cumulative Impact

At this time the Council are currently considering three other applications to vary conditions as follows: 12/00839/FUL Unit 2B (formerly Apollo) 108 Eastern Avenue Variation of Condition 9 attached to planning permission: 98/00119/FUL to allow for a wider range of goods (including food and drink) to be sold from the site in order to enable Home Bargains to trade 12/01173/FUL Unit 1 (formerly Focus) Gloucester Retail Park Eastern Avenue Variation of condition 6 of Planning Permission reference 11123/02/OUT to allow for an ancillary cafe and a wider range of goods to be sold ( within a maximum of 30% of the existing floor space (including the external sales area)) including camping and bulky leisure goods, household goods, hobbies and craft supplies, pet food and pet products and ancillary products ranges. 12/01210/FUL Lidl Supermarket Canada Wharf Bristol Road Amalgamation of units 2 & 3 and construction of a rear warehouse extension of 278 sqm, new shopfront glazing and variation of condition 6 of

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1106708/DMP as referred to in appeal decision 97/00020/NONDET (with respect to units 2 and 3) to include pets and pet supplies, office equipment, toys and games, travel goods, children and infant goods, leisure goods, bicycle and bicycle accessories and toiletries and health and beauty products (amended description). The applications are currently being considered and advice sought from DPDS Consulting and will be presented to Planning Committee in due course.

5.10

This retail unit has remained empty for some time now since MFI closed. The unit is subject to a bulky goods condition and the variation seeks to also allow for the sale of house hold furnishings and for up to 684 sqm for the sale of toys, toiletries, non fashion clothing and ambient food and drink. The company has two retail formats and already trades from a city centre store. It is accepted that there are no available or suitable units in the city centre and that the store format may not be suited to the proposed Kings Quarter development.

Conclusions

It is considered that allowing a wider range of goods to be sold would not impact upon investment and would not threaten or prejudice the delivery of Kings Quarter. The additional goods to be sold represent a limited floor area of the overall unit and the applicant has offered floor space restrictions for each category and has also suggested a personal condition. For these reasons the proposed variation of the condition is considered acceptable.

8.0

RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE DEVELOPMENT CONTROL MANAGER

8.1 That permission is granted with the new conditions as follows:

Unit 3 shall be used for the sale of carpets, furniture and electrical goods, soft furnishings and for the sale of DIY maintenance and improvement proposes for the home, garden and car and for the following categories within the stated floor space restrictions

Condition 1

• Up to 137 sqm for the sale of food, drink and confectionery sold at ambient temperature.

• Up to 137 sqm for the sale of non fashion clothing • Up to 137 sqm for the sale of toiletries • Up to 273 sqm for the sale of toys

and for no other purpose.

To define the terms of the permission, in accordance with the submitted details, and to protect the vitality and viability of the City Centre in accordance with Policy S4a of the City of Gloucester Second Deposit Local Plan 2002 and the guidance in the NPPF.

Reason

Condition 2

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This variation of condition shall enure for the benefit of B&M Retail only and not for the benefit of the land and can only be implemented by the occupation of the unit by B&M Retail and shall cease to have effect upon their vacation of the store.

To define the terms of the permission, in accordance with the submitted details, and to protect the vitality and viability of the City Centre in accordance with Policy S4a of the City of Gloucester Second Deposit Local Plan 2002 and NPPF.

Reason

Unit 3 Gloucester Retail Park is currently vacant and is subject to a restrictive condition that limits the range of goods that can be sold. The application proposes a variation of the condition to allow for additional clearly defined goods within restricted floor spaces. The company has two retail formats and already trades from a city centre store. It is accepted that there are no available or suitable units in the city centre and that the store format may not be suited to the proposed Kings Quarter development.

Reason For Approval

It is considered that allowing a wider range of goods to be sold would not impact upon investment and would not threaten or prejudice the delivery of Kings Quarter and the additional goods to be sold represent a limited floor area of the overall unit. For these reasons the proposed variation of the condition is considered acceptable and in accordance with guidance in the NPPF and policies TR31, S4a and BE 21 within the City of Gloucester Second Deposit Local Plan 2002.

In accordance with the requirements of the NPPF the Local Planning Authority has sought to determine the application in a positive and proactive manner by entering into discussions with the applicant and publishing to the council’s website relevant information received during the consideration of the application thus enabling the applicant to be kept informed as to how the case was proceeding.

Note

This permission relates solely to Unit 3 and all other units at this site are still subject to the conditions imposed under planning permission 11123/02/OUT.

Note

Decision: .................................................................................................................... Notes: ......................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................................... Person to contact: Joann Meneaud (Tel: 396787)

Application Number:

ELECTRONIC APPLICATION

12/00794/FUL

Address: Unit 3 Gloucester Retail Park Eastern Avenue Gloucester GL4 3BY

Target Date: 05.10.2012 Applicant: B & M Retail Ltd

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