• Written Statement – Contents
• Proposals Maps
• Copyright Notice
• Local Plan Help

Touring Caravans and Tents

3.74a In recent years some sites have reduced or discontinued their facilities for touring caravans and therefore, there may be a need for additional provision of higher quality facilities. The Council will therefore encourage schemes which introduce facilities for touring caravans and tents on new sites and within existing static sites, new holiday village developments, recognising the economic benefits of the provision of a wider range of tourism accommodation.

3.74b Following the recommendations of the Tendring Tourism Study, the holiday occupation period has been extended for most accommodation to over 10 months of the year. This brings the period in line with other coastal resort areas. However, the Council is keen to avoid possible increases in full-time occupation of holiday units. This is because holiday accommodation is unsuited for such a purpose by virtue of its construction standards and setting in areas not suitable for permanent residential occupation particularly in the winter months. Also permanent occupation displaces accommodation intended for tourism use. Many such sites are also located in areas that are potentially vulnerable to flooding. It is proposed that wherever possible occupation of these holiday homes should be restricted to certain times of the year, principally the summer holiday season, the Christmas and New Year period and at weekends, although additional provision is made for winter breaks. Properties can of course be used for the storage of household effects at all times.

3.75 In accordance with PPG25 requirements, applicants will need to submit a flood risk assessment when proposing development in areas of flood risk. Further information on areas which are at risk of flooding is available from the Strategic Flood Risk Assessment carried out by the Council.

3.76 Following the recommendations of the Tendring Tourism Study, the holiday occupation period has been extended for most accommodation to over 10 months of the year. This brings the period in line with other coastal resort areas. However, the Council is keen to avoid possible increases in full-time occupation of holiday units. This is because holiday accommodation is unsuited for such a purpose by virtue of its construction standards and setting in areas not suitable for permanent residential occupation particularly in the winter months. Also permanent occupation displaces accommodation intended for tourism use. Many such sites are also located in areas that are potentially vulnerable to flooding. It is proposed that wherever possible occupation of these holiday homes should be restricted to certain times of the year, principally the summer holiday season, the Christmas and New Year period and at weekends, although additional provision is made for winter breaks. Properties can of course be used for the storage of household effects at all times.

3.77 Policy HG20 in the Sustainable and Affordable Housing Chapter specifically deals with the related issue of plotland development and extensions to holiday dwellings.

Small Holiday Villages

3.78 The Tourism Study recognised that a number of small scale self-catering holiday villages have been developed throughout the country often in wooded locations. The study also highlighted that there may be demand for this type of facility in the District.

3.79 The term small — holiday village” in this context is defined as comprising well designed timber chalets set on plinths and with pitched roofs, located preferably in a predominantly wooded and undulating landscape setting with water features. The emphasis is on lower densities and more informal layouts than traditional caravan sites, and high quality facilities possibly grouped in a club house excluding commercialised amusements entertainment. In essence the development’s concept aims to provide for the more passive leisure activities appropriate to the countryside which visitors able to pay the higher cost of accommodation are looking for.

3.80 It is also essential that proposals are in sympathy with the surroundings and contain a detailed site survey and assessment of the landscape impact of the proposal. The design of holiday villages must be carefully considered to ensure that they blend in with their surroundings. These facilities could also allow for the provision of a limited number of touring caravans.

3.81 Proposals for small holiday villages will be assessed against the important locational considerations set out in Policy ER21, and at a more detailed level against the criteria for individual sites set out in Policy ER22.

Touring Caravans and Tents

3.82 In recent years some sites have reduced or discontinued their facilities for touring caravans and therefore, there may be a need for additional provision of higher quality facilities. The Council will therefore encourage schemes which introduce facilities for touring caravans and tents on new sites and within existing static sites, new holiday village developments, recognising the economic benefits of the provision of a wider range of tourism accommodation.

Serviced Tourist Accommodation

3.83 Within the District as a whole there has been a steady decline in the number of hotels and guest houses over the last 25 years. Some premises have been lost to redevelopment mainly for housing schemes whilst others have been converted to institutional uses including care and nursing homes and hostels of one kind or another. The Council recognises that in addition to self-service and caravan accommodation there is a need to retain and upgrade the existing stock of hotels and guest houses. This is particularly important within the core resort areas of the main resorts. This will ensure that there is a wide choice of accommodation for tourists. However, the Council also recognises that economic circumstances can change and wherever it can be proven that there is no longer a need for the current land use, change of use will be permitted. The applicant will need to prove that the land use is no longer viable by using the same criteria as set out for Policy ER3, which is explained in detail in Appendix 3a.

