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| Background |
Government guidance on town centres and retail developments places a requirement on Local Planning Authorities to have an understanding of the retail market in their areas so that valid and accurate judgements in respect of new shopping developments can be made.
To comply with this requirement, the Town Centres Team of Kirklees Planning Services undertakes a Town Centre Audit Programme. This is an annual rolling programme of research which :-
- monitors the nature and pattern of retail/commercial activity, and
- assesses in both economic and environmental terms, the health and performance of the principal shopping centres in the District.
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| Indicators of performance, health and vitality |
The Audit Programme (which commenced in 1996) currently monitors the centres of Huddersfield , Dewsbury, Batley, Heckmondwike, Cleckheaton and Holmfirth. We assess a range of indicators of health and vitality in these towns including:
- The structure of the town and the pattern of pedestrian movement;
- Retail floorspace, vacancy, number of shop units and nature of occupancy;
- The take up of retail floorspace and the retail development pipeline;
- National multiple representation;
- Comparison and convenience goods turnover, including catchment area definition and expenditure retention levels;
- Retailer demand and floorspace requirements;
- Commercial yields and rental levels;
- Retail employment;
- Public and private sector investment;
- Development opportunities;
- Business and users perceptions of the town;
- Public and private sector transport accessibility;
More recently, monitoring of the health of smaller centres has been included in the annual programme. Assessments have been carried out in Birstall and Mirfield, and also to a lesser degree in Birkby, Ravensthorpe, Marsh, Milnsbridge, Slaithwaite, Lockwood and Meltham.
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| Programme Objectives |
Statements of key economic indicators are published annually for each centre, with more detailed Audits (including analysis of environmental quality, accessibility, and business/shopper/visitor perceptions) published every 2/3 years for the larger towns.
These research publications have been used for a variety of purposes. In particular, they:
- Enable the Council to understand the roles individual centres play and how/why their relative strengths change over time;
- Enable the Council to take a more pro-active role in identifying sites for new development such as shopping, leisure and other key town centre uses;
- Provide the context for making investment decisions and the targeting of monies to secure physical improvements;
- Provide key research material that can assist in the marketing and promotion of particular town centres;
- Enable effective town centre strategies to be prepared with goals that are realistic and achievable;
- Enable the Council to make informed and valued decisions in respect of town centre regeneration;
- Assist the Council to identify how growth and decline of town centres can be effectively managed.
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| Publications |
Some of our publications are available in PDF format. For further information on the Town Centre Audit Programme or to obtain printed copies of any of our publications (free of charge), please contact:
Carol Dean
Tel:
01484 221628
Email to: carol.dean@kirklees.gov.uk
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