The sequential approach for retail guides development retail centre development, and is dependent on the size of the proposal. Policy DM66 of our Core Strategy sets out when the sequential test is required.
A retail sequential test is required if the planning development meets the below criteria:
- retail proposals that include an increase in retail floor area (including mixed use with retail as part of the scheme) within defined retail parks
- retail proposals (including mixed use with retail as part of the scheme) with a floor area of 200m2 or more and located outside of a defined retail centre as shown on the Policies Map
- retail proposals located in a defined district centre if the floor area is more than 500m2
- retail proposals located in a defined local centre if the floor area is more than 300m2
Requirements
When needed the test should:
- identify sites which are preferable in terms of the hierarchy of centres
- compare the proposed site with centres that are of a similar level of development and its proposed catchment
- assess the suitability of the site to accommodate the proposal with regard to use flexibility
- where sites are located outside the first or second preferred location, assess the accessibility of the site
- identify what flexibility there is in terms of the format or scale of the proposal and what contribution a preferred location would make to accommodate the proposal.