News Archive 2007

Town Centre Statistics Dec 2007
DCLG has released floorspace and employment statistics for English & Welsh town centres for the years 1999 to 2004 inclusive as part of its State of the Cities database. DCLG has also prepared a user guide to the database.

NB the site is designed for Internet Explorer version 6; other versions and browsers may have problems accessing some sections. Note also that data and maps for Retail Cores will be updated later in 2008.

NRPF Event: Review of Retail Planning Nov 2007
Our autumn event brought together a diverse group of speakers to examine where current retail and town centre planning policies have taken us, and to debate their future.

Under Served Markets Nov 2007
View materials from the series of practitioner workshops being run to accompany the BitC Under Served Markets project's new how-to guide, along with details of forthcoming events and the guide itself.

Local shops: A European perspective Dec 2007
A report by the International Federation of Grocers Associations gives a useful comparison of independent food retailers in 10 northern European countries including the UK, with good practice advice for each.

Supermarkets and Planning Regulation Nov 2007
Professor Rachel Griffiths presented research by the Institute of Fiscal Studies to the NRPF Research Group. Although still work in progress, this suggests that the impact of planning regulation on supermarket prices is very small. It also highlights the need for more data on retail planning, especially on planning outcomes

Future of Retail Property Nov 2007
See Dr Richard Barkham's recent presentation to the NRPF Research Group on the BCSC's Future of Retail Property research programme.

Competition Commission report Oct 2007
The provisional findings of the groceries market inquiry have been published with major implications for retail planning. See the press release, notices of provisional findings and remedies and full report.

Vision, Persistence and Luck Oct 2007
Read NRPF Secretary George Nicholson's article on retail-led regeneration in the BURA journal.

National Food Markets Conference Nov 2007
This event in London on 20th November aims to promote solutions and debate the issues facing the food industry in town and country alike.

Retail & Town Centres Planning Update Oct 2007
Consultant Michael Bach's presentation from a recent RTPI event gives a useful update of the last year's events in retail and town planning.

Sequential Approach Briefing Note Aug 2007
Read the latest paper in our series prepared by the University of Stirling's Insititute of Retail Studies.

The Evolution of Retail Planning Policy July 2007
NRPF secretary George Nicholson's presentation to an LGA conference on the Planning White Paper.

Balancing Trade: retail conservation July 2007
An Independent Commission set up by the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea recommends actions to help local shops flourish - see the report.

The Role of Business in Regeneration July 2007
The All Party Parliamentary Urban Development Group calls for radical reform of regeneration policy in their report Business Matters.

ATCM Streetscape Financing Survey Sep 2007
The ATCM is investigating the potential enhanced role of the private, voluntary & community sectors in the ongoing financing of Britain’s streetscape. They would appreciate your views in their online survey open until 21st September

Planning White Paper May 2007
The white paper Planning for a Sustainable Future is now available as a pdf file along with a press release.

Shaping and Delivering Tomorrow's Places May 2007
A new RTPI report looks at the performance of spatial planning and details good practice.

Tackling climate change: the evidence May 2007
A report, with much wider interest and application, examines the evidence for policies in the London Plan to mitigate against and adapt to climate change.

Needs Test Briefing Note May 2007
In advance of the Planning White Paper, the latest paper in the series prepared for us by the Insititute of Retail Studies at the University of Stirling takes a timely look at this highly charged topic.

What's in the pipeline? May 2007
The 2007 BCSC/Lunson Mitchenall What's in the Pipeline searchable index is now available on line.

Retail Property: An Eye to the Future May 2007
An event on June 26th will look at the outcomes of BCSC's Future of Retail Property research.

BURA Awards 2007 May 2007
The BURA Awards for Best Practice in Regeneration 2007 are open for entries until 29th June, so act fast!

Retail development in historic towns and city centres May 2007
English Historic Towns Forum are holding a conference on the why & how in Bristol on June 8th.

Knowledge Base annual update Apr 2007
This year's update to the Retail Planning Knowledge Base is now available. Including a detalied commentary, it is bigger than ever, reflecting very real debates about retail planning and the importance of the retail planning agenda. The knowledge base web links section has also been revised.

The Needs Test: Before & After studies Apr 2007
As part of the debate surrounding the needs test, IKEA have ageed to make available examples of 'before and after' studies conducted on some of their stores . See the research page for details.

A Changing Planning Agenda? Mar 2007
A presentation by Michael Bach to the Research Group gave fresh evidence of retail development trends and their implications for the success of town centres in light of recent proposals for policy change.

Ruth Kelly speech on Barker Review Feb 2007
In a speech at a recent DCLG/RTPI joint event which discussed the issues raised by the Barker Review, the Communities Secretary responded to the review's recommendation to abolish the 'needs test'.

Relocalising Shopping: Can it be done? Feb 2007
New research by the University of Southampton was presented and debated by an eminent panel at a seminar hosted by Business in the Community (BitC) on February 8th. See the event programme and the research findings.

NOTE The research was commissioned from the University of Southampton by Tesco, but conducted independently of the company, with no involvement in its design, execution or analysis. The University of Southampton retains full rights both to the intellectual property rights of the study, and to publish any findings (negative or positive to the sponsor).

Of related interest is the National Consumer Council's Food Access Radar project.

Under Served Markets event - update Jan 2007
Read a report of November's NRPF-hosted practitioner workshop, sponsored by BitC, DCLG and the LGA to gather input for a 'how-to' guide to maximising the benefits of retail-led investment in deprived areas. Programme, presentations and background materials from the day are here; the guide itself is due in the spring.

British Urban Regeneration Association Jan 2007
A list of BURA events for spring 2007 can be found here - many are of interest to retail planners.

Competition Commission inquiry Jan 2007
The Competition Commission have published their emergent thinking on their inquiry into the groceries market. See also the press release; accompanying working papers cover relevant subjects including land holding and use issues and planning issues [pdf files]