Barking and Dagenham - BTC5: Leisure Uses and the Evening Economy - Town Quay

Policy information sourced from Barking and Dagenham Barking Town Centre Area Action Plan DPD

POLICY BTC5: LEISURE USES AND THE EVENING ECONOMY

The Council will encourage the provision of commercial leisure uses within the town centre (as defined on the Inset Proposals Map) and regards their inclusion as part of a mixed use development around Barking Station (see BTCSSA3) and the Broadway Theatre as particularly appropriate.

The Council will also regard small scale commercial leisure uses as appropriate in the area around Town Quay provided proposals demonstrate improved public transport access to the area, improved pedestrian and cycling links with the town centre and the protection/enhancement of the character of the Abbey Road Riverside Conservation Area and of the various listed buildings in the area. The Council will encourage the provision of leisure uses that will stimulate and sustain a vibrant evening economy.

The Council will welcome restaurants (not hot food takeaways) and family oriented developments and will wish to avoid any over-representation of the vertical drinking bars and late night entertainment venues that can be the cause of noise, disturbance and anti-social behaviour.

To help stimulate the evening economy and provide more activity that will help reduce fear of crime, the Council will, between 7.30 pm and 1.00 am, open East Street (as defined on the Inset Proposals Map) to vehicular traffic and provide a number of on-street parking bays.

Town Quay

The Council regards the area around Town Quay as a Planning Policy Statement 4 edge of centre location where leisure and evening economy uses are entirely appropriate and thus one which provides this greater distribution of evening economy uses through the wider Barking Town Centre area. It will also provide a night time economy which can contribute to the regeneration of the waterfront and provide for the needs of the residents of the new housing proposed at the Fresh Wharf Estate (see BTCSSA2), the Abbey Retail Park (see BTCSSA7) and the Cultural Industries Quarter (see BTCSSA9). It also supports the proposed cultural industries quarter itself and strengthens the links between the Town Centre and the waterfront.

For more information please see the Barking Town Centre Area Action Plan DPD