Local List Glossary

When is this required?

An impact assessment - development proposals for town centre uses which meet or exceed defined thresholds that are not within a defined Town or District Centre (Barnstaple, Bideford, Braunton, Great Torrington, Ilfracombe, South Molton, Appledore, Northam, Roundswell and Westward Ho!) or a site allocated for the proposed use in the North Devon and Torridge Local Plan.

Town centre uses comprise:

• retail development (including retail warehouse, clubs and factory outlet centres);
• leisure, entertainment facilities, and the more intensive sport and recreation uses (including cinemas, restaurants, drive-through restaurant, bars and pubs, night-clubs, casinos, health and fitness centres, indoor bowling centres, and bingo halls);
• offices; and
• arts, culture and tourism development (including theatres, museums, galleries and concert halls, hotels and conference facilities.

The threshold at which an impact assessment will be required is 250 square metres (gross) for retail development and 2,500 square metres (gross) for other main town centre uses.

A sequential assessment - development proposals for town centre uses that are not within a Town or District Centre (Barnstaple, Bideford, Braunton, Great Torrington, Ilfracombe, South Molton Appledore, Northam, Roundswell and Westward Ho!) or a site allocated for the proposed use in the North Devon and Torridge Local Plan.

Note: The sequential approach will not be required to be applied to applications local and rural shops enabled on the basis of Policy DM21: Local and Rural Shops.

What information is required?

An impact assessment will be required to assess the impact of the proposal development on:

• existing, committed and planned public and private investment in the catchment area of the development proposal; and
• town/district centre vitality and viability, including local consumer choice and trade in the town/district centre and the wider retail catchment (as applicable to the scale and nature of the scheme).

A sequential assessment will be required to demonstrate that there are no suitable sequentially preferable locations, on the basis of defined Town and District Centres first, and followed by: edge of centre, edge of town then out of town. The assessment should also include a consideration of flexibility in the format and/or scale of the proposal.

Relevant Policy and reason for the document

North Devon and Torridge Local Plan 2011-2031: http://consult.torridge.gov.uk/portal/planning/localplan/adoption/

North Devon and Torridge Local Plan Policy ST12: Town and District Centres

North Devon and Torridge Local Plan Policy DM19: Town and District Centres

Further information:

National Planning Policy Framework Paragraph 89: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-planning-policy-framework--2 

Planning Practice Guidance Paragraphs 008 - 11 https://www.gov.uk/guidance/ensuring-the-vitality-of-town-centres