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Archived press release

Planning Permission Retail Loophole Must Be Closed

8 December 2003

MPs will today, (Tuesday 9th December) try to close a gaping loophole in planning law that allows retailers to double their floorspace without planning permission. The move comes as the Planning Bill goes to its Report Stage in the House of Commons.

Earlier this year Friends of the Earth discovered that Asda was exploiting the planning system by building mezzanine floors in existing stores in order to avoid the need for a planning application. Internal works do not come within the definition of development so do not go through the planning process.

Lib Dem MP Matthew Green first put forward an amendment to the Planning Bill at the Committee stage in October. The amendment gained cross party support at the Committee stage of the Bill but was rejected by the Government [1].

The Government is arguing against the amendment on the grounds that local authorities can attach conditions to planning permissions to limit floorspace. But this approach is flawed because:

• not all retail developments are covered by such conditions and
• a recent case in Staffordshire, where an Asda mezzanine floor was allowed on appeal, suggests that conditions generally restricting floorspace expansion do not cover internal floorspace [Planning Inspectorate, Appeal Decision, Asda store, Ventura Park Road, Bitterscote, Tamworth, APP/Z3445/X/03/1117182].

The Minister admitted in the debate that the Government did not know the scale of the problem ie how many stores were not covered by an appropriate condition and promised to look into this.

Asda-Walmart has said it plans to construct 40 mezzanine floors. Friends of the Earth is aware of six cases where Asda has done this already, including a Sheffield store where it put in 33,000 square feet of space. Speaking in the Commons at the Planning Bill's Committee stage Sheffield MP Clive Betts said that the expansion had changed the nature of the store and exacerbated traffic problems. Friends of the Earth has since found out that other retailers including Homebase, Next and Marks and Spencer are exploiting the same loophole to expand their stores.

The amendment put forward by Matthew Green MP would bring internal expansion within the definition of development so that local planning authorities would be able to assess the impact on traffic and on town centres in the same way that they would for an external extension.

Friends of the Earth Planning Campaigner Hugh Ellis said:

"Strict planning rules for big out of town retailers were introduced to protect town centres and discourage traffic growth. Now retailers have found a way round the planning system that makes a mockery of this policy. The addition of 33,000 square feet of retailing has the same impact on local shops and traffic no matter whether it inside the building or in an external extension. The Government must wake up to this reality and close this gaping loophole in planning law."

Planning Policy Guidance 6 which sets out Government planning policy on retailing is due to be revised this month. Friends of the Earth is urging the Government to strengthen existing restrictions on out of town development and protection of the viability and vitality of town centres. According to the New Economics Foundation Britain lost more than 30,000 local shops and services between 1995 and 2000 and these trends are continuing [2].

Notes

[1] Amendment to Planning and compulsory purchase Bill 2003 to control the extension of retail premises by increasing the internal floor area.

1. Amendment to Planning and compulsory purchase Bill 2003 Part 4 Development Control (c.45) `Miscellaneous'

1) In the principle Act after section 55 Part III (meaning of development) subsection (2A), there is inserted -

"(2) The following operations or uses of land shall not be taken for the purposes of this Act to involve development of the land-

(a) the carrying out for the maintenance, improvement or other alteration of any building of works which -

1. affect only the interior of the building, or
2. do not materially affect the external appearance of the building
3. do not materially increase the overall retail sales floor area of the building by more than 10% and are not works for the making good war damage or works begun after December 5 1968 for the alteration of a building by providing additional space in it underground;"

[2] Ghost Town Britain, New Economics Foundation, 2003

For further information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.

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