Context

• Our Town Centre and Economic Regeneration team has advised Dover District Council since 2012.
• We were commissioned by the council in July 2021 to update their Retail and Town Centre Needs Assessment to reflect the latest economic assumptions and to help inform the emerging Regulation 19 Public Consultation on the Pre-Submission Version of the Draft Local Plan for the District. 
• The study was commissioned after a series of national lockdowns resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic and our client sought to refresh their 2018 study. 

Our Approach

• The assessment detailed the future need for new retail (convenience and comparison goods) floorspace and the quantitative need for new commercial leisure facilities over the Plan period to 2040. It also provided the Council with a steer on policy making resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and changes to the planning system such as use-class and permitted development rights.

The Results

• Our advice critically informed emerging Development Management policies and wider policy recommendations in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic.