myPRESTWICH

In order to take forward the “Love Prestwich” Village Centre strategy, a further retail capacity study has been undertaken to ensure that the key recommendations of the Love Prestwich Village Strategy are based on the most up-to-date possible assessment of the capacity and need for new retail development within Prestwich. This new evidence, the Prestwich Town Centre Retail Capacity Assessment, has now been prepared by Drivers Jonas and can be viewed by following the link below:

Download Prestwich Town Centre Retail Capacity Assessment document (1mb 127 page pdf)

Copies of the Prestwich Town Centre Retail Capacity Assessment are also available for inspection at Prestwich Library and at the Planning Reception, 2nd floor, Craig House, Bank Street, Bury.
Brief Summary of the Retail Assessment:

The retail assessment document identifies the relevant aspects of national planning policy, provides commentary on qualitative considerations, identifies the appropriate Primary Catchment Area (PCA) for Prestwich, and provides a quantitative analysis of capacity/need.

The quantitative analysis is based on 3 scenarios for growth of expenditure/market share in the PCA for a period up to 2021 (i.e. the period of the masterplan covered by the Love Prestwich Village strategy)

- maintaining existing market share
- moderate increase in market share
- more ambitious market share

The analysis shows that for:
Convenience shopping (food) - shows that the Longfield Centre proposal more than takes up all retail capacity under all 3 growth scenarios but there is a strong qualitative case for this proposal.

Comparison shopping (non-food) - shows that, after all projected town centre schemes are taken into account, there might be sufficient capacity remaining to give consideration to edge of centre schemes towards the end of the study period (2017 - 2021) under the moderate and ambitious growth scenarios.

Based on the level of convenience and comparison retail capacity in the PCA the retail assessment draws the conclusion that for at least the first 5 years of the study period the authority should carefully consider the phasing of new development on a “town centres first” basis as supported by national planning policy.