The Forest Hill Society has objected to plans for M&S Food in Bell Green, just as we did when Aldi was proposed for the neighbouring store.
DC/24/134364: Insertion of mezzanine floor in connection with the
sub-division of Unit 5B, Bell Green Retail Park, Bell Green SE26
Impact
on Local High Streets:
We are
concerned that an additional supermarket in this location will pull more people
from the existing high streets in Sydenham and Forest Hill. The opening of Savacentre
(now Sainsburys) saw a series of closures in the high streets. The creation of
Aldi in the Bell Green retail park in 2018 put further pressure on local high
streets as a second large food retailer chose to open in this out of town
centre rather than in one of the town centres. The opening of a third
supermarket in this location will further exacerbate the decline in local
district and town centres in this part of Lewisham.
We would
refer to government guidelines on town centre development which states that:
The
sequential test guides main town centre uses towards town centre locations
first, then, if no town centre locations are available, to edge of centre
locations, and, if neither town centre locations nor edge of centre locations
are available, to out of town centre locations, with preference for accessible
sites which are well connected to the town centre. It supports the viability
and vitality of town centres by placing existing town centres foremost in both
plan-making and decision-taking.
ref: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/ensuring-the-vitality-of-town-centres
In this case
it is clear that at least one potential site for a supermarket is available in a
local town centre (vacated recently by Paddy Power in Forest Hill, which was
once a Tesco store), and for this reason the planning department, in applying
the appropriate sequential tests, should recognised that this location for a
new supermarket is inappropriate at the present time.
Contrary
to Core Strategy and Site Allocations:
Bell Green
is designated as a local hub, which is secondary to the District Hubs (such as
Forest Hill and Sydenham). Under the Bell Green specific part of Spatial Policy
4 the floorspace on the allocated site is limited to that which had permission
at the time of the adoption of the Core Strategy - specifically to limit impact
on adjacent town centres.
The Site
Allocations Policy DPD allocates the Bell Green site as SA26 and whilst identifying
the need for development clearly identifies a risk of impact on nearby town
centres and a need to seek to reduce car dependency. This application is directly
in contravention of the site allocation in both these regards. Existing
planning permission and designation in the Core Strategy and Site Allocations
Local Plan specifically excludes food retail, allowing only for A1 use for
non-food retail.
Core
Strategy, Spatial
Policy 4, June
2011
Bell
Green
1.
Designate as an out-of-centre retail park within the Council’s retail
hierarchy.
2.
Limit the floorspace and range of goods sold to that contained in the granted
planning permission to protect the viability of adjacent town centres.
Ref:
https://www.lewisham.gov.uk/myservices/planning/policy/Documents/CoreStrategyAdoptedVersion.pdf
(page
68)
Site
allocations local plan, June 2013
SA26:
Former Bell Green Gas Works (Phases 2 & 3), Perry Hill Sydenham, SE26 Phase
2: Mixed use business, industrial or warehouse, non-food
retail and associated
garden centre, restaurant, use of Livesey Memorial Hall as a social club Proposals
for this out-of-centre site should be considered in the context of protecting
existing town centres within the borough's hierarchy and, allow for comprehensive
redevelopment of the site. Proposals should seek to reduce car dependency,
improve public transport, cycling and walking access and promote more
sustainable forms of development.
Ref: https://www.lewisham.gov.uk/myservices/planning/policy/LDF/siteallocations/Documents/SiteAllocationsAdoption.pdf
(pp 91-92)
Further Development Management
Policy 30 sets out
that "the
Council require all development proposals to attain a high quality of
design". Which is
not the case in this application because of the way it:
a) fails to
create activity and frontage at ground level,
b) fails to
create coherent built form that relates to the local topology,
c) does not
make a positive relationship with existing townscape,
d) creates
large areas of parking and servicing, and
e) fails to
recognise the positive character of the existing gas holders or reflect its
positive
qualities in the scheme.
Ref: https://www.lewisham.gov.uk/myservices/planning/policy/LDF/developmentpolicies/Documents/DMLPAdoption.pdf
(page
85)
As a result
of the issues above, we ask the planning authority to reject this application
as being contrary to URB 18d, DM Policy 30, Spatial Policy 4, and national policy
on supporting high streets.
We would
encourage retailed such as M&S Food to look for suitable locations close to
Forest Hill and Sydenham Town Centres for new stores, which we are sure would
be welcomed by residents.
