Policy information sourced from the Havering Local Plan

13 Town centre development

The Council will seek to enhance the vitality and vibrancy of Havering’s town centres, maintaining their important role for local communities.

Applications for new main town centre uses will be subject to the sequential test as defined in the NPPF. An impact assessment will be required for retail, leisure and office developments over 200 sq m in edge or out of centre locations.

The Council will support development proposals within town centres that:

  • Are appropriate to the scale and function of the town centre’s position within the Town Centre Network (see Map 1 ‘Havering Town Centre Hierachy’);
  • Does not harm the town centre’s vitality and viability;
  • Promotes a wider retail offer and choice to consumers;
  • Enhances and diversifies the borough’s hotel offer;
  • Provides high quality shop front design and signage that enhances the character and appearance of the town centre;
  • Provides active frontages at ground floor level, supports street activity and generates pedestrian movement; and
  • Makes effective use of upper floors.

The Council will not support proposals for single use retail developments which do not optimise the development potential of the site.

To achieve a balanced mix of uses, the Council will support the change of use from A1 and A2 uses in addition to the above criteria, where development:

  • Complements the other shopping uses within the town centre;
  • Does not reduce the proportion of frontage in A1 and A2 use to less than 60% in primary frontages;
  • Has no significant adverse impact on surrounding amenity (including cumulative impact) in terms of anti-social behaviour, noise, odour, waste management, highways and parking; and
  • Prevents the overconcentration of non-A1 or A2 uses by:
    • Within primary frontages, maintaining a minimum of 3 units in alternative use between A5 uses and not increasing the proportion of A5 uses to be greater than 10%;
    • Within secondary frontages and local centres, preventing the clustering of more than 2 A5 uses adjacent to each other, with individuals or groups separated by a minimum of 3 units in alternative use; and
    • Within primary frontages, secondary frontages and local centres, allowing betting shops and pay day loan shops to comprise a maximum of 5% or 1 unit, whichever is the greater, while maintaining a minimum of 3 units in alternative use between these uses.

For more information please see the Havering Local Plan