Horsham District Council - Horsham Town Retail and Leisure Healthcheck

Quotations are invited for the provision of consultancy services in respect of the preparation of a main town centre uses health check for Horsham town. Consultants wishing to submit a quotation must comply with all requirements of this invitation.

The requirements of the study are: a) Review of the health of Horsham town taking into account mix of uses, level of vacant premises, commercial yields and rents, accessibility and environmental quality of the town centre. As part of this work it is expected that the views and behaviour of customers will be sought, as will those of retailers including their future intentions for growth and change. b) Review the robustness of the current and future role of the Horsham town within the wider district and regional hierarchy taking into account recent changes within the town and shopping styles (‘e’ and ‘m’ retail commerce).

An analysis of the barriers to Horsham town retailing or enhancing its role in the regional hierarchy in the future should be presented. c) Taking into account Horsham’s current and potential place in the retail hierarchy and results of the health check, forecast the future retail and facility requirements together with other factors such as the changing land-use planning context (e.g. loss of office space to residential) and increased provision of housing. Identify the likely future retail challenges particularly over the next 5, 10 and 15 years. d) In order to ensure the long term vitality and viability identify whether any new retail floorspace is required and the likely timeframe for this.

The study should also identify any development / redevelopment or expansion opportunities, although this will need to take into account the need to maintain the historic character of the town and the unique offer of high street and independent store. This will also need to ensure a town centre first approach rather than the provision of new retail at Broadbridge Heath Quadrant e) To work collaboratively with other consultants as part of the Horsham Town Centre Vision 2015-2025 project to specifically inform the development of the future vision of the town centre from a retail perspective and how this may complement other strategies such as hotel provision, leisure provision or employment. This may also require presentation of the outcomes of the study at a Member Briefing event (two meetings).