Sector: Retail & Town Centres

The Eden Shopping Centre is an 825,000 sqft mixed-use, retail led development, which since opening in 2008 has transformed the heart of Wycombe Town Centre.  Having been involved in securing the original consent for the development, Firstplan’s involvement continues and, we now act on behalf of the managing agents for the centre in securing planning permission for a range of works to ensure the effective ongoing management of the shopping centre such as new shopfronts, external upgrade and refurbishment works, change of use of individual units and the installation of new external plant.

Firstplan has successfully advised on the comprehensive refurbishment of the existing out-of-centre Wyvern Retail Park in Derby. Our role has included obtaining consent for physical upgrade and refurbishment of the retail park, which involved demonstrating the regeneration benefit and visual improvements associated with the works.  We also secured consent for a variation of the range-of-goods condition to allow Next Home to trade from the retail park, and planning permission for a new drive-thru Costa Coffee pod unit in flood risk zone 3b, following objection from the EA.

This work has enabled the Wyvern Retail Park to consolidate its position as one of Derby’s leading out-of-centre retail locations.

Firstplan secured planning permission for the redevelopment of a car garage in an edge-of-centre location for a new Class A1 foodstore with a gross internal area of 876 sq m (net sales 558 sq m) and 37 parking spaces. Firstplan successfully addressed a number of issues in securing consent, including the sequential test and impact on residential amenity and the highway.

As retained planning consultants, Firstplan advise and successfully deliver planning strategy across the whole of Waitrose & Partners’ property portfolio including their stores and various distribution sites. Firstplan has secured planning permission for a number of new stores and warehouse developments in recent years, and provide on-going asset management advice.

Our day to day management work of existing stores ranges from extensions, shopfronts and signage schemes, to varying conditions to allow extended trading and delivery hours which helps to ensure that each existing Waitrose stores maximises it trading efficiency and development potential. Firstplan is also supporting Waitrose e-Commerce roll out programme by delivering numerous planning permissions enabling Waitrose to enhance and expand its online delivery and Click & Collect service to meet growing customer demand.

 

Firstplan, as retained planning consultant, is continuing to advise Smyths Toys in respect of their ongoing and rapid expansion programme in the UK.  This involves both the assessment of potential sites as well as seeking variations to range-of-goods restrictions to allow for toys and children’s entertainment products to be sold from out-of-centre locations. Firstplan also provide planning advice in relation to the refurbishment of the existing store portfolio.

Firstplan successfully negotiated planning permission for the redevelopment of the Royal Mail sorting office on the edge of Chelmsford City Centre for a mixed use scheme comprising a new Waitrose foodstore of 2,224 sq m (net), 37 residential units, 630 sq m of commercial floorspace, a new community centre, landscaping works and highway improvements. The scheme will significantly enhance the vitality and viability of the northern end of the City Centre by removing the warehouse buildings and providing a new mixed use development, including a much needed new foodstore, with active frontage to the street.

In order to achieve planning permission, it was necessary to overcome the planning policy conflict with a site allocation within the City Centre Area Action Plan which sought a residential led redevelopment of the site, demonstrate that the retail element was in accordance with the NPPF retail policy criteria (sequential approach and impact) and achieve a balance between operator requirements and design policies, including ensuring that buildings address the street frontage. This resulted in an innovative and flexible approach to the design of the Waitrose store, which will be built on ‘stilts’ with the building fronting Victoria Road and car parking at ground level.

Firstplan is the retained planning consultant providing advice on asset management opportunities to ensure the ongoing vitality and viability of this key shopping destination within Putney Town Centre.

Our role has included providing strategic advice and the Planning and Retail Statement in support of the remodeling of the Centre to create a new large retail unit and more prominent entrance from the High Street, negotiating with the Council to remove a legal agreement restriction to allow the expansion of the Waitrose store and providing advice in relation to change of use opportunities within the Centre and securing the necessary consents.

Plough Lane is the principal retail park serving Wimbledon and North Merton. Firstplan, as the retained planning consultant for 10 years, has advised on a variety of asset development initiatives to improve the performance of the retail park.

We have successfully negotiated planning permission for extensions to the retail park to provide additional retail units, the widening of the range of goods permitted to be sold from the site to include food to accommodate a Lidl foodstore and other non-food products, the installation of mezzanine floors within each unit and other associated refurbishment proposals. In each case, Firstplan prepared robust Retail Impact and Sequential Assessments to overcome initial retail policy objections from the Council.

Firstplan advised John Lewis on sites for the expansion of their new ‘at home’ store format. This is a new retail concept focused on the furniture, furnishings, homewares and electrical sectors to complement the full line John Lewis Department Stores across the UK.

Firstplan successfully obtained planning permission for two new stores in Croydon and Tunbridge Wells by presenting the case for John Lewis at Home as a principally ‘bulky goods’ retailer and therefore an appropriate retail format for an out of centre location.   Firstplan now has on going involvement in refurbishment/reinvigoration applications, including variation of conditions relating to opening/delivery hours and new signage.

Firstplan, as retained planning consultant, has successfully advised Go Outdoors through their ongoing and rapid expansion programme. We have achieved a 100% success rate in obtaining planning consent for the GO product range to be sold from out-of-centre locations across England, Scotland and Wales, with the outcome over 50 stores now open and trading nationwide.