§ Mr. JenkinsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what steps he is taking to protect town centre shopping facilities; [45287]
(2) if he will make a statement on the Government's policy towards town centres. [45289]
§ Mr. RaynsfordIn our response to the House of Commons Environment Committee report on shopping centres (July 1997 Cmnd 3729), we reaffirmed our commitment to the policy in PPG6: Town Centres and Retail Developments. This guidance aims to sustain and enhance the vitality and viability of town centres by focusing new retail and leisure development within town centres. We have since clarified that this guidance applies equally to extensions to such development. Our priority is to ensure that the policy in PPG6 is consistently and rigorously implemented.
We fund the development and promotion of town centre management and the dissemination of good practice through grant aid to the Association of Town Centre Management and the Civic Trust, and research on town centre partnerships. We put forward town centre management as a UK good practice example for the Presidency Meeting in Glasgow.
57W
§ Mr. JenkinsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to commission research into the impact of out-of-town shopping developments on town centres. [45286]
§ Mr. RaynsfordWe have no current plans to commission further research.
The Department commissioned a number of research reports which informed the development of the policy in PPG6, including "Vital and Viable Town Centres: Meeting the Challenge", published in 1994, "The Effects of Major Out of Town Retail Development" published in 1992 and more recently research on the impact of out-of-town superstores on market towns, the report of which we will be publishing shortly.
§ Mr. JenkinsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will estimate the proportion of retail turnover which takes place outside town centres. [45288]
§ Mr. RaynsfordThe Department is funding a research study to enable identification of town centre boundaries and to generate basic statistics such as employment, retail turnover and floorspace for these areas. The research study is currently at the pilot stage. This work will enable the Department in time to gather and assess information on retail trends such as the proportion of retail turnover which takes place outside town centres.