Bexhill Town Profile - Rother District Council

dated, has relatively modest sales floorspace and falls short of customer
expectations of a modern supermarket/superstore in terms of range of
goods, in store services, layout and overall store size.
6.18 Given that Bexhill is proposed to accommodate new housing, the town
centre may benefit from growth in spending potential over the next 10-15
years. Also, in the light of the competition which the town faces from both
Hastings and Eastbourne, it is considered appropriate to seek to enhance
Bexhill town centre’s market share through retail expansion and coordinated
town centre marketing to capitalise on the existing distinctive retail
offer.
6.19 The Shopping Assessment recommends that, by applying a sequential
approach, the quantitative need would support additional gross convenience
goods floorspace in Bexhill town centre of some 3,409sqm (2,525 s qm
sales) in 2016 and 3,824 s qm (2,832 s qm sales) in 2026. (Table 7.4
refers.) It adds that this level of need points to a superstore sized facility,
based on around 65% food (convenience): 35% non food (comparison), as
well as stating that the floorspace estimates rather than prescriptive
floorspace targets.
6.20 The tight layout of smaller units in the core of the town centre, coupled with
integrity of the buildings (for the most part) to the Conservation Area,
means there are no opportunities for the scale of floorspace proposed on a
single site.
6.21 The Rother District Local Plan (2006) already identifies a site to the north of
the railway (but extending over the railway to Western Road) within the town
centre for mixed retail led re-development which includes the existing
Sainsbury store.
6.22 This general location has the potential to provide a modern large foodstore
and some comparison goods shopping within the town centre to meet the
shopping needs and expectations of the growing population of Bexhill.
6.23 In order to support the town centre, a location for retail development should
be well connected and related to it to encourage linked trips. An
assessment of the area that can be regarded as “edge of centre” has been
undertaken and concluded that sites north of the railway fronting Station
Road/Buckhurst Place/Terminus Road may be considered from Sea Road
as far as, and including, the southern end of Beeching Road.
6.24 The success of any redevelopment proposal in this area will depend to a
large extent on its integration with the main part of the town centre on the
southern side of the railway line, and a key to this will be the provision of a
strong physical and visual pedestrian connection to ensure linked trips are
maximized to benefit the whole town centre and that the foodstore does not
operate predominately as a stand alone car borne facility.
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