Policy information sourced from the Guildford Local Plan: Strategy and Sites

E8: District Centres

The role of District Centres as the focus for communities in the surrounding areas in providing for everyday shopping and service needs as well as for some more specialist needs will be supported. Proposals for residential use of upper floors add to the liveliness of centres, and will be considered positively.

The following areas, as shown on the Policies Map, are designated as District Centres. For each, the boundary of the Primary Shopping Area is the same as the boundary of that Centre:

  • Wharf Road, Ash
  • Station Parade, East Horsley
  • Ripley.

Proposals for new retail and main town centre uses

In order to strengthen the liveliness and economic resilience of the borough’s District Centres, retail and other main town centre use development located within the centre and consistent with the scale and function of that centre will be supported. Where no suitable sites are available within the centre, sites on the edge of designated centres will be considered. We will not apply this sequential approach to proposals for town centre uses of less than 100 sq m (gross) in rural areas.

Retail and leisure proposals over 500 sq m (gross) located outside of a district centre, local centre, or Guildford Town Centre, and where the site is not allocated in the local plan must be supported by a retail impact assessment.

Proposals for loss of A1 retail and other Class A uses

Within the District Centres shown on the Policies Map, proposals for change of use of an A1 retail use at ground floor to another A Class use will be permitted where all of the following criteria are met:

  • the proposal results in no more than two non-A1 retail uses adjacent to each other
  • the proposal results in no more than one-third of defined ground floor frontage units in permitted non-A1 retail uses
  • the proposal will not result in loss of amenity in terms of noise, disturbance, smell, litter or traffic generation and
  • the proposal will not prejudice the character and appearance of the district centre and its immediate environment.

Exceptionally, a proposed change of use of an A1 retail unit at ground floor level to a non-A class use will be permitted, subject to the above criteria, where the proposed use is a suitable ground floor main town centre use and requires a shopfront.

Proposals for change of use from non-retail Class A uses (A2, A3, A4, and A5) at ground floor level to a suitable ground floor main town centre use will be permitted subject to meeting both of criteria

(c) and (d) above. (8) Residential (Class C) uses and offices within the B1 Use Class are not considered to be suitable main town centre uses for the ground floor level of a District Centre

For more information please see the Local Plan