Policy information sourced from the Biggleswade Neighbourhood Plan
BPD2: Shopfronts
- Shopfronts must be maintained for ground-floor frontages within the town’s shopping streets (see CBC Town Centre Boundary plan). Development involving the loss of a shopfront, without a suitable replacement shopfront, will be resisted.
- Reinstatement of historic shopfronts in historic buildings and areas will be supported. Contemporary shopfronts in historic buildings will be supported where they are of high quality and complement the building and wider townscape.
- In designing shopfronts in historic buildings, the following guidelines must be taken into account:
- Elements: The main elements of a traditional shopfront are the fascia, door, windows, stallriser, pilasters and capitals. The fascia provides space for signage.
- Materials: The stall riser should be of timber, metal and masonry construction. Window frames, doors, pilasters and facias should be of timber construction. Use of uPVC in shop fronts is at odds with traditional character of the area.
- Detail: To create a good standard of detail, timber panelling should be constructional, rather than adding timber beading to a flat surface.
- Finishes: Paint finishes are more historically authentic than stained finishes.
- Lighting: Projecting external lighting of the shop sign area provides a higher quality effect than internal lighting behind a transparent shop sign.
- Shutters: Any shutters or shutter boxes should be placed internally behind the shop window. Shutters must not block the shop window when in an open position. Shutters should be perforated or of such construction so as to allow vision to the interior beyond.
- Canopies: Canopies should be retractable and of fabric and metal design.
For more information, please visit the Biggleswade Neighbourhood Plan