3.84 More detailed policies relating to hotels, guest houses and tourism can be found in area policy statements and featuring where appropriate on Proposals Map Insets.

Other Tourist Related Developments

3.85 The traditional influx of large numbers of visitors to the area in the summer months has given rise to the establishment of numerous commercial enterprises specifically catering for the needs of tourists e.g. guest houses, holiday flats, restaurants, craft shops etc. Often such uses can be introduced through the conversion of existing buildings. The Council supports the conversion of suitable buildings for these uses particularly when proposals create an opportunity to secure the preservation and effective use of a building of architectural or historic interest.

3.86 As part of the Government’s rural economic diversification policy initiatives, the kind of uses described above may be appropriate for the conversion of rural buildings, particularly if they are situated on the fringes of the main settlements or are in village locations. Further guidance on conversions of buildings to employment generating uses is set out in Policy ER11 above.

Facilities Along the A120 Corridor

3.87 As a result of its involvement in the promotion of tourism within the District, and in particular the recognition that large numbers of European tourists pass through Harwich and subsequently along the A120, the Council has identified a need for the provision of tourist facilities along this route. Provision could include a catering establishment, motorist service facilities, local tourism information, picnic areas and possibly high quality hotel accommodation with appropriate ancillary leisure facilities.

3.88 To be consistent with other policies in the Plan particularly those associated with countryside conservation and transport, new tourist related facilities will need to relate to other planned development on the edge of existing settlements within the corridor, rather than occupying free standing — greenfield” locations. Consequently Policy ER27 makes provision for facilities at appropriate locations. Sites for large new employment areas on the edge of Harwich in the A120 corridor, referred to in Chapters 2 and 3 may also be suitable locations for accommodating associated hotel and tourist and leisure facilities. These facilities will need to be provided within an attractive quality environment and will therefore also be suitable for the needs of tourists visiting and passing through the area.

Tourist Information Points and Picnic Sites

3.89 The Countryside Agency has recommended the establishment of picnic areas along major roads to cater for the needs of holiday visitors. These facilities can often be incorporated within service stations, country parks or tourist information points. Well designed and sign posted facilities help to reduce the problems of unauthorised catering and litter associated with lay-bys (See also the Country Parks section of the Safer and Healthier Communities Chapter).

Amusement Centres

3.90 Amusement arcades and family entertainment centres are an essential part of the facilities and vitality of seaside resorts, especially at night or when the weather is poor. However, it is important that they are located where they would not be detrimental to the character of an area, highway safety or the amenities of residential properties and other uses particularly sensitive to noise and related disturbance. Amusement centre areas are defined on certain Proposals Map Insets, and referred to in appropriate area policy statements. These areas identify locations where amusement centres will be concentrated.

Casinos

3.91 During the Plan Period new legislation relating to the development of casinos is likely to be introduced which will pass responsibility of licensing premises used for gambling to local authorities. The Gambling Act 2005 modernises the law on gambling and introduces a unified regulator for gambling, the Gambling Commission. Whilst this new Gambling Commission will regulate the gambling industry the Act passes the responsibility for the licensing of gambling premises to Local Authorities. It is likely that the provisions of this Act will be fully implemented by late 2007. Under the recommendations made by the Budd Report (2001prepared for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport Entertainment) casinos in the future may include bingo and betting in addition to table games and live entertainment. Resort casinos may also be able to offer gaming, accommodation, restaurants and possibly conference facilities. The Council considers that casinos are best provided as part of larger development complexes where the opportunity to achieve a comprehensive mix of hotel, leisure and shopping facilities can be realised. Because of the numbers of people attracted, and their hours of operation, it would be inappropriate to allow such complexes within predominantly residential areas. the most appropriate location for casinos will be in the central part of the main resort towns in areas occupied by complementary uses, away from residential areas, seafront sites and on sites where shopping frontages will not be lost.

Shopping and Town and Other Retail Centres

3.92 Retailing is a highly important component of the District’s economy. The strength of High Street spending is regarded as an indicator of the performance of the national economy. The health and vitality of the District’s shopping town and other retail centres may therefore, be taken as indicators of local economic performance. The maintenance of existing shopping town and other retail centres and new investment in retail facilities are also important complementary parts of the Plan’s regeneration objectives.

