§ Mr. E. Rowlandsasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what advice he has given to planning authorities in large towns and cities on the estimating of retail floor space requirements.
§ Mr. MacDermotAll local planning authorities have received copies of a pamphlet prepared in the Department on a method of estimating retail floor space requirements. Although the pamphlet describes a method of estimating floor space requirements in small and medium sized towns, its guidance is relevant to the larger towns as well, and copies have been sent to them.
§ Mr. E. Rowlandsasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government (I) whether he has advised the planning authorities of large towns and cities of his view that the conversion factor used in estimating retail floor-space requirements must relate to the turnover per square foot which could be expected from an average, efficient town centre retailer at the date for which the redevelopment in intended to cater;
(2) whether he has advised the planning authorities of large towns and cities of his view that in calculating the conversion factor used in estimating retail floor-space requirements for 1981 or some later date, account should be taken of the effect which improved techniques of retailing and more efficient use of space may be expected to have by that date;
(3) whether he has advised the planning authorities of large towns and cities of his view that the conversion factor is critical and a slight excess in this factor would produce an enormous excess in the 40W resulting estimate of floor-space requirements.
§ Mr. MacDermot:Yes.
§ Mr. E. Rowlandsasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what inquiries he has made of trade associations and individual traders as to what they consider should be the turnover per square foot, gross, of efficient shops in 1967 and 1981; what figures resulted from those inquiries; and whether he has advised planning authorities of them.
§ Mr. MacDermot:Informal inquiries have been made of trade associations and individual traders on the turnover they expect to be able to achieve in efficient shops over the next few years. No forecasts of turnover for as far ahead as 1981 were given by the traders or their associations. As the information was given in confidence, I am unable to disclose individual figures, but the trend confirms the figures already given in Table VI of the Department's pamphlet on estimating retail floor space requirements.
§ Mr. E. Rowlandsasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he has advised local planning authorities of his view that while the retailing revolution has, so far, mainly produced much higher turnover per square foot in the food trade, it must eventually produce a similar result in the non-food trades; and that allowances should be made for this in deciding the conversion factor.
§ Mr. MacDermot:My right hon. Friend has advised local planning authorities, in making their forward calculations, to take account of the effects which improved techniques of retailing and more efficient use of space will have in the future. I think it is clear to the local authorities that this improved efficiency is not expected to operate solely in the food trade.