Local Development Framework town centre and retail research

Town Centre Health Checks 2013

Town Centre Health Checks have been produced for the larger centres in the borough: Richmond, Twickenham, East Sheen, Teddington, Whitton and Barnes. The main purpose is to assess the buoyancy of the centres, comparing them to each other and making national comparisons.

Overall, Richmond’s town centres compare well to the UK average, and Richmond Town Centre in particular shows good resilience to the recession and the changes occurring in the retail sector.

See report below:

• Full Report(pdf, 3708KB)
• Summary Document(pdf, 2349KB)
• Town Centre Environmental Quality Assessment Report(pdf, 2781KB)

Retail Study (November 2014)

Consultants Nathaniel Lichfield & Partners have produced a report which looks at the future need for shopping floorspace across the borough. This updates the earlier studies carried out by GVA Grimley. The analysis suggests a need for 2,700m2 (net) of food shopping floorspace by 2024. Much of this could be distributed between primarily Richmond and to a lesser extent Twickenham and East Sheen town centres.

There is a greater need for comparison (non-food) shopping, a total of 8,600m2 (net) by 2024. Again, the majority of which is likely to be accommodated in Richmond town centre.

The report also estimates that there may also be a need for a further 6,500m2 (gross) of floorspace in the food and drink sector. Richmond, Teddington and Twickenham are expected to have room for most of this growth.

Much of this need can be met within existing centres and the report recommends that further Site Allocations are not needed.

The report is downloadable as below:

• Richmond Retail Study November 2014(pdf, 951KB)
• Richmond Retail Study November 2014 Appendices(pdf, 1722KB)

Distribution of Convenience Provision: Identifying Gaps in Provision

This exercise in convenience provision(pdf, 853KB) mapped convenience provision in the borough in order to identify residential areas which are more than 400 metres from shopping facilities.

Other factors were considered including the location of areas of relative deprivation in the borough, recent major housing completions and commitments, and the relationship with Public Transport Accessibility Levels.  

Analysis of Town and Local Centres 2006/7 (incorporating health checks for main town centres)

This Analysis of Town and Local Centres 2006/7 study(pdf, 1173KB) analysed town centres, local centres and parades in the borough taking into account their size, location and function, and whether the centre does or could be developed to fill a gap in provision. It takes into account whether a centre serves relatively deprived communities in the borough. From this a hierarchy of centres is put forward for consideration.

Volume 1 of Appendices(pdf, 681KB) presents detailed data especially for the main town centres. Volume 2 presents the Centre Land Use maps. Part 1 of Volume 2(pdf, 640KB) includes maps for the 5 main town centres. Part 2 of Volume 2(pdf, 1789KB) for the local centres.