Cornwall Monitoring Report Launceston Town Report

December 2017

Launceston Town Report 20171 Launceston Town Centre Survey

1.1 The annual survey of town centre uses was undertaken in June 2017. A map and tables detailing the town centre uses including the health check data by street are appended to this report.

Town Centre Uses

1.2 The quantity of units by use class has been surveyed over the last 6 years and recorded in Table 1 below. There was no change to the number of units counted in Launceston this year, with the number remaining on 188.

Table 1. Launceston Town Centre Uses

Survey Year A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 B1a D1 D2 Vacan

tOthe

rTota

l

% Vacanc

y

% Cornwall Vacant

2017 83 27 12 6 9 3 12 3 26 7 188 13.8 9.62016 89 25 12 6 9 3 12 4 21 7 188 11.2 9.42015 92 26 9 6 9 4 11 4 22 7 190 11.6 9.12014 91 30 9 6 8 4 11 5 20 4 188 10.6 8.62013 96 30 11 6 7 4 9 5 17 4 189 9 8.42012 92 27 6 7 7 3 6 3 20 8 179 11.2 8.7

1.3 The proportion of A1 retail uses within the town centre has continued to decline from 50.8% in 2013 down to 44.1% this year. This is below the average of 50.5% compared to the rest of Cornwall. Since 2013, there has been a reduction of 13 units in A1 use; with a reduction of 6 from the total this year. Notable losses to the town include a greengrocer, a shoe shop, 2 clothing retailers, a gift shop, 2 furniture shops, a retail art gallery and a joke shop. Four retailers relocated into vacant units although all left unoccupied units behind. These were the florist, pet shop, computer shop and locksmith. New to Launceston was a hair salon, a beauty salon, a hardware shop and a computer repair shop along with two A2 use offices.

1.4 The vacancy rate in Launceston had previously stayed around the 11% mark, but this year has increased to 13.8% and is now 4.2% above the Cornish average. The table above clearly demonstrates that the A1 uses are vulnerable and the increase in vacant units is directly in response to the decrease in A1 units. The data also shows how relatively unchanged the other town centre uses have been over the past few years.

Convenience, Comparison and Service uses within the Town Centres

1.5 To measure the diversity of a town centre the A class retail element is split into three main categories; convenience, comparison and service uses. The ‘health’ of a town can then be monitored by tracking the proportion of these sectors over time and comparisons with other towns can then be made. This method therefore excludes the non-retail premises such as community and leisure facilities (D2), clinics and surgeries (D1) and B1a offices, hence reducing the number of units monitored. The results from the surveys conducted over the last 6 years can be seen in Table 2 below. Table 2 Retail Sectors within Launceston Town Centre 2012-17

Sector2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Cornwal

l Average

2017

National Average

2017No % No % No % No % No % No %

Convenience 15 8.9 14 8.3 15 9.1 13 7.7 12 7.2 11 6.5 8.2 9.4

Comparison 54 32.1 64 37.

9 56 33.9 61 36.

1 58 34.7 51 30.

4 39.4 39.0

Service 76 45.2 71 42 72 43.

7 71 42 74 44.3 77 45.

8 40.8 38.3

Vacant 20 11.9 17 10 20 12.

1 22 13 21 12.6 26 15.

5 10.7 12.1

Miscellaneous 3 1.8 3 1.8 2 1.2 2 1.2 2 1.2 3 1.8 0.9 1.2

Total 168 100 16

9 100 165 100 16

9 100 167 100 16

8 100 100 100Sources: CC Update 2012-2017 Experian GOAD National Average 2017

1.6 The results from the health check survey shows that the convenience sector reduced by a further unit this year in response to the closure of the fruit and veg shop, cumulating a total loss of 4 units since 2014. The convenience sector share has fallen below both the Cornwall and National averages 3 years running, with little hint of recovering. It has the fourth lowest convenience sector of all the towns.

1.7 Launceston’s comparison sector has also fluctuated over the period after having increased by 5 units in 2015; it reduced by 3 units last year and by a further 7 this year. It now represents 30.4% of the centre capacity and is 9% below the Cornwall and National averages for this sector. Launceston now has the second lowest comparison sector after Redruth. Conversely, the service sector is increasing and is now 5% above the Cornwall average with 45.8% of the centre capacity, 7.5% higher than the average nationally.

1.8 Using the vacancy rates in Table 2 the graph below illustrates the changes to the vacancy rate over the last 7 years and compares it with the Cornwall average. The graph shows that the vacancy rate has remained consistently higher than the Cornish average for the last 7 years. The lowest rate occurring in 2013 when 17 units were counted as opposed to 26 this year. It has the 4th

highest vacancy rate out of the 16 towns surveyed, after being in 6th position last year.

1.9 15 out of the 26 units became newly vacant this year with only 3 having been vacant for more than 3 years of which 2 had been vacant for 5 years or more. This suggests a high degree of turnover with a number of businesses failing each year that are then quickly replaced by new businesses.

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 201702468

1012141618

Proportion of Vacant Units in Launceston Compared to the Cornwall Average

LauncestonCornwall Average

Survey Year

Vacant%

GOAD 2011, CC data 2012-17 (Health Check Data)

1.10 Unlike other town centres in Cornwall, there has been a change in the proportion of units within the Prime Shopping Area (PSA) that are in A1 use. Launceston has been experiencing a declining proportion over the last three years from 53% down to 48%, significantly below this year’s Cornish average of 53.5%. It ranks 4th lowest, in terms of A1 retail representation within the PSA, down 3 places since last year.

