March 01, 2011
Members of Parliament have put forward a motion to the Government urging it to take adequate action to protect high street shops from being forced out by out of town shopping developments.
The MP’s want the Government to include provisions in the forthcoming Localism Bill currently being debated by Parliament to force local authorities to promote local high streets. This would enable the authorities and/or local residents to refuse to grant planning permission for out of town developments that are likely to harm the high streets’ economy.
The Association of Convenience Stores is in favour of the motion, citing an increase in supermarket planning applications and vacant high street shops over the past year.
However, the British Retail Consortium has argued that introducing such artificial constraints to planning and development would harm the economy and result in the promotion of shops that are not needed or wanted.
Many small businesses operate on a very tight budget. Business owners that are concerned about their financial situation should seek the advice of their solicitor and accountant as soon as possible to see which measures can be taken to avoid insolvency.
