Fears over future of town centres

Friday, 11 July 2008 12:00 AM

New plans to protect small shops through the current economic difficulties and create more vibrant town centres have been announced by communities secretary, Hazel Blears.

The proposals are designed to enhance Planning Policy Statement 6: Planning for Town Centres (PPS6) - the government's so-called 'town centres first' policy.

While only at the consultation stage, new powers are designed to give councils more scope to refuse out of town development proposals, which threaten the survival of high streets and small shops.

Revised planning rules also keep a 'sequential test' that requires the most central town centre sites to be developed first, while introducing a tougher 'impact test' to give councils the power to prevent big developments.

Indeed, the government is also claiming the success of the existing policy, stating there is more retail development in and around town centres than at any time during the last decade.

"Town centres are the hearts of our communities," said Ms Blears.

"I want to see our town centres and independent shops busy and thriving and I'm absolutely committed to help defend their future."

However, the so-called 'need test' has been controversially dropped.

Referred to as "blunt and simplistic", the test unintentionally stifled diversity and consumer choice, claims the government, by only assessing whether there was enough consumer expenditure capacity to support new retail floor space - such as an out of town supermarket.

This led to some new retail schemes on the fringes of the town centre - which could benefit the centre - being ruled out because out of town developments already fulfill that function.

Yet this change has not been universally welcomed.

"Town centres could be compromised by the government's decision to drop the need test assessing the suitability of an area for out of town development," warned James Rowlands, policy officer for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics).

"There must be an unambiguous statement from government that growth should be accommodated in existing town centres first and other development should only be considered when this is not possible.

"Any new proposals must be strong enough to continue to protect traditional town centres and help them thrive."

Chris O'Toole

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