5.01 The District Council’s strategy for retailing is incorporated within this chapter and Chapter 6: Town Centres. Shopping has become an increasingly innovative and diverse economic sector. Shopping, as well as being an integral feature of day to day life, is a significant source of local employment.

5.02 The District Council wishes to provide for choice and diversity in shopping, ensuring that the needs of shoppers, particularly those without access to a car, are met. In seeking to ensure that the Plan’s overall sustainability objectives are met, the District’s town centres will continue to play the key role in achieving this aim.

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5.03 Planning Policy Guidance Note 6: Town Centres and Retail Development (PPG6, June 1996) provides guidance on retailing and town centres. In accordance with PPG6 and PPG13: Transport (March 1994), a strong emphasis is placed upon a plan-led approach to sustaining and enhancing the vitality and viability of existing centres.

5.04 PPG6 adopts a sequential approach to selecting development sites for shopping and other key town centre uses. This means that first preference should be for town centre sites, followed by edge-of-centre sites, district and local centres and only then in out-of-centre locations that are accessible by a choice of means of transport.

5.05 In conjunction with other policies in this Local Plan, retailing policies have a major role to play in reducing the need to travel and to ensure that developments are accessible by a variety of means of transport.

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5.06 The Buckinghamshire County Structure Plan (1996) sets out a hierarchy of retail centres, in which different roles and functions are identified in relation to the size of the centres and the type and variety of goods available. At the top of this hierarchy, Milton Keynes is identified as an emerging regional centre. Below this, in Wycombe District, High Wycombe is identified as a sub regional centre, as a result of its wide catchment area. The Structure Plan encourages the expansion of High Wycombe town centre for both comparison and convenience shopping in line with this sub-regional status. Marlow and Princes Risborough are then identified as district centres, with ‘minor centres’ comprising the lowest category. In Wycombe District, the Council has identified local district centres within this last category (defined in paragraph 5.41 and on the Proposals Map). Development in each of the categories of centre identified should be consistent with their role in this hierarchy of centres.

5.07 ‘The District Wide Town Centre and Retail Policy Review’ (March 1997) produced by Chesterton Consulting, was undertaken in accordance with the guidance contained in PPG6. The study confirmed that High Wycombe should be retained as a main centre for retailing, where the Western Sector development and re-use of vacant units can satisfy projected comparison based high street retail requirements up to 2006. Chesterton also identified scope for additional non-food retail provision within the High Wycombe retail catchment area.

5.08 In meeting this scope Chesterton undertook a sequential test of potential retail development sites within the High Wycombe Urban Area which is contained in the report ‘Comparison Goods Retail Development Strategy Paper 1998’. On the basis of this report’s recommendations, further retail sites are allocated at the Wycombe Marsh site (see Policy S2 Retail Warehouse Provision) and the Lily’s Walk site (see Policy HW5). In respect of convenience goods facilities, Chesterton identified a limited requirement for High Wycombe and scope for additional provision of food retailing at Marlow (see Policy M4). This overall approach to new retail development informs the District Council’s objectives of directing new retail development towards the town centres, and centralising facilities where they can best be reached by a variety of modes of transport.

5.09 The District Council wishes to harness the potential of retail development to unlock major under-utilised brownfield sites where this would help to support the vitality and viability of existing centres. Furthermore, due to the restrictions of the Green Belt and competing land use pressures within the High Wycombe Urban Area, sites for retail development which are not already designated for other uses are few.

5.10 The Western Sector development is crucial to the future of High Wycombe (see Policy HW1). This mixed development will provide additional shops, many of them larger stores to increase choice and diversity, complementing the existing town centre. The development area also includes proposals for commercial leisure, some housing, a new bus passenger interchange and new library. A key aim is to ensure that the Western Sector is accessible by a variety of means of transport, including public transport, walking and cycling, and that it is fully integrated into the wider town centre.

5.11 The District Council recognises that there will be further demand for retail warehousing and has identified the Wycombe Marsh site as the main location for this form of development in the period up to 2006. The site is not already designated for other uses, and is able to deliver a major strategic brownfield housing site as part of a mixed scheme. A further allocation for retail warehousing is made on the Lily's Walk (Gas Works) site: See Policy HW5.

