The Croydon Monitoring Report Employment (District Centres) January 2015

The Croydon Monitoring Report

Employment (District Centres)

January 2015

The Croydon Local Plan aims to…

Maintain the retail vitality and viability of the borough’s District Centres

Maintaining the retail vitality and viability of the borough’s District

Centres

IndicatorAmount of vacant Class A1 (Retail), A2 (Financial),A3 (Restaurants and Cafes), A4 (Pubs and bars not selling food) and A5 (Hot food takeaways) floor space within District Centres

TargetVacancy level no greater than 12% by 2021 and no greater than 8% by 2031

Overview of the borough’s District Centres

The borough’s District Centres are quite varied from the service sector orientated Coulsdon and Norbury to the more traditional shopping locations like Selsdon and Thornton Heath

There is no such thing as a typical District Centre although the one that is closest to average representations of different sectors is Addiscombe

AddiscombeDistrictCentre

Addiscombe District Centre

In 2014 there were 98 Class A units in Addiscombe District Centre, unchanged from 2013

It has a range of retailing including many independent shops with around 37% of floor space being for convenience (day to day) retailers

Of these units, 64 were classified as shops (Class A1), an increase of 2 compared to 2013


The vacancy rate in Addiscombe is 7% of Class A units and 7% of Class A floor space

However, Addiscombe still continues to met both the target level of vacancy for 2021 and 2031

This is higher than in 2013 when vacancy was 4% of Class A floor space


Since 2008 the vacancy rate in Addiscombe has generally been decreasing

The peak in 2010 was caused by the completion of a new building on the site of the Black Horse pub that was subsequently occupied by a non-retail use

CoulsdonDistrictCentre

Coulsdon District Centre

In 2014 there were 94 Class A units making it a large District Centre

It has a range of retailing with an above average level of comparison goods retailers and one of the lowest proportions of convenience goods retailers of any District Centre in Croydon

Of these units, 57 were classified as shops (Class A1), unchanged from 2013

The vacancy rate in Coulsdon is 13% of Class A units and 9% of Class A floor space

Coulsdon only meets the target level of vacancy for 2021 and not 2031

This is lower than in 2013 when vacancy was 10% of Class A floor space


Since 2008 levels of vacancy have broadly stayed close to 10% of floor space


There was a large increase in the vacancy rate between 2012 and 2013

In 2014, though, vacancy stabilised again around the 10% level

Crystal PalaceDistrict Centre

In 2014 there were 72 Class A units in Crystal Palace District Centre

It has a range of retailing including many independent shops and restaurants and is similar to Coulsdon in terms of the proportions of comparison and convenience retailers and service uses in the centre



The vacancy rate in Crystal Palace is 7% of Class A units and 5% of Class A floor space

Crystal Palace meets the target level of vacancy for both 2021 and 2031

This is lower than in 2013 when vacancy was 6% of Class A floor space


Since 2008 levels of vacancy have been steadily decreasing


Vacancy in Crystal Palace in 2014 is, at 5%, at its lowest level since 2008

AddingtonDistrictCentre

New

New Addington District Centre

A small District Centre which in 2014 had 48 Class A units

The District Centre has one of only two markets in Croydon


New Addington District Centre

The vacancy rate in New Addington is 2% of Class A units and 2% of Class A floor space, with both being the lowest rates of all the District Centres in Croydon

New Addington District Centre continues to met both the target level of vacancy for 2021 and 2031

Vacancy rates are the slightly lower than in 2013

New Addington District Centre has had low levels of vacancy since 2010

Vacancy rates are now at their lowest level since 2008

New AddingtonDistrict Centre

NorburyDistrictCentre

Norbury District Centre

A large District Centre which in 2014 had 105 Class A units

The District Centre is home to a wide variety of businesses reflecting the diversity of the local population and predominantly in the convenience retail and service sectors,

Of these units, 64 were classified as shops (Class A1), which is an increase from 2013


The vacancy rate in Norbury is 6% of Class A units and 5% of Class A floor space


Even though vacancy rates have increased in 2014, Norbury District Centre continues to met both the target level of vacancy for 2021 and 2031


Since 2008 the vacancy rate in Norbury has generally been decreasing

Although the level of vacancy in the centre increased in 2014 (in 2013 it was at its lowest levels since 2008), it is still low compared to other centres in the borough

PurleyDistrictCentre

PurleyDistrict Centre

In 2014 there were 114 Class A units in Purley District Centre and of these units, 55 were classified as shops (Class A1), an increase from 2013

