Local authorities will be forced to assemble a list of town and edge-of-town sites retailers have struggled to find, under revised Government guidelines taking effect later this year. The controversial PPG6 planning guidance note is to be replaced by a new format Planning Policy Statement.
Last week, principal planner at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister Michael Bach told the Retail Week Property Forum that local councils had used retail planning policy to restrict retail development rather than encourage it. 'We expect local authorities to plan for development, not just control it,' he said. Bach was speaking at the event on behalf of the new planning minister, Keith Hill.
The new PPS6 will also include guidance on the 'sequential test' and assessing 'need' and 'impact', Bach said. Local authorities will need to produce plans accounting for likely retail growth and where it should go. 'At a local level, we expect plans to identify sufficient sites - appropriate to the needs of retail and other key town centre users, and, if necessary, help assemble these sites,' said Bach.
Local authorities will be encouraged to use compulsory purchase powers, being strengthened by the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Bill that is making its way through Parliament.
PPS6 will also force local authorities to identify more opportunities for mixed-used development. 'We expect local authorities to deliver the sites for you to develop,' emphasised Bach.
Retailers need to play their part by embracing different formats for in-town and edge-of-centre sites, which are likely to be increasingly mixed-use and multi-storey. 'Large single-storey 'sheds' surrounded by a sea of car parking are no longer appropriate. We have been discouraging them for the past 10 years,' insisted Bach, though he argued, local authorities still need to identify edge-of-town sites for large format stores to stop them searching the 'urban periphery'.
PPS6 will not be a revolution in planning policy, but it will clarify the Government's aims. 'Our policy remains one of promoting town centres - our challenge is to get local authorities to raise their game and deliver the sites,' said Bach.
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