Retailer Representation

1.11 The number of major multiple retailers as identified by Experian GOAD has remained the same as last year at three with Launceston being represented by Boots the Chemist, W H Smiths and Superdrug. It ranks joint ninth along with Helston and Bude, in terms of the occurrence of the selected national retailers. Other multiples present in the town include a Co-op and an M & Co. In fact there are very few multiples within Launceston with the town having a high proportion of independent retailers.

Supermarket Representation

1.12 There is a town centre Co –op with a floor space of 400sq m.

Out of Town Centre

1.13 There is a Tesco superstore to the south of the town on the edge of the urban boundary on Tavistock Road. The store was extended in 2013 and now provides a total retail area of 3523 sq m (convenience 2328 sq m/comparison 1195 sq m). There is also a Co-op to the north of the town within the settlement of Newport.

1.14 On the opposite side of the road is a Lidl on Hurdon Road. The discount food retailer re-opened last September after extending its store by 325sq m increasing its retail floor space to 1705sq m. Adjacent to Lidl are 2 retail units home to Topps Tiles and Carpet Right. Opposite is Launceston Retail Park which is made up of 7 retail units and is currently occupied by New Look, Argos, Store 21, Pets at Home, Poundland, Shoe Zone and formerly a B&Q. B&Q closed last year and Unit 1 of the retail park is being split into three with M&S, B&M and Costa indicating their new stores may be open in time for Christmas. The permission PA16/09710 allowed for the existing A1 floorspace of 2118 sqm to be reconfigured to create two A1 retail units (including food sales) and one class A1/A3 unit increasing the overall floorspace by 557sqm (A1) and 167sqm (A3).

2 Significant Decisions made in the last year

2.1 Although no significant retail decisions have been made in the past year, there is an extant scheme on land adjacent to the link road SE of Pennygillam Industrial Estate, on Slate Quarry Hill (PA12/07683) where a hybrid planning permission has been approved for a Morrison supermarket with a gross floor space of 4734sq m, a petrol station, hotel, coffee shop and fast food restaurant and 275 homes. There is currently a reserved matters scheme pending under PA16/09268 which has a reduced housing figure of 259.

2.2 The map below shows the out of town retail provision with the completed housing development at Hurdon Way and the commenced sites at Hay Common and on adjacent land at Withnoe. The housing amounts to around 865 homes including the scheme permitted in conjunction with the Morrisons application. All the proposals are to the south of the A30, south of the Launceston urban boundary with the exception of an additional 140 homes permitted on land north of Upper Chapel, Tresmarrow Road, which is to the west of the urban boundary. Once completed, the schemes will deliver a new primary school, a local area of play (LEAP) and an extension to the cemetery.

2.3 Work has commenced under PA16/06676 to renovate an existing warehouse to restore the Grade II listed building back into 3 retail units and first floor office space. The buildings are within the PSA of the town on Madford Lane and were recorded as being in use for storage (B8) at the time of the survey.

3 Local Plan Capacity Targets

3.1 Capacity targets for Launceston over the Plan period are shown in Table 3 below. These were prepared by GVA and extracted from the Cornwall Retail Study Update 2015. Their projections take into account the permitted Morrison’s supermarket and have predicted a remaining capacity for additional convenience floor space equating to circa 1200sqm net by 2019 rising to 2000sqm net in 2030.

Table 3 Local Plan Capacity Targets (sq meters required per year)

 Year 2014 2019 2024 2030Convenience 561 1215 1586 1993Comparison -1082 -111 918 2248

3.2 The targets for additional capacity within the comparison sector only arise after 2024, with circa 2300sq m net capacity required by 2030. They conclude that there is no need to plan for additional floor space for either sector within Launceston over the Plan period.

Appendix Table 1 Use Class by Street

Street A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 B1a D1 D2 Vacant Other TotalTower Street 1 2 1 1 1 1 7Castle Street 1 1 2Northgate Street 1 1 1 3Church Street 10 1 2 1 2 6 1 23Market Street 4 1 1 6Market House Arcade 5 1 2 1 9Southgate Street 5 2 2 2 1 12Southgate Place 6 1 1 8Race Hill 1 5 1 1 1 9Exeter Street 2 1 6 1 10High Street 9 3 2 14Broad Street 13 6 2 1 2 1 25White Hart Arcade 6 1 1 1 1 10Madford lane 4 3 2 1 10Westgate Street 14 5 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 3 30The Dockey 1 1Western Road 2 1 1 1 2 2 9Total 83 27 12 6 9 3 12 3 26 7 188Percentage 44.1 14.4 6.4 3.2 4.8 1.6 6.4 1.6 13.8 3.7 100

Table 2 Retail Sector by Street

Street Convenience Comparison Service Vacant Miscellaneous Total

Tower Street 3 1 1 5Castle Street 0Northgate Street 1 1 1 3Church Street 1 8 6 6 21Market Street 1 2 2 5Market House Arcade 3 3 1 7Southgate Street 4 7 1 12Southgate Place 3  2 3 8Race Hill 8 1 9Exeter Street 1 3 6 10High Street 3 6 3 2 14Broad Street 1 9 13 2 25White Hart Arcade 4 4 1 9Madford lane 1 4 2 7Westgate Street 2 8 13 1 1 25The Dockey 1 1Western Road 2 3 2 7Total 11 51 77 26 3 168Percentage 6.5 30.4 45.8 15.5 1.8 100