Purley has the lowest proportion (at 22%) of floor space in the convenience and comparison sectors of all the District Centres with the next lowest being Norbury with 43% of floor space being in these sectors

It should be noted that Tesco is not included in the statistics as they are calculated using the Primary Shopping Area of the District Centre and Tesco lies outside of this

The vacancy rate in Purley is 14% of Class A units and 18% of Class A floor space, the highest rate for floor space of any District Centre in Croydon

This is slightly higher than in 2013


Since 2008 the vacancy rate in Purley has generally been increasing although it has stabilised over the last 3 years

If the trend continues the centre will not achieve the target level of vacancy (12%) by 2021


Purley has the highest average levels of vacancy over the period 2008-14 of any District Centre


The statistics for Purley do not include Tesco because it lies outside the Primary Shopping Area which is used to allow comparisons with the other District Centres

If you did include Tesco in Purley then it has a dramatic impact on the statistics for the District Centre

Total floor space nearly doubles

Vacancy falls to 10% of floor spaceThe proportion of floor space for convenience goods increases from 10% to 48%

SelsdonDistrictCentre

Selsdon District Centre

A small District Centre which in 2014 had 62 Class A units

Selsdon has the lowest proportion of comparison goods retailing floor space of any District Centre


The vacancy rate in Selsdon is 5% of Class A units and 3% of Class A floor space

The District Centre is still meeting its the target levels of vacancy for 2021 and 2031

This is unchanged from 2013


Selsdon has consistently low levels of vacancy

With the exception of one year (2010) the vacancy rate in Selsdon has been around 3 or 4%


South NorwoodDistrict Centre

In 2014 there were 59 Class A units in South Norwood District Centre

It has a range of retailing including many independent shops and has an around average level (for the Borough’s District Centres) of convenience and comparison goods floor space

Of these units, 38 were classified as shops (Class A1), a increase of 1 from 2013


The vacancy rate in South Norwood is 8% of Class A units and 13% of Class A floor space

South Norwood District Centre now no longer meets the target levels of vacancy for 2021 and 2031



Vacancy rates in South Norwood have fluctuated more compared to the other District Centres with a high of 17% in 2010 and low of 4% in 2012

In 2014 the level of vacancy was above the average for the period since 2008


Thornton HeathDistrict Centre

In 2014 there were 67 Class A units in Thornton Heath District Centre

Of these units, 45 were classified as shops (Class A1), an increase of 3 compared to 2013

Thornton Heath District Centre

There is a focus on convenience retailing in Thornton Heath with the highest proportion of floor space in this sector of any District Centre in Croydon (in part due to the presence of Tesco), and the smallest proportion of the Service sector

The vacancy rate in Thornton Heath is 7% of Class A units and 2% of Class A floor space, with the percentage of vacant floor space being the lowest of any District Centre in Croydon

This is unchanged from 2013

The District Centre is still meeting the target levels of vacancy for 2021 and 2031


Thornton Heath has consistently very low levels of vacancy

It has the lowest average vacancy rate of all the District Centres over the period 2008-2014


The presence of Tesco in the Centre distorts the statistics – if the Tesco were excluded Thornton Heath would be the 2nd smallest District Centre in the borough (in terms of floor space) instead of the largest, and it would have a vacancy rate of 4%

What does this mean for planning in Croydon?Croydon needs to maintain the vitality and viability of its District Centres so local businesses can thrive and so residents can easily access local shops and reducing the need to travel

In five District Centres the vacancy rate in 2014 is lower or unchanged from 2013, the same statistic as in 2013 but only two of the centres are have seen lower or unchanged vacancy rates in both years

Continued monitoring of vacancy across all District Centres is required as new policies in the Croydon Local Plan: Detailed Policies and Proposals evolve to ensure vacancy rates achieve targets

Four District Centres have met the target vacancy rate (8%) for 2031 and seven achieve the target for 2021 (12%)

The two centres, Purley and South Norwood, that do not currently achieve the target for 2021 both have relatively stable levels of vacancy which suggest that either there is too much floor space to meet the needs of local communities or that a more flexible approach to change of use of existing retail units might be needed

In all nine District Centres over the period from 2008-2014 vacancy levels in the District Centres are now relatively stable with 2014 levels of vacancy around average for the period

View all the data and download a printable version of this presentation

at www.croydon.gov.uk/monitoringreport

http://www.croydon.gov.uk/monitoringreport

Documents

The Croydon Monitoring Report Employment (District Centres) January 2015