Chapter 7
Economy and Employment
Issues / Recommendations / Observations
Sub. No.
Chief Executive’s Response & Recommendation
This submission seeks to amend paragraphs 10.313 and 10.314 of the Draft Plan to acknowledge the overall site master planning proposals presented in the Douglas Land Use and Transportation Study for the various Precincts, mainly in relation to commercial development. The Draft Plan projects a significant increase in population over the plan period and supportive policies and objectives should not just support residential and employment lands, but also the supporting infrastructure and services such as education, commercial, retail, and specifically new convenience retail floorspace at suitable locations. With regards to facilitating new retail development, it is requested that potential development sites are suitably zoned, specifically in the North City, to accommodate new retail stores of an appropriate size. Consideration should also be given to allow for the provision of Grocery Home Shopping operations at these sites and that the sites are not constrained in terms of spatial or access requirements. In respect of facilitating new retail development, it is important that when sites are not available in the retail core areas, due consideration is given to edge of centre sites, as the City / town centre cannot always accommodate new retail development due to site constraints such as plot size, site layout, parking requirements, delivery access etc. The growth of ‘Click and Collect’ and grocery home shopping retail services should also be supported.
222
Paragraph 10.313 acknowledges that DLUTS remains relevant and represents a robust baseline document for informing planning decisions in Douglas. Recommendation: No change. The sequential approach to the location of retail is set out in Sections 7.91 and 7.92 which states that the core retail areas of the City Centre, District Centres and Large Urban Towns are the preferred locations for significant new retail development and to only allow retail development in edge-of-centre or out-of- centre locations where other options have been exhausted. This is considered vital to protect these centres, while allowing other options to be explored through a Retail Impact Assessment (Section 7.93). Two District Centres are planned at Hollyhill and Ballyvolane in the northside of the city and included in the Retail Hierarchy (Section 7.82) to accommodate growth in these areas. Details on shop storage requirements have been referenced in Chapter 11 Placemaking and Managing Development. In terms of grocery home shopping operations, it is unclear the benefit this would have in terms of encouraging shoppers to visit the defined centres and maintain their vitality. ‘Click and Collect’ shopping can currently be accommodated under District Centre zonings. Recommendation: No change.
233
The submission sets out that provisions of the draft Plan must be amended to incorporate a clear objective in the
279
It is recommended that job targets should be included in the Core Strategy to strengthen and align employment-led growth within the City and to strengthen
329
Powered by FlippingBook