CITY OF STOKE-ON-TRENT LOCAL DEVELOPMENT ...

SA4SA10To create a more sustainable urban environment through the appropriatelocation, design, materials, public realm, linkages and control of newdevelopment leading to a more prudent use of natural resources and creationof more healthy urban city living.To focus large scale office and retail development within Stoke-on-Trent CityCentre and Newcastle-under-Lyme Town Centre whilst maintaining anappropriate role and provision of balanced growth for each of the othercentres.Thematic Options4.35 1. No changes to the local centres identified on the City Plan 2001.2. Amendment to the local centres to reflect existing local changes on theground.3. Amendment to the local centres to reflect existing local changes as well asfacilitating growth areas where appropriate4. Amendment to local centres to encompass greater growthPolicy SS14Local Centres are shown on the Proposals Map (Plan 10). The range of retail,service, leisure and community facilities provided in a local centre will bedetermined by the size of its catchment area.Local centres should provide a small format grocery store (up to 500 m2), anewsagent and ATM machine, community centre, hot food takeaway andhairdressers as a minimum requirement with additional services determined on thecharacteristics and catchment population of individual centres.Reasoned Justification4.36 A network of local centres is essential to provide easily accessible shopping to meetpeople’s day-to-day needs and should be the focus for investment in more accessiblelocal services, such as health centres and other small scale community facilities.Local shopping facilities provide a particularly important service for those who areless mobile, especially elderly and disabled people, families with small children andthose without access to a car. They also reduce the need to travel to larger centres,and therefore can cut fuel consumption.4.37 The development of local centres can aid towards a number of themes within theCommunity Strategy such as creating a healthier and a safer city through moreprovision of more shops and services within the local area creating a stronger senseof community.4.38 The range and scale of uses which should be found within local centres will differdepending on the catchment area of the particular centre. Generally uses will besought which compliment existing facilities and which provide a balance in serviceprovision for the local community. The centres shown on the Proposals Maprecognise existing core local centre areas as well as updating the list to include anumber of newly created local centres such as Norton which forms part of a newresidential development area.42