Concern raised over Government threat to local high streets and shops

Government to weaken powers of Bolton Council to control out-of-town development

Cllr Andy Morgan, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Bolton South East this week criticised the Government’s proposed changes to planning rules, which will reduce the powers of Bolton Council to control out-of-town retail development.

A new report from a cross-party House of Commons Committee has warned that the Government’s proposed changes to planning rules on retail development will result in “many more out-of-town superstores”. This comes as a separate nationwide survey by the British Retail Consortium has found that 1 in 10 of all town centre shops are now vacant.

The Government’s changes come in the form of new national planning rules on retail development.  Bolton Council will have to observe the rules when assessing planning applications. The new regime will scrap the ‘needs test’, which requires developers to prove the ‘need’ for additional out-of-town development. The changes are driven Gordon Brown.

The small print of the Government’s proposals, published last year, shows the changes would:

·           “Lead to some overall increase in out-of-town development, which could have environmental implications”.

·           “More out-of-town development proposals coming forward through the planning process”.

·           “Additional unplanned proposals outside town centres”.

The Government consultation exercise found that the changes would “lead to more edge-of and out-of-centre development” and “undermine regeneration schemes by allowing development outside town centres”. On top of this, a Committee of MPs has now warned that the changes will lead to “unnecessary risks to town centres”.

Cllr Morgan said “Labour’s rewriting of the rules which protect against excessive out-of-town retail development threatens to undermine the vitality of local high streets and Town Centres such as Farnworth and Horwich from reckless out-of-town expansion and promote town centre regeneration.

“At a time when we have a record number of empty shops on our high streets, I am concerned that Gordon Brown’s plans will hit small retailers and worsen the problem of ghost town Britain.”