 |
 |
 |
 |
 | | |
|
| 09/02/2007 | IMPACT OF TOWN CENTRE FIRST POLICY REVEALED BY BCSC RESEARCH |
||
After 10 years of “town centre first” planning policies, only 35% of new retail space built in England is being built in town centres according to research from retail property organisation BCSC. The figures are even lower for Scotland (22%) and Wales (19%). The research report “In Town or out of town?” forms part of BCSC’s Future of Retail Property research programme. It has been prepared for BCSC by Michael Bach, formerly Principle planner at the then ODPM (now DCLG) until 2005 and one of the chief architects of current planning policy, working with Mark Thurstain-Goodwin of Geofutures. It shows that there has been a significant increase in the amount of space being built in town centres over the period – up from just 14% of all new retail space in 1994 – but, says BCSC, there is still a long way to go. Development pipeline data suggests that the proportion of development in English town centres will exceed 40% within 5 years (29% in Wales and just 10% in Scotland) – but only if the Government sticks with intentions of its current policies. Further analysis of the figures shows that the industry’s performance varies considerably with the type of retail development. While 78% of new shopping centre developments completed between 1999 and 2005 were in town centres, only 23% of supermarkets and 7% of retail warehouse developments were. And the official figures do not include supermarket extensions or the addition of mezzanine floors. BCSC has expressed concern that any relaxation of current retail planning policy – such as some of the measures proposed in the recent Barker Review of Land-Use Planning – could threaten the economic future of the UK’s small and medium-sized towns and cities. According to BCSC Chief Executive Michael Green: “The report demonstrates that a consistent approach to planning policy – one that investors can rely on over an extended period of time – is essential if the kind of retail-led regeneration that has transformed big cities like Manchester and Birmingham is to be rolled out to the UK’s small and medium-sized towns and cities. “To date, however, town centre development has mainly taken place in the ‘top 50’ towns and cities. The shopping centre industry is now ready to move in to the revitalisation of the next level of large and medium sized towns through both new developments and refurbishment. However, the threat of policy change could undermine developer and investor confidence in the system and, as a consequence, put plans for the next generation of centres at risk.” |
||
|
