The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has backed the findings of an influential committee of MPs that raises concerns about changes to retail planning policy and identifies a threat to the future of the high street.
The Communities and Local Government Select Committee published the results of an Inquiry into ‘Need and Impact: Planning for Town Centres’ on Saturday. In it, MPs declare themselves unconvinced of the justification for removing the ‘need’ test and that doing so could ‘put town centres at unnecessary risk.’
ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “MPs are right to be ‘unconvinced’ by the case for the removal of the need test and we agree that it should be retained. A need test is a sensible way to robustly defend against out-of-town retail developments that are too big and to protect the vitality of large and small towns throughout the country."
The committee also concluded that the ability of planners to put in place the ambitious new town centre first policy, which relies heavily on detailed and costly plan-making at the local level (Planning Policy Statement 4) is significantly undermined if there is no additional skilled resource made available to local planning authorities
“In our evidence to this inquiry we argued strongly that without increased resources for planners, the new policy will be weaker in preventing developments that harm town centres than the policy it replaces,” said Lowman.
“Planning authorities are often faced with a David and Goliath struggle to oppose harmful developments - the policy has to provide them with the means to say no to determined and well-resourced developers when no is the right answer.”
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