Planning Lobby:

October 2008 Consultation on Proposed Changes to PPS6: Planning for Town Centres

Draft PPS6 and The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act

At our initiative we have formed an association with Accessible Retail to present a single voice form the industry on draft consultation paper PPS6.

Our brief is also to keep a watchful eye on the various Regulations to be drafted within the Planning and Compulsory Act 2004 and to respond appropriately, particularly on the question of mezzanine development.

To access the new Act click The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004

We are now additionally joined by the British Property Federation and our "Working Group" comprises the following:

Hammerson UK Properties
British Property Federation
Chairman SPIN-f
Chairman Accessible Retail
Accessible Retail
Land Securities
Accessible Retail

Our first action was to make representations on those areas of the Planning Bill concerning mezzanine development during its Second Reading by jointly sending a letter in the names of SPIN-f, AR and the BCSC to Lord Rooker, who chaired the passage of the Bill through the Lords.

The new Act contains a provision at section 49 for the Secretary of State to bring about new regulations effectively restricting such development and we are now watching out for these Regulations so we can participate in the consultation period. Meantime we have an indication of the way in which the Regulations might be structured from Lord Rooker's comments - the full text of the which can be accessed by clicking on Full Hansard Report

Meantime, by clicking on The Mezzanine Regulations you can see a summary of the provisions and a suggestion by SPIN-f's Planning Consultant, Jeremy Hinds of PDC as to how we might sensibly respond to the anticipated restrictions by suggesting that a distinction be drawn between mezzanine development for food and non-food uses.

To see the Consultation Paper on Draft PPS6 access the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) website by clicking on the logo opposite and choose the option "Planning" to navigate through to the Guidance Note.

Through a full consultation process with the SPIN-f Membership and Accessible Retail a letter was presented to Jonathan Taylor at the ODPM within the Consultation Period.

To access this just click on: Letter to ODPM.

We subsequently commissioned extensive research projects by Experian and MORI to support our arguments - click here for a summary PPS6 Research Programme.

These projects were delivered to both Gordon Brown and John Prescott under cover of the following letters which summarise the whole position:

Press Campaign new Government Town Centre Planning Policy could cost UK Millions

We are now joined by the British Property Federation to take the PPS6 fight to the Treasury and ODPM

Our research provides evidence that bulky goods retailing in out-of-centre locations saves UK consumers millions, earns them a better return in their pensions provision and is a key economic driver creating efficiency in the retail economy and making a significant contribution towards growth in GDP. The research, by Experian and MORI, also shows that growth in out-of-centre bulky goods retailing has helped maintain and improve town centre vitality not damage it. This calls into question the Government’s draft PPS6 document, that outlines its strategy for town centre planning policy.

To see the full Press Release click here

Research into the Effectiveness of PPG6
CB Hillier Parker
10 Forces for Retail change
Jones Lang LaSalle
Research Report 2001 - 2002
Prof Cliff Guy and David Bennison

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