Blog

We hear from CAMRA this morning that 31 pubs are closing each week. I’ll start and finish this blog with a personal observation you may wish to dismiss as just that.

A couple of interesting statistics have come to light in the past week that are relevant to ACS’s long running campaign on effective town centre first planning policy. The first was broadcast as part of a Dispatches programme that aired last week on the fate of the big four supermarkets. They commissioned Glenigans to look at what had happened to supermarkets' plans to invest in new stores.

This week I gave evidence to the Communities and Local Government Select Committee. You can see for yourself what I said here, but in summary, I explained our research into the application of the town centre first planning policy, which has actually allowed three-quarters of new retail investment to take place out of town.