3.93 This section deals with planning policies relating to retail and other town centre uses related development within the District as a whole and provides guidance on all forms of retailing and other town centre uses within town centres, and out-of-town locations, district centres, and local centres and shopping within rural areas.

National Context

3.94 National policy guidance on retailing is set out in PPS6: Planning for Town Centres the revised PPG6 thatwhich was published in March 2005 June 1996 . The emphasis of PPS6 is to encourage new retail development to locate within existing town centres, based on a — sequential approach” to site selection. Additionally, the guidance seeks to promote town centres in terms of quality and vitality through town centre management initiatives, environmental improvements and good urban design. The guidance also states that in addition to shops, town centres are appropriate locations for a range of leisure, entertainment, sports facilities, offices and cultural and tourist facilitiescomplementary service, leisure and employment generating uses, all of which attract large numbers of people and trips. In addition PPS6 refers to the Government’s wider policy objectives that are relevant, relating to social inclusion, regeneration, promotion of economic growth and the delivery of more sustainable patterns of development.

Regional Context

3.95 Currently, Regional Planning Guidance for the South East (RPG9) published in March 2001 recognises that existing town centres will continue to be the main focus of the economic and social life of the communities in the region. It states that town centres have suffered from the last recession and the diversion of investment to out-of-centre retail developments. To reverse this trend the guidance states that there is a need to focus retailing development in town centres partly through urban renaissance mechanisms and to avoid further development in out-of-centre locations.

Replacement Structure Plan

3.96 The Replacement Structure Plan sets out a strategic planning policy context for the consideration of new retail development. The Plan sets out a strategic hierarchy for shopping centres and describes Clacton, Frinton and Harwich as principal town centres, which are smaller than the main sub-regional centres within the county such as neighbouring Colchester. The Structure Plan also reflects the sequential approach set out in PPG6 PPS6 and seeks to protect the vitality and viability of existing town, district and local centres.

3.96a More recent work undertaken by the County Council suggested the formation of a — major centre” category below the sub-regional level, which includes Colchester. The suggested — major centre” includes Clacton whilst the other centres of Frinton and Dovercourt fall within a — Town centre” category.

District Wide Retail Study

3.97 Between 1998 and 2003 the Council commissioned a series of comprehensive retail studies carried out by consultants. The studies included full health checks for the main town centres within the District including Clacton, Frinton, Walton, Dovercourt, Brightlingsea and Manningtree, in addition to summary health check studies for Old Road in Clacton, Great Clacton and The Triangle in Frinton. The health checks addressed the vitality and viability measures set out in revised PPG6.

3.98 Further related studies also established the overall need for retail floorspace provision for the Plan Period in phases up to 2006 and 2011, in addition to making recommendations on the policy content for the Replacement Local Plan. The studies concluded that the District’s town centres were in varying states of health but were all fulfilling a useful local shopping role. Future planning policies should continue to maintain and enhance their respective retailing roles.

3.99 In addition, the studies concluded that there was a need for further non-food bulky goods retail floorspace in the Clacton area all of which was unlikely to be accommodated within Clacton Town Centre and therefore, the identification of a suitable out-of-centre shopping location for shops selling bulky goods was considered to be necessary. Since the Study was completed, planning permission has been granted on appeal for a large out-of-town centre non-food bulky goods retail development at the Brook Park site on the edge of the built up area of Clacton has opened. This development (taking into account the very recent planning permissions for a new foodstore on part of this site), when implemented will provides for the majority of bulky goods floorspace identified by the retail study. Taking into account the potential sites within the built-up area, there is no need to identify a further out-of-towncentre site in the Plan Period.

3.100 The retail study which concluded there was a need to accommodate a small amount of food shopping floorspace across the District, together with the recent planning approval fordevelopment of a new foodstore on the Brook Park site means there is no need to identify a further site for a large foodstore. A sub-regional study, the Retail Study for North Essex is currently being undertaken and is likely to be available by the end of 2005.

Hierarchiesy of Centres

3.101 Replacement Structure Plan Policy TCR1 sets out a strategic hierarchy of urban centres. Clacton, Frinton and Harwich are included within the list of — principal town centres”, which fall between sub- regional and smaller town centres. More recent work undertaken by the County Council suggested the formation of a — major centre” category below the sub-regional level which includes Colchester.