5.12 The projections for retail expenditure and the related scope for new provision after 2006 are less certain, and will need to be updated in a future review of the Local Plan. The Plan has not therefore identified specific sites for this period, but such proposals will be considered in the context of Policy S1.

5.13 The town centre shops of Princes Risborough and Marlow cater for day to day needs with some specialised comparison shopping, particularly in Marlow. The District Council expects that any additional retailing within these centres would meet locally generated needs. Elsewhere within the District shoppers are catered for in local district centres, local parades and corner and village shops. The shopping policies in this chapter seek to retain and encourage such facilities.

5.14 For each town centre, policies on primary shopping frontage zones and secondary shopping frontage zones aim to protect the town centre’s key retail frontages whilst allowing for diversification. These policies are complemented by the District Council’s strong commitment to town centre management, environmental improvements, traffic management and pedestrian priority.

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5.15 The District Council’s objectives for the Retailing Chapter are:

1. To provide and maintain a range of facilities which will meet the shopping requirements of the people who live in the District;
2. To ensure that the District’s Town Centres are the main focus for future retail development in accordance with the Local Plan’s sustainability objectives;
3. To encourage a pattern of retailing which allows shoppers to choose between public transport, walking and cycling as an alternative to travelling by car;
4. To maintain and improve the economic vitality, accessibility and attractiveness of the existing shopping centres;
5. To retain existing local shopping facilities, and support the provision of new facilities where appropriate; and
6. To direct retail investment to promoting the redevelopment of brownfield sites which are not already designated for other uses and which support the Plan’s broad development strategy.

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5.16 In accordance with PPG6, new retail development is firmly directed towards the town centres and existing local district centres. Within these areas development will be fully integrated with existing shopping facilities in terms of pedestrian access and links to public transport facilities and car parks. In all cases development must be of a scale and nature appropriate to the centre concerned.

5.17 Policy S1 supports new retail development within the primary shopping area of the District’s town centres, which is defined on the Proposals Map as the S1 policy area, together with local district centres, also shown on the Proposals Map, and other sites allocated for retail development. Retail proposals outside these areas will only be permitted if a need can be demonstrated which cannot be met in those areas and the proposal does not adversely affect the vitality and viability of the retail function of these areas. In this case, proposals should follow the sequential approach outlined in PPG6 which gives preference to town centre sites followed by edge-of-centre sites and only then out-of-centre sites, in locations that are accessible by a choice of means of transport. For shopping purposes, edge-of-centre is defined in PPG6 as locations within easy walking distance, ie, 200-300 metres of the primary shopping area.

5.18 Taking account of the retail function of each of the town centres, the District Council considers that it would not be appropriate to consider out- of-centre sites in the lower order centres of Marlow and Princes Risborough, therefore restricting opportunities to High Wycombe. The urban edge of High Wycombe is defined by the built up area excluded from the Green Belt and safeguarded land, as identified in Policies GB1 and GB2.

5.19 In order to protect the District’s countryside, which includes those areas designated as Green Belt and Chilterns AONB, this Local Plan considers out-of-town retail development (ie, greenfield sites or land not within the existing settlement boundary of High Wycombe) as unacceptable. Proposals for small scale retail development appropriate to the rural areas, such as farm shops, will however be assessed against Policy C6.

5.20 Proposals should not undermine residential and employment activities in the town centre, in view of the stringency of supply across the District of such uses and the variety they bring to town centres. However, there may be situations where acceptable development may allow for the replacement of residential or employment floorspace, for example through locally higher residential or employment densities. Therefore proposals should not result in a net loss of residential accommodation as set out in Policy H10, and should not result in a loss of employment land (measured in terms of floorspace in this instance) having regard to Policy E4.

5.21 The type of goods which can be sold from any retail store(s) may be specified by planning conditions. Where the need for large out-of-centre retail stores is demonstrated, planning permission will be subject to a strict ‘bulky goods’ condition. This will be restricted to those goods in respect of which it has been demonstrated that no suitable town centre sites or premises are available and the site and essential method of display of those bulky goods require an out-of-centre location. Where proposals are acceptable in principle they will be required to accord with all relevant policies in this Local Plan.

