Core Strategy Preferred Options document - Amazon Web Services

Strategies, Activities and Actions – Retail and Town Centres
Retail and Town Centres
Retail
We have an important role to play in enhancing the District’s town
centres, ensuring they are vibrant places. Our retail strategy focuses on
strengthening the role of the District’s town centres, whilst ensuring that
villages services are sustained.
The 2008 Retail and Leisure Study indicates that there is a significant
leakage of retail spending out of the District, with the majority of shopping
by Rochford District resident’s undertaken outside of the District.
Shopping patterns vary across the District and by type of goods bought.
With regards to convenience shopping (e.g. food), 17.8% of main food
shopping is retained within the District compared to 54.4% of top-up
shopping. This pattern is not replicated consistently across the District.
Rayleigh retains the most convenience shopping, retaining 37.8% and
75.9% of main food shopping and top-up shopping, respectively. Other
areas of the District leak considerably more.
The majority of spending goes to large supermarkets in Southend,
Shoeburyness and Benfleet. Distance is not the only factor, with
residents prepared to travel further to these areas than other potential
retail destinations within the District.
There is an even greater leakage of spending in relation to comparison
shopping (e.g. clothes, electrical goods etc) with the vast majority of
spending going out of the District into Southend in particular, together
with a considerable amount from the west of the District leaking out to
Basildon.
Retail spending is projected to grow and it is important that the District
ensures it at least maintains its current market share of spending – and
continues to provide for the people who shop within the District – by
ensuring there is adequate retail space allocated. In addition, whilst it is
to be expected that a significant proportion of spending will be attracted
out of the district to regional centres such as Southend, we recognise
there is an opportunity to reduce leakage of expenditure out of the District
by making town centres more attractive to shoppers, enhancing their
vitality and vibrancy, and concentrating retail development within the
District’s centres.
National policy on town centres (Planning Policy Statement 6 – Planning
for Town Centres (PPS6)) states that Local Authorities should identify the
need for additional retail development and then identify locations for such
development by applying a sequential approach which prioritises town
centre locations.
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The Vision: In five
years....
Rochford and Hockley
town centre
masterplans have
been finalised and the
first phase of
enhancement
opportunities are being
implemented.
The retail and leisure
study has identified the
District’s needs and
opportunities which
have begun to be
addressed.
The Vision: By
2017…
The District’s town
centres are vibrant
places containing a
range of shops,
services and facilities
that meet local
demand and retail
expenditure leakage
has been reduced.
Masterplans for
Rochford and Hockley
have instigated the
regeneration of these
town centres in
particular.