MPs have been urged to stand up for their high streets and town centres ahead of a debate on the impact of out of town retail parks, due to take place today.
The Westminster Hall debate, Planning and out of town supermarket expansion, will be led by John Pugh, Liberal Democrat MP for Southport.
ACS Chief Executive James Lowman said: “The increase in the number of out of town developments given planning approval across the UK continues to have a serious negative impact on town centres and high streets. Government insists that ‘town centre first’ is the message given in the planning framework, but the evidence suggests otherwise.”
Research conducted for ACS has shown that since the new national planning policy framework came into place in March 2012, 76% of all planning applications given approval have been located out of town. The full report can be found on the ACS website. Additionally, in a recent survey of local councilors, 43% believed that action on planning policy should be a priority to support local shops.
The debate is due to take place today (Tuesday) at 4pm, and can be viewed online on the Parliament website: http://www.parliament.uk/