5.22 Development proposals must be designed so as to minimise their traffic generation and impact, and be accompanied by a traffic assessment demonstrating the implications of the proposed development on the existing highway network and existing levels of traffic, and must demonstrate the transport improvements required to facilitate the development and maximise its accessibility by public transport, cycling and walking.

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5.30 The Council intends to retain the viability and function of important town centre shopping facilities in High Wycombe, Marlow and Princes Risborough and local district centres. Policies S3-S5 specifically apply to town centres and local district centres. These policies are complemented by the Council’s strong commitment to town centre management strategies for environmental improvement, traffic management and pedestrian priority.

5.31 Non–shop uses are defined as those not included in Class A1 of the Schedule to the Use Classes Order 1987. A2 and A3 uses are uses which the Government has advised will generally be found in shopping areas. They include high street banks, building society branches and estate agencies in class A2; and restaurants, public houses and hot food take-aways in class A3.

5.32 Primary frontage zones form the core of the District’s main shopping facilities. Their viability and attractiveness to shoppers depends on their cohesive nature and therefore the Council wishes to guard against their undue breaking up or loss through the introduction of non-shop uses. The primary frontage zones already contain a number of non-shop uses. The Council considers that the introduction of additional non- shop units would be likely to break up the frontage zones in a manner detrimental to their viability, vitality and attractiveness as places to shop.

5.33 Restaurants and wine bars are considered to be appropriate in High Wycombe town centre because they add to the function and attraction of the town centre which currently only has a small number of such facilities. However, proposals that adjoin other existing or proposed non-shop uses will not normally be acceptable as this is likely to lead to an undesirable breaking up of the retail frontage. The Council will monitor the number of such uses permitted and implemented to ensure that the introduction of such uses does not attain a level whereby the attractiveness of the primary frontage zone as a place to shop would be jeopardised. In the Marlow and Princes Risborough primary frontage zones, there is already a substantial amount of non-shop use and any further erosion of the retail content here is liable to damage the viability and attractiveness of these centres for shopping.

5.34 In the case of listed buildings that would be likely to remain vacant or have already been vacant for a considerable period, there might be a case for their change of use to A2 or A3 if it could be demonstrated that this would ensure their preservation.

5.35 Within the primary frontage zones there are a number of existing Class A2 and A3 uses. Such uses have a degree of customer attraction and many complement the shopping facilities. The Council wishes to guard against their replacement with uses not usually found in shopping areas, which would make little contribution to the attractiveness of the centre.

5.36 The primary frontage zones are all located within the town centres of High Wycombe, Marlow and Princes Risborough. Policy S3 supports the specific policies and objectives for these centres as found in Chapter 6: Town Centres. Policy S3 should therefore be read in conjunction with Chapter 6.

5.37 Policy S3 applies to the whole curtilage of the shop unit and not merely the ground floor element. It is frequently not only the ground floor but the entire shopping floor space which contributes to the retail attractiveness of a particular part of the frontage. The desirability of retaining shop uses in upper floors will be a matter of judgement for the District Council in each case.

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5.38 The restriction on the introduction of non-shop uses into shopping frontages is applied more flexibly in the secondary shopping frontages zones. This is in order to direct non-shop uses generally found in shopping areas, such as banks, estate agencies, building society branches or restaurants, to these areas and reduce the pressure on the primary frontage zones.

5.39 Whilst non-shop uses such as laundrettes, community, leisure and recreational uses may be acceptable in secondary shopping frontage zones, the Council wishes to guard against the creation of long unbroken stretches of non- shopping activities which may detract from the retail attractiveness and vitality of the secondary shopping frontage zone and the town centre as a whole. The change of use of Class A2 or A3 uses to use as a community facility will normally be acceptable in accordance with Policy CF1.

5.40 The secondary frontage zones are all located within the town centres of High Wycombe, Marlow and Princes Risborough and support the policies and objectives for these centres. Policy S4 should therefore be read in conjunction with Chapter 6.