3.102 The suggested — major centre” includes Clacton whilst the other centres of Frinton and Dovercourt fall within a ”Town centre” category. Policy ER31 below has adopted the more recent approach to defining the shopping centre hierarchy within the District as recommended by the Council’s consultants. The Policy is intended to provide a context for accommodating retail development within centres appropriate to their size, role and function.

3.103 It should be acknowledged that the Tendring area is also served by the larger sub-regional centres of nearby Colchester and to a lesser extent, Ipswich. These sub-regional centres outside of the District, accommodate much larger scale shopping facilities including department stores.

3.104 However, despite the level of competition from the sub-regional centres, it is important that the Plan makes provision for the growth of town centres within the District which perform more localised shopping roles.

3.104a The district contains a number of centres, each performing an important function within a well established hierarchy of centres. Town centres are areas of predominantly leisure, business and other main town centre uses and provide a full range of facilities and services. District centres usually comprise groups of shops often containing a supermarket, a range of non-retail services and public facilities. Local centres include a range of small shops of a local nature and serve a small catchment area.

3.104b Town centre boundaries have been defined for Clacton, Dovercourt, Frinton, Walton, Brightlingsea, Manningtree and Harwich and are defined on the Proposals Maps. The town centre boundary is the relevant boundary for the purposes of assessing need and applying the sequential approach to the development of new town centre uses. Town centre uses include:

• Retail;

• Leisure, entertainment facilities and intensive sport and recreation uses;

• Offices; and

• Arts, culture and tourism.

3.104c The town centres are conveniently located for the majority of the District’s population and are also the focal point for public transport. It is the Council’s intention that they be protected and remain the economic and social focus for the whole community. The District centres also contain a wide range of shops and services and will be suitable locations for accommodating new retail and related developments such as cafes and professional offices in scale with the functions and size of the particular centre.

The main shopping centres of the District are defined on the Proposals Map Insets.

Location of Development

3.105 Town centres will continue to be the main focus for new retail development and other uses, which generate a large amount of activity, with Clacton containing the largest quantity and range of shops and related services. However, in addition to the town, district and local centres referred to in Policy ER31, Tendring also has a number of smaller shopping parades and isolated shops both within suburban areas and villages. These provide a useful — top up” convenience shopping role, particularly for the retired population who may shop daily and not have the use of a car. Although these locations are too small to apply a — sequential approach” to new shopping provision, the Council will seek to protect them for the benefit of the convenience of the localised areas, which they serve.

3.106 The main shopping areas within town centres are defined on the Proposals Map Insets. In the case of Clacton, the Central Area contains the main focus for retail and associated uses within which new shopping provision should primarily be accommodated. The main centres are located close to the majority of the District’s population and are also the focal point for public transport. Essentially, they are accessible places of major activity where large numbers of people live, work and visit for shopping and leisure activities. It is intended that they will be protected and remain the economic and social focus for the whole community.

3.107 The District centres also contain a wide range of shops and services and will be suitable locations for accommodating new retail and related developments such as cafís and small professional offices in scale with the functions and size of the particular centre.

3.108 The District-wide retail study concluded that additional food and non-food retail floorspace will be required to meet the shopping needs of residents and visitors during the Plan Period. The study also stated that although much of the new provision should beaccommodated within established centres, some of the non-food bulky goods provision for the Clacton area would need to be built on a site or sites outside the town centre including suitable edge-of-centre sites. This is because the Clacton Central Area does not have physical capacity to provide for all of the floorspace provision, some of which requires large retail warehouse formats.

3.109 In 2001, planning permission was granted on appeal for 11,152sqm of gross non-food bulky floorspace at a site at Brook Farm in north Clacton. If this proposal is implemented the majority of new bulky goods retail provision in the Clacton area for the period up to 2006 will have been met. Given that there are also various edge of town centre sites also likely to be available, it is not necessary to identify further retail sites in the Clacton area outside existing shopping centres within the Plan. Whilst the Council will carry out further annual health checks during the next five years, there will be a general presumption against additional out-of-centre development in the Clacton area before the end of the Local Plan Period.

3.110 Consequently any proposals for new retail development not on sites identified for retail development, will be considered against Policy ER32 and the sequential approach as set out in paragraph 1.11 of PPG6 which states:Adopting a sequential approach means that first preference should be for town centre sites, where suitable sites or buildings suitable for conversion are available, followed by edge of centre sites, district and local centres are only then out-of-centre sites in locations that are accessible by a choice of means of transport”.

