Policy information sourced from St Albans District Local Plan

57 Service Uses

Applications for service uses (ie Use Classes A2 and A3 and other uses appropriate to shopping areas) will be assessed against the following criteria:

General acceptability of service uses

  • Primary shopping frontages (1), Secondary shopping frontages (1), Class ‘A’ frontages (1), Local Centres (2): Acceptable if proposals do not involve the loss of dwelling space contrary to Policy 10 or retail floorspace contrary to Policy 56
  • Elsewhere in towns and specified settlements (3): Not normally acceptable except for changes of use from B1 (except on employment areas listed in Policy 20); from Al (subject to Policy 56); and from A2 to A3
  • Green Belt settlements (4): Acceptable if meets the service needs of the settlement

Car parking may be required. See Policies 46 and 47;

A window display should be provided;

Use Class A3 (food and drink). Proposals should not detract from the visual character of areas or cause serious problems in respect of the following:

  • traffic and parking;
  • noise, fumes, smell and general disturbance;
  • litter;
  • residential amenity;
  • impact on conservation areas (see Policy 85), in particular in the vicinity of the Cathedral (i.e. - the George Street, Heritage Close, High Street, Holywell Hill area) but without prejudicing conservation areas in general.

Furthermore, the Council will seek to ensure that serious problems do not arise from an over-concentration of A3 uses in a particular area.

Planning conditions (for example, to control hours of opening or to require provision of a litter bin outside the premises) may be imposed to render a proposal environmentally acceptable. Arrangements for the ventilation of working areas must be shown in planning applications and must not detract from the appearance of the building or the visual or other amenity of nearby residents;

Amusment centres will not be permitted if noise and disturbance is likely to affect nearby housing, including flats above shops, or if the proposal is likely to affect the visual amenity of a conservation area.

Footnotes

(1) As defined in Policies 52 (St. Albans City Centre), 53 (Harpenden Town Centre) and 54 (neighbourhood centres).

(2) As defined in Policy 55.

(3) Refers to individual shops and small groups of shops outside the defined local centres.

As defined in Policy 2.

For more information please see the Local Plan