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choice and competition in shopping. By way of illustration some of the closest principal foodstores to the site are:- Table 9: Existing Foodstore Provision Store Approx. Net Convenience Floorspace (m²) Sainsbury’s, Thetford 2,267 Aldi, Thetford 595 Asda, Bury-st-Edmunds 2,100m² Morrisons, Diss 3,400m² Morrisons, East Dereham 2,268 Sainsbury’s, Attleborough 1,324 Sainsbury’s, Bury-st-Edmunds 2,800m² Tesco, Thetford 3,195 6.7 The net convenience floorspace of the proposal would be circa 2,204m², i.e. it is of a size capable of competing, most importantly, with the Sainsbury’s and Tesco in Thetford; therein providing genuine choice and completion for residents. c) Site Assessment 6.8 Consistent with Policy EC14.8 of PPS4, which advises applicants to discuss their proposals prior to submission and ‘seek to agree the type and level of information that needs to be included’ it has been agreed with officers from the Local Planning Authority that the scope of the sequential assessment extends to the consideration of the following:- Vacant premises in the town and within the PSA boundary of Thetford Town Centre. The six opportunities in Appendix 6 of the Breckland Retail and Town Centre’s Study (NLP, August 2010). 6.9 Sites have been considered on the basis of the PPS4 Practice Guidance advice regarding availability, suitability and viability, as set out in paragraph 6.37: “Availability – whether sites are available now or are likely to become available for development within a reasonable period of time (determined on the merits of a particular case, having regard to, inter alia, the urgency of need). Where sites become available unexpectedly after receipt of an application, the local planning authority should take this into account in their assessment of the application. Suitability – with due to regard to the requirements to demonstrate flexibility, whether sites are suitable to accommodate the need or demand which the proposal is intended to meet. Former Tulip Factory Site, London Road/Caxton Way, Thetford Page 26 Retail & Planning Statement, February 2012
Viability – whether there is a reasonable prospect that development will occur on a site at a particular point in time. Again, the importance of demonstrating the viability of alternatives depends in part on the nature of the need and the timescale over which it is to be met” i. Vacant Premises in the Town and within the PSA Boundary 6.10 There are no vacant units within the PSA large enough to accommodate a retail foodstore of the scale proposed. This was accepted in respect of the Lidl proposal for a 1,612m² (gross) foodstore on London Road – in reporting that the application to Committee in June 2011 Officers concluded that ‘with regard to vacant properties none of the units in the town centre are large enough to accommodate Lidl’s business model’. No new units have become available to the market since that time. ii. Nathaniel Lichfield and Partners – Breckland Retail and Town Centre Study identified Development Sites 6.11 Appraisal sheets for each of the six sites identified in Appendix 6 of the NLP report are set out within Document 3. However, for ease our conclusions on each site are set out below. Document 3 6.12 Site 1: Community Hall, Well Street, Thetford: The site is too small at 0.2 ha to accommodate the application proposal. Furthermore, the Breckland Retail and Town Centre Study advises that the site could accommodate up to 8 small retail/A3 units. A single large format retail unit would clearly be at odds with this aspiration. Moreover, the site is in multiple ownership and is unavailable in the short term, as any development would be dependant upon relocation of the existing community facilities. For these principal reasons the site is neither suitable nor available for the development proposal. 6.13 Site 2: Minstergate/Burrell Museum/Poundstretcher, Thetford: The Breckland Retail and Town Centre Study 2010 envisages development to the area to the north of Ministergate and adjacent to the Burrell Museum to include small specialist shops, Class A3 and D2 leisure uses. It further recognises that any development will have to be of high quality design and utilise the existing listed buildings. The TAAP further recognises the sensitivity of the site in terms of the existing listed buildings and envisages a focus on cultural and commercial uses, with the intensification of existing, rather than new retail uses. 6.14 Given the need to retain and deal sympathetically with listed buildings, the site is unsuitable for the type of development proposed. Moreover the site is only said to be available in the medium to long-term which corresponds with the length of time left on the leases held by the main occupiers. The site is not, therefore, available for development within a reasonable period of time. 6.15 Site 3: Bridge Street Car Park and Anchor Hotel, Thetford: At only 0.7ha the site is far too small to accommodate the proposed foodstore even when regard is had to flexibility in terms of format, etc. The Breckland Retail and Town Centre Study 2010 explains that the likely type of development for this site is small/medium scale A1 or A3 units along the river frontage. It also promotes alternative uses such as educational use or the retention of the surface car parking and bus station. The Study also outlines a Former Tulip Factory Site, London Road/Caxton Way, Thetford Page 27 Retail & Planning Statement, February 2012
Page 1 and 2: THE FORMER TULIP FACTORY SITE, LOND
Page 3 and 4: 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 This Retail Stat
Page 5 and 6: 2 RELEVANT FACTUAL BACKGROUND a) Si
Page 7 and 8: petrol filling station, car parking
Page 9 and 10: excluded groups). iii. The historic
Page 11 and 12: area, taking account of current and
Page 13 and 14: . It will not undermine the functio
Page 15 and 16: The TAAP allocates some 40 hectares
Page 17 and 18: 4 EMPLOYMENT LAND 4.1 As outlined i
Page 19 and 20: Existing Vacant Employment Space at
Page 21 and 22: 4.14 The adopted Breckland Core Str
Page 23 and 24: 5 EXISTING SHOPPING PATTERNS 5.1 In
Page 25 and 26: 5.9 For the secondary catchment are
Page 27: 6 SEQUENTIAL ASSESSMENT 6.1 As iden
Page 31 and 32: 7 RETAIL IMPACT 7.1 In this section
Page 33 and 34: 7.14 The appearance of the foodstor
Page 35 and 36: ii. The Impact of the Proposal on T
Page 37 and 38: of 2016. This is consistent with on
Page 39 and 40: They are out-of-centre stores and t
Page 41 and 42: Neither of the supermarkets will ex
Page 43 and 44: 8 CONCLUSIONS 8.1 The proposed deve
Page 45 and 46: PLANNING HISTORY SCHEDULE Ref No. P
Page 48 and 49: SITE 1: COMMUNITY HALL, WELL STREET
Page 50 and 51: SITE 3: BRIDGE STREET CAR PARK AND
Page 52 and 53: SITE 5: TANNER STREET CAR PARK, THE
Page 54 and 55: Overview of Thetford Town Centre TH
Page 56 and 57: Services/Facilities The centre is w
Page 58 and 59: Photograph 5: Comparisons in pedest
Page 60 and 61: through £millions of investment.
Page 62 and 63: WILKINGSONS VACANT OTHER BUILDING V
Page 64 and 65: THETFORD TOWN CENTRE RETAIL SCHEDUL
Page 66 and 67: Retailer Address Description Use Cl
Page 68 and 69: Retailer Address Description Use Cl
Page 70: APPENDIX 3
Page 73 and 74: Appeal Decision Inquiry held on 10-
Page 75 and 76: Appeal Decision APP/ M1710/A/10/214
Page 77 and 78: Appeal Decision APP/ M1710/A/10/214
Page 79 and 80:
Appeal Decision APP/ M1710/A/10/214
Page 81 and 82:
Page 83 and 84:
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