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CHAPTER 8 - A 21ST CENTURY RETAIL AND LEISURE CENTRE

INTRODUCTION

8.1            Middlesbrough town centre is one of the north east’s strongest performing shopping centres, only Newcastle and the Metro Centre contain more retail floorspace. The town centre is the focus for the serviced-based economy, is a key driver in the wider town economy and an important source of employment. It has a vibrant evening economy based on the Middlesbrough Leisure Park including a cinema, restaurants, pubs and clubs. In addition, the borough has a strong network of district and local centres meeting the day to day needs of residents.

8.2       The RSS recognises Middlesbrough’s role as the largest retail centre in the Tees Valley and a major cultural and service employment centre serving the city region. As such it is identified as being appropriate to develop new city-scale leisure, cultural, office and retail development in the town centre and at Middlehaven. In terms of leisure uses, a focus for development will be within the Green Blue Heart between Middlesbrough and Stockton town centres.

MIDDLESBROUGH’S CENTRES

8.3            National guidance advocates the need to develop a hierarchy of centres with each performing an appropriate role to meet the needs of its catchment area. In Middlesbrough, a hierarchy has been established based on centres of strategic importance within the borough. The town centre is the largest centre in Middlesbrough and is a sub-regional centre in the north east region serving the catchment for the Tees Valley city region and beyond. It provides a range of convenience and comparison shopping, is the centre of the service-based economy and the location for two major further educational establishments, University of Teesside and Middlesbrough College. It performs an important administrative and cultural function. The two district centres of Berwick Hills and Coulby Newham serve convenience shopping needs, have a comparison shopping function and contain a range of leisure and community uses. There is also a network of local centres, which meet day to day shopping and community needs.

8.4       The Middlesbrough Retail Study (MRS) was prepared by consultants White Young Green in 2006 to identify future capacity in the borough to accommodate additional shopping facilities. The study highlights that the town centre is poorly represented in terms of convenience shopping while comparison goods shops (clothes, furniture and electrical goods) are well represented. However, there is a deficiency in ‘bulky’ comparison goods (furniture, electrical goods and carpets).

8.5       From a telephone survey of Middlesbrough and the surrounding area, the study found that for convenience goods, the market share has fallen over the past 5 years. This means that now only 42% of residents in the primary catchment area do their convenience shopping within Middlesbrough. This is resulting in more journeys to locations outside of the borough and less money being spent in the town’s economy. The study recommends to claw back some of this expenditure and to promote more sustainable travel patterns, Middlesbrough should increase its market share for convenience goods to a minimum of 50%. The study therefore identifies capacity for one large convenience food store by 2016. It further recommends that the majority of this floorspace be located in the town centre.

8.6       For comparison goods, the study recommends that just to retain Middlesbrough’s current market share, there is capacity for about 26,000 sq.m (net) floorspace by 2016. However, it further recommends that Middlesbrough again should seek to increase its market share, particularly for ‘bulky’ goods. The study states that market share for comparison goods should be increased to 40% resulting in capacity for about 42,000 sq.m floorspace by 2016. Retail capacity beyond 2016 will need to be assessed through a revision of the MRS.

8.7       Ensuring that Middlesbrough has the capacity to accommodate the identified quantitative retail need whilst assisting in maintaining its role as a sub-regional centre only paints part of the picture. To fully realise its potential and fulfil the role identified within the RSS it is important that Middlesbrough is able to compete in terms of providing a strong qualitative offer. When considering proposals for new development the Council will therefore have regard to qualitative need. In line with the findings of the retail study and PPS6 it is considered that the majority of new retail, office, leisure and cultural floorspace should be located in the town centre. Berwick Hills and Coulby Newham are anchored by superstores and there is unlikely to be a need in quantitative terms for signifcant new additional food store floorspace. There is potential to accommodate further comparison floorspace, but this should be restricted to that required to maintain and enhance existing role and function.

8.8       The constrained nature of the town centre boundary will make it difficult to identify any sites suitable for a large convenience store or to meet the identified quantitative need for comparison retailing. Consequently, it is proposed to extend the boundary of the town centre to accommodate town centre growth. Exact locations for new retail development will be identified in the Regeneration DPD in line with national planning policy contained within PPS6, particularly that relating to sequential site selection, and the role and function of a sub-regional centre such as Middlesbrough.

