ANGUS LOCAL PLAN REVIEW FINALISED PLAN - Angus Council

TOWN CENTRES AND RETAILING2.56 The Angus towns contribute to the character, vitality andprosperity of the area and their centres provide opportunities forpeople to access goods and services, generate employment andattract investment. The individual character of each town adds to itssocial and community role, creating a sense of place and belongingfor many people. The central areas provide a focus for transport andare often the most accessible parts of the town, making them the bestlocation for a wide range of activities and services – shopping, work,leisure, health and welfare and personal services such as bankingand hairdressing.2.57 The role of the Angus town centres must respond to thepressures facing them in a period of increasing centralisation andcompetition. Greater personal mobility, ease of access to largercentres such as Dundee and Aberdeen and the rationalisation of bothpublic and private organisations all affect the role of the seven townsand their centres.Town Centres2.58 Angus Council wish to encourage the town centres in Angus todevelop and diversify but this must not be at the expense of theirhistoric fabric and individuality. The primacy of town centres as themost appropriate location for a variety of leisure, service and retailactivities will be reinforced where possible, by directing major retailand leisure investment to sites that support the town centres inaccordance with the policy objectives of NPPG8 Town Centres andRetailing (Revised 1998) and the Dundee and Angus Structure Plan.The Local Plan defines town centre boundaries and these are shownon the Proposals Map for each town.2.59 The Angus town centres provide a variety of levels of shoppingprovision. The smaller towns and villages provide local food shoppingwhile the larger towns have a wider range of shops and provide agreater range of comparison goods. It is recognised that patterns ofretailing and customer requirements change and therefore a flexibleapproach is needed to allow for compatible non-retail uses to beaccommodated within town centres, particularly where vacancy levelsare high.2.60 The sensitive reuse or renewal of sites and properties can helpto improve both the visual and commercial attraction of the towncentres. In order to create opportunities for successful redevelopment,imaginative and well-designed schemes will be required to takeadvantage of the potential available within the confines of the historicAngus town centres.2.61 Angus Council recognises the importance of the full range oftown centre functions and will adopt a pro-active role to maintainingthe vitality and viability of the centres. Where appropriate the Councilwill actively support schemes that will enhance the central areas tothe benefit of the Angus population and their ability to access goodsand services locally.Dundee And Angus StructurePlan aims for town centres andretailing are to :• promote town and districtcentres in their roles asimportant shopping, leisureand service destinations,meeting the more localisedrequirements of the city, townand landward communities;• promote city, town and districtcentres as the location of firstchoice for new retaildevelopment; and• promote measures for theselective support of localshopping provision in villagesand rural areas.NPPG 8 Town Centres andRetailing (Revised 1998)The Government’s broad policyobjectives are:• to sustain and enhance thevitality, viability and designquality of town centres, as themost appropriate location forretailing and other relatedactivities;• to maintain an efficientcompetitive and innovativeretail sector offering consumerchoice, consistent with theoverall commitment to towncentres; and• to ensure that ways ofmeeting these objectives arecompatible with sustainabledevelopment and, in particularthat new developments arelocated where there are goodpublic transport services, andbetter access for thosewalking and cycling, leadingto less dependence on accessby car.NPPG8 Town Centres andRetailing (Revised 1998)In small towns and villages thereis therefore a clear presumptionin favour of central locations fornew developments.Angus Local Plan Review37Finalised Plan