The British Property Federation (BPF) has responded to the Competition Commission’s findings on the UK grocery market by calling for the local planning process to pre-empt competition issues by establishing where retail developments should go.
The BPF believes this would encourage a sustainable a mix of both town-centre and out-of-town developments.
The report, released this week, stated: “The planning system for retail development and the manner in which it is applied by local planning authorities also acts as a barrier to entry or expansion, by limiting construction of new stores on out-of-centre or edge-of-centre.”
The commission recommends updating the planning system to aid development, but also backs “maintaining constraints on out-of-town developments”.
Michael Chambers, BPF director for regeneration and development, said: “The BPF fully supports the town centre first policy, but this can sometimes lead to anomalies, leaving areas outside the centre with limited competition. This policy has got to be flexible enough to overcome such problems.
“We welcome the commission’s findings and hopefully this can steer thinking away from a supposed war between ‘good’ inner-city retailers and ‘bad’ out-of-town developments. What we need is a vibrant mix of both. Local retail plans that can identify likely problems would serve to do this. We should look to overcome any competition issues in advance to ensure our towns have a healthy blend of choice that suits both business and consumers.”
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