8.9   The hierarchy of centres contained within the Core Strategy identifies four levels of centre. It is not possible to prescribe either a minimum level of floorspace or number of units to each type within the hierarchy. A centre’s position within the hierarchy will be determined by a number of factors including floorspace, number, size and type of units, characteristics of the centre, catchment area and proximity to other centres.

LEISURE USES

8.10     The town centre, in accordance with the provisions of PPS6 and the RSS, is the focus for the majority of leisure activity in Middlesbrough. It plays host to the successful evening economy previously referred to, Middlesbrough Leisure Park and the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (mima). There are also a number of leisure facilities located outside of the town centre, including Middlesbrough Football Club, Middlesbrough Theatre, the leisure element of Teesside Park and numerous leisure centres and gyms. Open spaces and parks provide residents with further opportunities for leisure activity.

8.11     The Stockton-Middlesbrough Initiative identifies an area between the two town centres as the Green Blue Heart. The strategy for the Green Blue Heart identifies this area as a location for city-scale leisure development. Proposals for major leisure and recreational development here will need to be based upon an assessment of requirements and the application of the sequential approach as identified in PPS6. The Alsop strategic framework plan produced for Greater Middlehaven also identifies the area as a location for major leisure development as part of a wider mixed use scheme. Part of the Greater Middlehaven area will be incorporated into the town centre and will be defined as such within the Regeneration DPD. The regeneration of both banks of the River Tees between Stockton and Middlesbrough is seen as a priority in the RSS. Recreational development associated with the River Tees, particularly watersports, has the potential to cause disturbance and displacement to birds associated with the Teesmouth and Cleveland Coast SPA. Such development should be of an appropriate nature and scale to ensure that there are no adverse effects on the SPA.

8.12          Prissick Base is already a major destination within Middlesbrough for sport and recreation uses. The opening of a new state of the art skate plaza has recently reinforced this role. It is the country’s first purpose built skate park, and includes skateboard and BMX facilities. By locating further recreational activity here it will enable a leisure hub to be created in a sustainable location.

CASINOS

8.13     A casino, in its own right, is a major attractor of other uses, in particular hotel,
leisure, and commercial. This in turn creates a major destination for people to visit, acting as a significant contributor to the economy through increased visitor spending and job creation. The regeneration benefits associated with a casino are therefore considerable, and can reach wider than the immediate vicinity. In its statement of national policy on casinos the Government recognises the role that they can have on the regeneration of deprived areas. When assessing suitable locations for a casino an advisory panel will be asked to choose areas in need of economic development and regeneration (as measured by employment and other social deprivation factors) and likely to benefit in regeneration terms from a casino. The Tees Valley has some of the most deprived wards within the country, and the most deprived of these are located at the centre of the conurbation. Middlesbrough, at the heart of the Tees Valley city region, is ideally located to accommodate a casino that would benefit the city region and its hinterland. As such, it is well placed to deliver the Government’s aspirations and objectives for the new regional and large casinos.

8.14            Casinos, by their nature, will need to be located where they can have good accessibility and maximise their regeneration and economic benefits. Within Middlesbrough, appropriate locations are either within the town centre or the Greater Middlehaven area. Both are well located for easy access from the A19 and A66 roads, and close to Middlesbrough railway station. Middlehaven provides the opportunity to integrate a casino and associated uses into the development of the site from the outset. This enables a scheme of appropriate proportions of an iconic quality to be created without being fettered by existing surrounding land uses. The resulting benchmark development will act as a catalyst to regenerate the wider area. Middlehaven also provides a better opportunity to locate associated uses next to or near the casino. If Middlehaven is chosen as the most appropriate location for a casino it is important to ensure that good quality links are created with the town centre.

8.15     The town centre, whilst a sustainable location, is constrained offering more limited opportunities for a casino of an appropriate scale or size. Further, the possibility of locating associated uses nearby could be restricted. If a suitable site can be found within the town centre, associated uses could be provided in accessible locations elsewhere within the centre or in Greater Middlehaven, provided that links are improved.

Middlesbrough Council Regeneration Development Plan Document (DPD) - Adopted February 2009