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5.41 The Council wishes to preserve and enhance the vitality and attractiveness of the local district centres of Desborough Road, Bourne End, Hazlemere, Wooburn Green, and Flackwell Heath, which provide a valuable service to local areas as places to shop. The District Council will have regard to the above factors when assessing whether a proposed non-shop use would be likely to adversely affect the vitality of the shopping area. The introduction of A2 and A3 uses may be acceptable where they would not detract from the overall retail function of a local district centre. Generally, uses falling outside Part A of the Schedule to the Use Classes Order will be unacceptable unless it can be demonstrated that they would contribute to the attractiveness of the centre as a place to shop. Community facilities will generally be appropriate in cases which involve the change of use of A2 or A3 uses. It will be a matter of judgement for the Council whether, or when, the overall number of non-shop units has reached a level at which future changes should be resisted. The change of use of units unsuitable for retailing will be accepted where the new use has a degree of customer attraction which would complement the existing facilities. The change of use of shop units adjoining non-shop units will be resisted in order to provide for the dispersal of non-shop units throughout each district centre. This is to prevent the establishment of extensive non-shop frontages which would detract from the retail attractiveness of the centre.

5.42 Provided that they would not harm the vitality or viability of the district centre, uses other than retail may be acceptable above the ground floor level of shops. Residential use may be particularly appropriate where it is consistent with the policies in this plan.

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5.43 Local shopping parades, corner shops and village stores are found throughout the District and provide an important component of residents’ shopping facilities by catering for the day to day needs of their neighbourhoods. They provide a vital service for the less mobile, including elderly people, people with disabilities, parents with young children and people without access to a car. Shops in rural locations and in residential areas away from main shopping centres are especially valuable in these respects.

5.44 The Council wishes to retain the attractiveness of shopping parades as places to shop and in applying Policy S6 will have regard to the cumulative effects of the loss of shop units. It will be a matter of judgement for the Council whether or when the overall number of non-shop units has reached a level at which further changes should be resisted. Uses which result in a substantial customer attraction to a unit within a local shopping parade or area may be acceptable provided that a sufficient number of retail outlets remain. A use falling within Classes A2 and A3 of the Use Classes Order such as a bank or restaurant may therefore be acceptable. Such uses should complement the main retail function of the local shopping area. Other uses are likely to be only acceptable where they would result in no loss of customer attraction or are proposed in units which make no contribution to the overall attractiveness of the local shopping facilities. Where a parade is large, some loss of shop units may be acceptable, as may the change of use of units which are close to, but not well related to, other shops. The change of use of units unsuitable for retailing will be acceptable where the new use has a degree of customer attraction which would complement the existing facilities.

5.45 Shops standing by themselves frequently provide the only retail service to a local area. Therefore the Council will resist the loss of such facilities unless it can be demonstrated that there are satisfactory alternative facilities in the vicinity.

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5.46 Where non-shopping activities are approved, it will still be necessary to ensure that the premises continue to contribute to the area’s attractiveness for shopping. Therefore where non-shop activities are approved, it will normally be necessary to have a satisfactory window display in order to safeguard the visual attractiveness of the shopping centre and avoid the creation of visually ‘dead’ frontages. The normal five year limit on implementation of planning permissions will be reduced to two years in the case of non- shop uses in order to reduce the number of unimplemented planning permissions which, if not taken up, may block the change of use of an adjoining property.

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5.47 Shop fronts should not be considered in isolation: they should harmonise with the upper floors of buildings and with neighbouring buildings. If premises are not used for retailing but for professional or other services, they should maintain a well designed front with an interesting window display. Well designed modern shop fronts will be appropriate in many locations and should be actively promoted, but many proposals are for low quality, poorly designed ones in unsympathetic materials that do not contribute to the visual well being of the District. Where traditional shop fronts remain, either isolated or as part of a terrace or development of shops they should be repaired and missing elements reinstated. However traditional style shop fronts with stall risers may be inappropriate in some situations, for example in a contemporary style of building. Modern shop fronts if carefully designed can be sympathetic to their surroundings without resort to direct copying of historic styles. Every effort should be made to secure dignified access to, and inside, shop fronts wherever possible (see also Policy G9 ‘Access for People with Disabilities’).

5.48 Where, for security purposes, the provision of shutters is required, consideration should be given to the use of laminated glass and/or installing internal lattice shutters. For those shops where the provision of internal shutters is not physically possible, consideration will be given to external lattice shutters, or removable grille-type shutters. For shops within Conservation Areas, Policies HE12 to HE16 will apply.

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