Policy information sourced from Barking and Dagenham Adopted Core Strategy

POLICY CE1: VIBRANT AND PROSPEROUS TOWN CENTRES

Barking Town Centre will be enhanced and its status as a Major Centre will be promoted and strengthened. An Area Action Plan is being developed to shape and guide the development of the town centre and the surrounding area, including through the provision of additional housing and retail opportunities.

The existing District Centres at Dagenham Heathway, Chadwell Heath and Green Lane will be consolidated and a new District Centre will be provided as part of the Barking Riverside development to meet the day to day needs of the new communities there.

The retention and improvement of the Neighbourhood Centres identified in Policy CM5 will also be encouraged.

To consolidate and support the Borough’s town centres a sequential approach to the location of new retail and other town centre uses will be followed, in line with PPS 6. This means that town centre locational opportunities must be fully explored before edge of centre or out of centre development will be considered. All retail development in the Borough should maximise opportunities to meet the needs of existing communities and to provide them with social and economic benefits.

Within the defined primary and secondary frontages of the major, district and Neighbourhood Centres, retail will be maintained as the predominant ground floor use. A greater mix of uses including housing, offices, community and leisure facilities and food and drink uses may be permitted in other parts of the centres. As much active street frontage as possible will be sought.

The edge of centre retail warehouse park at Abbey Road, and the out of centre retail warehouse parks at Merrielands and Whalebone Lane, are being considered for redevelopment to accommodate a wider and more sustainable mix of uses. The Merrielands and Whalebone Lane South retail warehouse parks will be reviewed as the Site Specific Allocations are developed (the former lies within the South Dagenham Key Regeneration Area). The expansion of Whalebone Lane South Retail Park will only be permitted if Public Transport Accessibility Levels to and from the site are improved.

The redevelopment of Abbey Retail Warehouse Park will form a key component of improvements to Barking Town Centre. This area along with surrounding sites will be improved through the provision of a greater mix of uses including residential development and community facilities whilst retaining some retail provision and other appropriate edge-of-centre uses. These proposals are being developed in more detail in the Barking Town Centre Area Action Plan.