Development Management Policies DPD

Thank you for your email of 18 March consulting The Theatres Trust on the Allocations Development Plan Document and the Development Management Development Plan Document.

The Theatres Trust is The National Advisory Public Body for Theatres. The Town & Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order 1995, Article 10, Para (v) requires the Trust to be consulted on planning applications which include 'development involving any land on which there is a theatre.' It was established by The Theatres Trust Act 1976 'to promote the better protection of theatres'. This applies to all buildings that were either built as theatres or are used for theatre presentations, in current use, in other uses, or disused.

Due to the specific nature of the Trust's remit we are concerned with the protection and promotion of theatres and therefore anticipate policies relating to cultural facilities.

Development Management

Retail and Town Centres: We note and support the Vision of the first bullet point that by 2025 your town centres will contain a range of services and facilities that meet local demand. This is reflected in the third bullet point which states that shoppers will remain in the District's town centres because of the range of activities etc. Unfortunately there are no policies to introduce a range of facilities and services for your town centres, other than related to retail, as expressed in PPS4.

We query the use of the word 'shoppers' as visitors to your town centres who are attracted by a 'range of activities' may not primarily be 'shoppers'.

Your Cultural Strategy on page 5 states that We have already mentioned that culture effects us all on a daily basis, so it is essential that we do not leave future developments to chance. By creating this strategy and continuing the evaluation and development of the action plans, we can ensure that all gaps in provision, opportunities, demands and aspirations, priorities and partners, are identified and acted upon.

Although the Rayleigh and Rochford AAPs may discuss town centre uses other than retail, the deferring of development implementations to subsequent planning documents places the reliance on these other documents to make the important decisions. Unfortunately there is no guidance in the Core Strategy for the Development Management document to provide policies to support the development of cultural facilities in town centres.

The Development Management document should contain a policy in this section that seeks to promote the provision of community, recreation and leisure facilities within the key centres for development, including local service centre villages. It should also confirm that key local services and facilities are to be protected from development proposals that would result in their loss unless specified criteria to demonstrate a clear lack of viability of the facility can be met.

We look forward to being consulted on the Rayleigh and Rochford Town Centre Area Action Plans.

Thank you for your email of 18 March consulting The Theatres Trust on the Allocations Development Plan Document and the Development Management Development Plan Document.

The Theatres Trust is The National Advisory Public Body for Theatres. The Town & Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order 1995, Article 10, Para (v) requires the Trust to be consulted on planning applications which include 'development involving any land on which there is a theatre.' It was established by The Theatres Trust Act 1976 'to promote the better protection of theatres'. This applies to all buildings that were either built as theatres or are used for theatre presentations, in current use, in other uses, or disused.

Due to the specific nature of the Trust's remit we are concerned with the protection and promotion of theatres and therefore anticipate policies relating to cultural facilities.

Development Management

Retail and Town Centres: We note and support the Vision of the first bullet point that by 2025 your town centres will contain a range of services and facilities that meet local demand. This is reflected in the third bullet point which states that shoppers will remain in the District's town centres because of the range of activities etc. Unfortunately there are no policies to introduce a range of facilities and services for your town centres, other than related to retail, as expressed in PPS4.

We query the use of the word 'shoppers' as visitors to your town centres who are attracted by a 'range of activities' may not primarily be 'shoppers'.

Your Cultural Strategy on page 5 states that We have already mentioned that culture effects us all on a daily basis, so it is essential that we do not leave future developments to chance. By creating this strategy and continuing the evaluation and development of the action plans, we can ensure that all gaps in provision, opportunities, demands and aspirations, priorities and partners, are identified and acted upon.

Although the Rayleigh and Rochford AAPs may discuss town centre uses other than retail, the deferring of development implementations to subsequent planning documents places the reliance on these other documents to make the important decisions. Unfortunately there is no guidance in the Core Strategy for the Development Management document to provide policies to support the development of cultural facilities in town centres.

The Development Management document should contain a policy in this section that seeks to promote the provision of community, recreation and leisure facilities within the key centres for development, including local service centre villages. It should also confirm that key local services and facilities are to be protected from development proposals that would result in their loss unless specified criteria to demonstrate a clear lack of viability of the facility can be met.

We look forward to being consulted on the Rayleigh and Rochford Town Centre Area Action Plans.