Draft Black Country Plan

4 Appendix – Centres

Centres – definitions of appropriate uses and relevant boundaries for applying BCP Centres Policies CEN1 - CEN6

1. Appropriate Uses

For the purposes of determining planning applications, and policies and proposals in future Local Development Plans, related to BCP Centres Chapter Policies CEN1 - CEN6, "appropriate uses" include business, commercial, service and community uses and comprise:

1. Centre Uses - those uses and "sui generis" designations that should be directed to defined centres in the first instance, are subject to requirements set out in national guidance (such as the sequential test and impact assessments) and local policy (particularly BCP Policies CEN1 - CEN6, such as the floorspace thresholds for undertaking the impact assessments set out in national guidance, and Local Development Plan Policies, such as frontage policies) defined as currently including:

i) Main Town Centre Uses contained in the latest national policy guidance (currently defined in NPPF Annex 2), including

Commercial, Business and Service uses:

1. Display or retail sale of goods, other than hot food (retail development, including warehouse clubs and factory outlet centres)
2. Sale of food and drink for consumption (mostly) on the premises (including restaurants and wine bars and public houses, drinking establishments, and drinking establishments with expanded food provision,
3. Indoor sport, recreation or fitness (not involving motorised vehicles or firearms) and other leisure and entertainment uses such as drive-through restaurants, cinemas, nightclubs, casinos, indoor bowling centres, dance halls, concert halls (venues for live music performance) and bingo halls,
4. Offices to carry out any operational or administrative functions

Local Community, Non-residential Institutions and Learning uses:

5. Display of works of art (otherwise than for sale or hire) (including galleries)
6. Museums
7. Included within i above: Shops (mostly) selling essential goods, including food, where the shop's premises do not exceed 280 square metres and there is no other such facility within 1000 metres;

and uses:

8. arts, culture and tourism development (including theatres and concert halls, hotels and conference facilities).

ii) Additional Uses not specifically cited in i. above, but can either be implied in i. above, are cited elsewhere in latest national guidance such as the PPG, or are highly compatible with the uses/ types of uses set out in i, including:

Commercial, Business and Service uses:

9. Provision of Financial services,
10. Professional services (other than health or medical services)

Local Community, Non-residential Institutions and Learning uses:

11. Public libraries or public reading rooms
12. Exhibition halls
13. Indoor or outdoor swimming pools or skating rinks

and uses:

14. Launderettes
15. Betting offices/shops
16. Pay day loan shops
17. Hot food takeaways (for the sale of hot food where consumption of that food is mostly undertaken off the premises)
18. Beauty Salons and nail bars
19. Other uses where they fall outside the defined limits of any other use class.

2. Complementary Uses: those uses and "sui generis" designations that are well placed to be provided in centres, and where proposals for such uses to serve centres will be supported including:

iii) Social Infrastructure: Good quality facilities that have a significant bearing on the quality of life and health and well-being of a community, by encouraging social interaction, promoting learning and providing support services to those living, working and visiting an area, including:

Commercial, Business and Service Uses:

1. Other appropriate services in a commercial, business or service locality
2. Provision of medical or health services (except the use of premises attached to the residence of the consultant or practitioner)
3. Creche, day nursery or day centre (not including a residential use)

Local Community, Non-residential Institutions and Learning uses:

4. Provision of education
5. Public halls
6. Public worship or religious instruction (or in connection with such use)
7. Law courts
8. Halls or meeting places for the principal use of the local community
9. Sports stadia and other outdoor entertainment venues

and:

10. residential uses which contribute to ensuring the vitality and viability centres.

If national guidance changes in the future, relevant centres policies (particularly BCP policies CEN1 - CEN6 and Local Plan Documents, such as relating to frontage policy), will still apply to those uses identified that should be directed to centres in the first instance.

2. Definitions of in-centre, edge-of-centre and out-of-centre locations

Table 53 below sets out the specific locations that are defined as in, edge or out-of-centre for various uses by each LPA that are set out in relevant Local Development Plans, to assist with applying relevant policies and national tests highlighted in BCP Policy CEN1 Table 7 and set out in policies CEN2 - CEN6. The Local Development Plan sources are cited below the table. These definitions and boundaries reflect current national guidance and Local Development Plans may make adjustments to them in the future, informed by the prevailing guidance and evidence. The locations are defined as follows:

1. In-centre locations for appropriate uses are those defined in Local Development Plans, such as primary shopping areas and centre boundaries and are subject to Policies CEN2 - CEN4).
2. Edge-of-centre locations for tier-one and tier-two centres are those locations defined by national guidance, currently within 300m of in-centre locations. For retail purposes, a location that is well connected to, and up to 300 metres from, the primary shopping area. For all other main town centre uses, a location within 300 metres of a town centre boundary. For office development, this includes locations outside the centre but within 500 metres of a public transport interchange. As emphasised in current national guidance, taking account of local circumstances locations immediately adjoining the boundaries of Tier-Three Centres are defined as edge-of-centre.
3. Out-of-centre locations are those locations not in or on the edge of a centre. Proposals in edge and out-of-centre locations need to meet the requirements of Policies CEN5 and CEN6.

Table 49 - Definitions of in-, edge- and out-of-centre locations (BCP Policies CEN1– CEN6)

Sources - The relevant boundaries set out in Table 53 above are informed by relevant Local Plan Documents of the BCA