Part Two: Centres and Site Allocations (Regulation 18)

Policies

Brierley Hill Strategic Centre – Preferred Uses

Town Centre and Town Centre Core Area

1.10 Policy DLP22 sets out the general approach to town centre development within the Borough, including appropriate uses. This section elaborates on this by providing specific policies relevant to Brierley Hill Strategic Centre.

Justification

1.11 The Black Country Centres Study^[1] was commissioned by the Black Country Authorities as part of the evidence base to inform the Black Country Plan, particularly with regard to policies on Centres and Retail. The findings of this study are still relevant to the Dudley Local Plan and the Centres within the plan area. The study was produced in 2020 and updated in 2021 and 2022.

1.12 The study was informed by a telephone interview survey conducted by NEMS and assessed the potential for retail growth over the plan period, as well as growth in leisure, offices and other centre uses. The study included detailed health checks on the Black Country's Strategic and Town Centres, including Brierley Hill High Street and the Merry Hill Centre. A health check dated April 2019 accompanied the 2020 report, and a health check dated May 2020 accompanied the 2021 update.             

1.13 The study confirmed that the national picture on current retail trends can also be related to Brierley Hill: that retail centres nationally have seen a decline in patronage and an increase in the proportion of vacant retail units, as a result of Special Forms of Trading (SFT), such as internet shopping, and other economic factors, as well the coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19) creating one of the toughest trading environments for the retail and leisure sectors.

1.14 The study found that whilst there is a limited amount of growth in convenience retail floorspace up to 2039^[2] forecast for Brierley Hill (445 sq. m), there is a negative forecast for comparison retail growth within Brierley Hill and across all of the Black Country Centres. Hence, there is no quantitative requirement to identify and allocate sites for future retail development.             

1.15 The Black Country Centres Study concluded that "although retail will remain a key part of their overall offer, vitality and viability, helping to generate trips, footfall and spend, it is critical that the strategic policies in the Black Country Plan are supported by policies and strategies developed for each centre (such as through tier-two plans) to help promote greater flexibility and diversity, so that they can respond more effectively and rapidly to future trends. This flexibility and diversity will, in turn, help to create more resilient, attractive and successful town centres. It will also help to strengthen their respective roles in the network and hierarchy of centres as places to live, work, shop, study, play and visit for a wide range of uses and activities".             

1.16 The study concluded that there is a need to diversify uses within centres, for example with the introduction of new residential development, as well the need to invest in the quality of town centre environments to create accessible, safe, and green environments. It found the need to safeguard and encourage the use of centres remains, particularly their general role as in clustering of business and commercial uses and recognised that retailers need to compete for shoppers' attention through a variety of means, including creating experiences.             

1.17 The NPPF states that planning policies should allow centres to grow and diversify in a way that can respond to rapid changes in the retail and leisure industries. This indicates a need for centres to diversify and re-purpose, often requiring a contraction of their retail core to enable other main town centre uses and residential uses to consolidate, particularly around the periphery.

1.18 In terms of the proposed Town Centre Boundary, it is the view that the widely drawn previous AAP Town Centre Boundary has resulted in a degree of uncertainty when assessing the appropriateness of main town centre uses. This applies to sites which are peripheral to the main shopping areas but still within that boundary and not subject to a Development Opportunity Block Site Allocation, especially on sites within designated Established Areas within the AAP.

1.19 It is therefore proposed to redefine the Town Centre Boundary from that shown in the current AAP, so that it is contracted to encompass the centres at Brierley Hill High Street and Merry Hill, the areas of land in-between these centres, and The Waterfront. It is considered appropriate to include the land between the centres of Brierley Hill High Street and The Merry Hill Centre to allow for the expansion of main town centre uses within this area, as well as in-centre residential. This will enable opportunities for growth in these areas as well as allowing the existing centres to be better linked and connected through development opportunities.             

1.20 Acceptable uses for each floor level within Town Centre Core Areas and areas outside of Town Centre Core Areas but within the Town Centre Boundary are set out within Policy DLP24 of this plan. It is envisaged that attributing acceptable uses for these delineated areas will enable the evidenced position to be successfully articulated, with centres being able to diversify and repurpose following the introduction of a flexible and wide-ranging E Use Class (Commercial, Business and Service Uses).             

1.21 The previous AAP allocated land at The Merry Hill Centre within Development Opportunity Blocks for an additional 56,500 m² of A1 Comparison Retail to be phased between 2009 and 2021, with an additional 8,500 m² allocated elsewhere within the plan during that period. Additional capacity was also identified within the centre for 30,000 m² of A1 comparison retail between 2021 and 2026.             

1.22 These targets clearly have not been achieved for a number of reasons including macro-economics and general trends in retailing. Furthermore, the Black Country Centres Study has evidenced a need for only a limited amount of growth in convenience retail and no growth in comparison retail within Brierley Hill Strategic Centre up to 2039. We think that this not only illustrates that the previous BCCS targets are no longer sustainable, but also establishes a need for the centre to diversify, especially in terms of land uses, away from being a singularly focused retail destination.             

1.23 Also of significance on this issue are the three pre-conditions which are required to be met, through the provisions of BCCS Policy CEN3 (Growth in the Strategic Centres) and AAP Policy 66 (Phasing of Comparison Retail allocations), before a net increase in A1/E(a) Comparison Retail can be permitted at The Merry Hill Centre. These pre-conditions are:

1. adoption of the AAP –this has occurred.
2. implementation of improvements to Public Transport - the bus station has been improved and there are bus priority traffic lights at the junction of The Boulevard and Mill Street.
3. introduction of a car park management regime, including the use of parking charges compatible with those in the region's network of major centres – this remains outstanding.             

1.24 In relation to these pre-conditions, with particular reference to the requirement for a car park management regime, evidence submitted through the Centres Study along with that set out within the Black Country Parking Study^[3] demonstrates that:

1. improvements have taken place and are ongoing to improve public transport, particularly with regard to the programmed Midland Metro route and stops within the Inset Plan area, along with, for example, an upgrade of Merry Hill bus station (implemented 2016-2017) and the installation of a bus gate at Mill Street (implemented 2015)
2. some charging based on stay time and staff parking areas have already been introduced at Merry Hill
3. it has been evidenced that there is little/no identified capacity for comparison retail growth over the plan period
4. the introduction of the new E Use Class (2020) which means there is no longer a specific A1 comparison retail use with which to hook these pre-condition requirements on to
5. Merry Hill has changed in character and diversified since the adoption of the BCCS. As a result of recent development, including the establishment of a food court, Merry Hill is growing as an established centre, rather than an out-of-centre shopping centre located within the urban area.

1.25 This can be achieved by ensuring relevant in-centre and edge-of-centre development contributes to facilitating this objective, as well as by helping manage the demand for car parking provision in the Strategic Centre.