South Northamptonshire District Council

Client: South Northamptonshire District Council

Instruction: Retail Study

In May 2009, South Northamptonshire Council appointed Chase & Partners to undertake a retail study of the two main centres within the District, Towcester and Brackley. The study assessed the role of the centres and required future retail provision whilst having regard to proposed future increases in the local population, the inter-relationship of the towns with the surrounding rural hinterland and other competing centres such as Northampton and Milton Keynes as well as providing specific advice on pre application proposals and planning applications such as a large scale urban expansion, extensions to existing retail superstores and a retail led mixed use development.

Chase & Partners purchased local expenditure data, commissioned a household survey, conducting a local business survey and undertook a vitality and viability survey to inform a quantitative and qualitative assessment of need for new retail floorspace within the District. Following on from this, recommendations were given to future policy directions to help consolidate and improve the current retail functions served by the towns and to address and help facilitate the proposed urban expansion in Towcester, the Towcester Vale development. The towns were also benchmarked against conurbations of similar scale and function to show how future policy and town centre management could create successful and vibrant centres that meet the needs of their local populations.