7. Ensuring a Vibrant Economy and Attractive Town Centres

Barking Town Centre will be enhanced and its status as a Major Centre will be promoted and strengthened. An Area Action Plan is being developed to shape and guide the development of the town centre and the surrounding area, including through the provision of additional housing and retail opportunities.

The existing District Centres at Dagenham Heathway, Chadwell Heath and Green Lane will be consolidated and a new District Centre will be provided as part of the Barking Riverside development to meet the day to day needs of the new communities there.

The retention and improvement of the Neighbourhood Centres identified in Policy CM5 will also be encouraged.

To consolidate and support the Borough’s town centres a sequential approach to the location of new retail and other town centre uses will be followed, in line with PPS 6. This means that town centre locational opportunities must be fully explored before edge of centre or out of centre development will be considered. All retail development in the Borough should maximise opportunities to meet the needs of existing communities and to provide them with social and economic benefits.

Within the defined primary and secondary frontages of the major, district and Neighbourhood Centres, retail will be maintained as the predominant ground floor use. A greater mix of uses including housing, offices, community and leisure facilities and food and drink uses may be permitted in other parts of the centres. As much active street frontage as possible will be sought.

The edge of centre retail warehouse park at Abbey Road, and the out of centre retail warehouse parks at Merrielands and Whalebone Lane, are being considered for redevelopment to accommodate a wider and more sustainable mix of uses. The Merrielands and Whalebone Lane South retail warehouse parks will be reviewed as the Site Specific Allocations are developed (the former lies within the South Dagenham Key Regeneration Area). The expansion of Whalebone Lane South Retail Park will only be permitted if Public Transport Accessibility Levels to and from the site are improved.

The redevelopment of Abbey Retail Warehouse Park will form a key component of improvements to Barking Town Centre. This area along with surrounding sites will be improved through the provision of a greater mix of uses including residential development and community facilities whilst retaining some retail provision and other appropriate edge-of-centre uses. These proposals are being developed in more detail in the Barking Town Centre Area Action Plan.

Strategic Industrial Land

The Council will safeguard, promote and manage the Strategic Industrial Locations at River Road Employment Area, Rippleside, and Dagenham Dock. Land within these locations will not be released for other purposes. The Council will also seek to safeguard designated Locally Significant Industrial Sites for employment uses subject to the provisions set out below.

Locally Significant Industrial Land

The partial release of sites within a designated Locally Significant Industrial Site will only be considered acceptable where it can be demonstrated that the remaining part of the designated site will be more intensively developed to ensure no net loss in employment provided. Redevelopment which satisfies this requirement and which would also provide for the needs of small and medium enterprises through the provision of affordable workspace would be particularly supported. A local (or, where appropriate, strategic) assessment of industrial demand should form the basis of any such proposals.

Non-designated Employment Land and Buildings

Proposals for the change of use or redevelopment of land and buildings which are in employment use but not specifically designated for employment purposes may be allowed. Where this is the case the potential of the surplus land or buildings to provide vital community facilities will be given priority over residential-only proposals. In considering such proposals the following will be considered:

• Is the site located in a low public transport accessibility level (PTAL 1-2) area, where it would be hard for the local workforce to access it by bike or walking, and / or where sustainable freight transport would not be possible?
• Would the continued use of the land or buildings for employment purposes cause unreasonable disturbance to residential properties and would the proposed new use improve residential amenity?
• Is the land or building no longer needed for employment uses, and has this been evidenced through the provision of a local (or, where appropriate, strategic) assessment of industrial demand?
• Has the site been unused for employment uses for at least a year, despite having been properly marketed on reasonable terms?
• Is the current employment use (if one remains) moving to an alternative accessible and otherwise suitable site?
• Is the site of an insufficient quality and / or fitness to accommodate existing types of industrial demand?