3.111 In the case of Clacton, reference is made to the Central Area, which comprises the area covered by the town centre in terms of the application of PPG6PPS6. Policy TCR2 set out in the Replacement Structure Plan also contains a sequential approach for retail and other town centre uses, which will be applied to relevant proposals.

Proposed Town Centre uses outside existing Town Centres

3.111c Any proposals for new town centre uses outside of existing centres will be considered against Policy ER32 and the sequential approach as set out in paragraphs 2.44, 3.13 — 3.19, 3.29 and Annex A Table 2 of PPS6.

3.112 The Council will require developments proposed on edge and out-of-centre sites to be accompanied by a statement, which is evidence based and justifies the need for the development. This will need to be independently verified, which the applicant will normally be expected to fund.

3.113 The level of need should be considered in relation to the following broad floorspace estimates derived from the District-wide Retail Study as updated in 2003, for the periods up to 2006 and 2011. Where the figures for comparison goods are shown in the form of a range, the lower end of the range assumes floorspace provided within smaller town centre unit shops, whilst the upper end assumes the floorspace provided within larger retail warehouse formats outside of town centres. The likely outcome in most instances will be the provision of a proportion of new shopping floorspace in both types of retail format and location, with a preference for town centre and edge of centre locations over out-of-centre sites.

Comparison Goods Floorspace Needs

*Figures take account of the Brook Farm decision of the District Council in March 2004 [Application 03/01312/FUL (Tesco Store)].

3.114 In accordance with PPG6 and the emerging PPS6 the following policy will apply in determining planning applications for retail proposed town centre uses development outside the defined town centres.

3.115 Large-scale commercial, leisure and other uses that generate significant amounts of activity will also be considered against the Plan’s sequential approach to site selection.

Non-Retail Service Uses in Shopping Areas

3.116 In addition to shops, town centres accommodate a range of complementary service uses, which supplement the shopping function of centres. Uses that fall within Class A2 (financial and professional services) such as bank, building societies, estate agents and betting offices in addition to Class A3 (food and drink) uses, which include restaurants, cafes, public houses and hot food take away shops are normally located within shopping centres. Other uses such as general offices and amusement arcades will also continue to be accommodated within central commercial areas.

Primary Shopping Area

3.116a In addition to a town centre boundary, a ’primary shopping area’ has been defined for Clacton. In accordance with guidance in PPS6 the primary shopping area is the preferred location for new shopping development. It is not necessary to demonstrate ’need’ for new shopping developments within this area. The extent of the primary shopping area is defined on the Clacton Proposals Map.

Primary Shopping Frontages

3.116b The town centres all contain a primary shopping frontage in which development is restricted to a high proportion of A1 uses. This approach was recommended by the Council’s retail consultants and is consistent with Government guidance.

3.117 However, iIf the proportion of Class A1 shop uses in the Primary Shopping Frontages continue to decline through the changes of use away from shops the Council is concerned that this could undermine the retail function of the District’s town centres. In addition, allowing a number of non-retail uses in close proximity to one another within the Primary Shopping Frontages will have the effect of breaking up the coherence of the centres. This could damage the attractiveness of the shopping frontages and lead to an undermining of the overall vitality and viability of a centre. Therefore, within the identified Primary Shopping Frontages as shown on the Proposals Map Insets, Policy ER33 seeks to protect the retailing vitality and character of each town centre by controlling the proportion of non shop units so as not to exceed approximately 10% of the aggregate length of a group of identified individual street frontages. The defined core frontages represent the primary shopping areas in terms of the application of PPG6.

3.118 While the Primary Shopping Frontages are restricted to a high proportion of retail uses there is much more scope and flexibility for accommodating Class A2 and A3 uses in secondary shopping areas outside of the core areas. This approach was recommended by the Council’s retail consultants and is consistent with Government guidance.

3.119 In recognition of the importance of non-retail services in shopping centres Policy ER33 would still facilitate, for example, ground floor changes of use in Primary Shopping Frontages from Class A2 financial and professional services to Class A3 food and drink premises as well as appropriate upper floor changes of use from Class A1 retail use to non-shopping uses. Furthermore, as part of a dual approach, Policy ER34 below still ensures that there is scope for Class A2 and A3 non-retail services elsewhere within main shopping areas outside of Primary Shopping Frontages.

Quality of Centres

3.120 Shoppers’ expectations about the quality of the environment are rising and competition from other centres has significantly increased. New large shopping centres often benefit from co-ordinated management and a similar approach is needed for existing centres.

