Policy information sourced from the Barking & Dagenham Local Plan

DME 3 Encouraging vibrant, resilient, and characterful town centres

1.

The location of town, district and neighbourhood centres are defined on the Policies Map, with the Town Centre Hierarchy also shown in the table below. The boundaries clearly relate to the application of the sequential and impact tests, which seek to direct main town centre uses to town centres, and proposals for large retail development in edge, or out of town centre locations to be considered against the sequential approach in accordance with the most up to date NPPF.

2. Development proposals should seek to deliver and maintain active ground floor frontages. This includes, but is not limited to, shops, markets, community, cultural and civic uses.

3.

When considering applications for town centre uses the applicants are expected to take account of the flexibility which may be required to meet changing needs in terms of what contribution the new development will make to the success of our town centres. This could include the potential need for temporary or ‘meanwhile or interim’ space to support the creative industries or serve needs in the early phases of a business.

4.

‘Meanwhile’ uses of buildings in designated town centres must not have an unacceptable impact on residential amenity or prevent development sites from being brought forward for development in a timely fashion. Meanwhile use of sites for housing uses should be consistent with other Local Plan policies in relation to the residential amenity.

5.

Outside the designated town centres, development proposals for retail and leisure development exceeding 500sq.m gross (or its updated equivalent) will be required to submit an impact assessment in accordance with the NPPF and NPPG.

6.

Development proposals for a new local shopping centre outside Barking Town Centre and the borough’s district and neighbourhood centres (as shown on the Policies Map) must seek to meet the needs of local residents based on up to date documental evidence. The applicant should submit information which considers factors including:

  • the relative size of a local parade and the range of shops and services each centre can offer
  • the proximity of other town centres, local centres and ‘standalone’ shops, which may mean that local need may be met at an alternative location within walking distance and local needs are therefore still being met
  • the quality of the shopping centre or parade, in terms of its environment, type and range of retailers, affecting how it is perceived and used by local residents
  • the relative accessibility of each centre since this is an important factor in how local people use the local shops and services. The reasonable and maximum walking distances as prescribed in GLA’s Town Centre SPG and its equivalent update should be considered in the statement or assessment
  • Demonstration that the design of the walking route(s) are safe and wide, and include greenery and rest areas, where possible, to enable convenient walking for all ages and abilities.

7.

Development proposals for new hot food takeaways (sui generis), new betting shops, casinos and amusement arcades (sui generis) and pay day loan shops (sui generis) within the designated town centres should be discussed with the Council in advance of any application, must accord with Policy DMD1: securing high quality design, and where appropriate, be supported by:

  • a cumulative impact assessment of other existing uses of hot food takeaway, or betting shop or pay day loan shop (including extant but unimplemented planning permissions)
  • a health impact assessment (HIA) to demonstrate how the proposal mitigates its impacts to acceptable levels and contributes to reducing health inequalities as far as reasonably possible

For more information please see the Barking & Dagenham Local Plan