Planning for Retail Development A Critical View of the British Experience

Written by a leading expert in the field, this is the first thorough critical review of retail planning policy in Britain (including Scotland and Wales). It covers recent changes in government policy and guidance, and examines retail policy within a broader economic and social context.

Planning for Retail Development explains key events and debates in the evolution of retail planning policy, at central and local government levels, since the 1960s and draws contrasts between the 1980s, a period in which retail developers were encouraged by central government to expand away from town centres, and the more recent emphasis on protection and promotion of town centres as the most appropriate location for new development.

The book develops a critical evaluation of past and present retail planning policies, based upon analyses of retailers? objectives and of typical consumer shopping behaviour. Relationships between retail planning and wider societal concerns, including sustainable development, social inclusion and urban regeneration are also examined and analysed and guidelines for future policy objectives and content are drawn.

1. Introduction 2. Early Days: Retail Planning in the 1960s and 1970s 3. A Free for All? Retail Planning 1980-1990 4. Tightening Up: Retail Planning Since 1990 5. Demand, Need and Impact 6. Innovation, Productivity, Competition and Retail Planning 7. Sustainability, Shopping Travel and Retail Policy 8. Social Exclusion, Access to Shopping and Retail Policy 9. Urban Regeneration and Retail Policy 10. An Evaluation of Retail Planning Policy