3.121 Access to shops is a significant planning issue, as shopping trips are one of the most frequent reasons for going outside the home. The Council has prepared SPG on an accessible and inclusive environment, which will be taken into account when considering planning applications.

3.122 In addition to improving access to and within shops, and the provision of facilities in large stores, further opportunities for people with disabilities to make shopping trips will be increased by the proximity of homes to shops. For this reason the Council feels that it is important to use planning powers to retain the provision of small scale local shopping facilities and to encourage their provision in new developments where there is no access to local shops or where they are likely to be inadequate.

Small Convenience Stores Outside of Shopping Centres

3.123 Parts of the built up areas of the District contain large suburbs with few local accessible convenience stores. Examples are parts of West Clacton and Dovercourt where housing is the predominant use. Policy ER37 provides a policy basis to allow for the development of small convenience stores of up to 150sqm floorspace. The size limitation is necessary to ensure that any such stores principally perform a local shopping role, surrounding areas do not suffer unduly from noise and traffic and to avoid sporadically sited larger supermarkets and superstores, which would need to be considered against Policies ER31 and ER32. Policy ER37 also applies to related proposals in villages.

3.123a Larger convenience facilities, above 150sqm floorspace within or on the edge of villages are more likely to have a material adverse impact on the vitality and viability of existing nearby small scale shopping provision and will therefore, need to be considered against policies ER31 and ER32. Larger stores would also be more likely to draw in car based trade from wider areas and will therefore not normally be permitted.

Village Shops

3.124 The District contains a substantial rural area with a large number of villages. Shopping provision varies considerably from village to village. Large villages such as Thorpe-le-Soken contain a variety of small comparison and convenience goods shops, whereas small villages and hamlets such as Little Bromley and Stones Green have little or no provision at all. Village shops can help to serve a useful local and top up shopping need. They are generally conveniently accessible to local residents and offer an alternative to travelling further distances for smaller and regular shopping trips. They also contribute to the local economy and village viability.

3.125 The Plan seeks to protect existing retail provision within village locations. The loss of local shops will, therefore, only be justified if it is clear that they could not be made viable in the long term and have remained vacant for a significant period of time. Policy COM3 provides further guidance on the protection of existing local service uses and facilities.

3.126 The Plan also provides for new small scale shopping provision (i.e. up to 150sqm net sales area) within villages subject to amenity and traffic considerations. Judgements on the scale of provision need to be made on a case by case basis, having regard to other local facilities and the role of the village centre in shopping policy terms.

3.127 Larger convenience facilities, above 150sqm floorspace within or on the edge of villages are more likely to have a material adverse impact on the vitality and viability of existing nearby small scale shopping provision and will therefore, need to be considered against policies ER31 and ER32. Larger stores would also be more likely to draw in car based trade from wider areas and will therefore not normally be permitted.

Filling Stations

3.128 Filling stations often sell convenience goods on an ancillary basis, which can also serve as a useful local top up shopping function. The Council considers that this trend should be allowed to continue especially in instances where filling stations are within or close to a particular settlement. However, to ensure that retailing at filling stations remains a predominantly ancillary and local topping up role, the amount of new shopping floorspace provision will be confined to 150sqm net.

Retail Uses in the Countryside

3.129 Farm shops are a further form of retail provision found in rural areas and usually do not require planning permission providing the goods sold from the site are produced on the farm or holding. The sale of a small amount of imported produce to supplement the home produced goods could also contribute to local shopping provision and economy and would be particularly beneficial if located close to an existing village.

3.130 Farm shops should be established using existing buildings wherever possible and permission will not normally be granted for the construction of new buildings for use for retail purposes. Where planning permission is required, the following Policy will be applied.

Market Trading and Car Boot Sales

3.131 Proposals for market trading or car boot sales can have serious environmental or economic consequences within an area and therefore need to be considered very carefully. In the light of the number of markets and car boot sales currently operating in the District, the Council will give serious consideration to serving an immediate Article 4 Direction under the General Permitted Development Order, requiring a planning application to be made for any regular market or car boot sale proposals which come to its notice.

Forecourt Trading

3.132 In considering planning applications for forecourt trading the Council is especially concerned with preventing piecemeal, noisy or unsightly forms of display and safeguarding public safety. In certain cases when permitting proposals, which could lead to forecourt trading activities, such as shops, cafís or amusement arcades, the Council may by condition require separate planning consent for any forecourt trading on environmental or public safety grounds.

< Prev | ^ Top | Next >