Property News - Retail park campaigners take fight to the Treasury

In advance of the publication of new draft planning regulations governing the retail industry, Accessible Retail is taking its campaign to protect the retail parks sector to the Treasury.

Accessible Retail is due to hold an exploratory meeting with Treasury officials in late-January to thrash out the economic issues that might sway the Government's thinking over retail warehousing. Accessible Retail chairman and chief executive of The Junction, Andy Lewis-Pratt, said: 'We want to find out what information they are looking for.'

Major retail park landlords are being courted to contribute to a fighting fund to pay for research into issues identified by the Treasury.

Accessible Retail's attempt to influence the Treasury's thinking follows the delay by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) in publishing the draft of the planning statement PPS6. It will replace PPG6, and is due to be released for consultation shortly. Accessible Retail has prepared its response to the retail park planning issues likely to be covered by PPS6.

However, the trade body is also keen to bring economic arguments for retail parks, which have so far been ignored by the Government, to the attention of Chancellor Gordon Brown.

Accessible Retail's concerns over the future of retail parks in the UK economy, if the sector continues to be ignored, were circulated to the ODPM and the Treasury in November. 'They haven't thought of the wider implications of what they are doing,' said Lewis-Pratt.

To further beef up its credentials, Accessible Retail, which until now has been run by its members, has appointed an executive board, which comes into force in January. An advisory board has also been established.

Last year, Accessible Retail appointed former British Property Federation director general Will McKee as its first chief executive.