19th Sep 11
Sainsbury’s boss says red tape is harming high street
by Sally Davies
High street survival tied up in red tape
High street survival tied up in red tape
The chief executive of Sainsbury’s, Justin King, has been highly critical of the problems with Britain’s high street at a time when the government is carrying out a consultation exercise which could ease the regulations on out-of-town development.
King said that high street operators are faced with a range of problems, including one-way streets, a lack of affordable parking and red tape. He said that the high streets are suffering as they have become environments that are less amenable for consumers to shop there, pointing out that they are harder to reach than ever before.
King went on to say that many town centres now have planning, transport and parking restrictions, one-way systems and red-tape. He said that parking is now less accessible and those who casual car park are punished, for example if they park outside a store so they can nip in for something.
Last week the Local Data Company said that 14.5 per cent of Britain’s town centre shops are standing vacant, but in large centres such as Stockport, Blackpool and Grimsby, this figure is over 25 per cent.
King’s comments are significant because they come before a consultation regarding the planning system which comes to an end in October, and Mary Portas – who has been put in charge of leading the government’s high street review – delivering her final report in November.
Last week Ms Portas said that she was thinking about writing to the prime minister to increase opposition to the idea that the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) may recommend relaxing the policy of “town centre first”, which states that developers can only build out-of-town schemes if there are no options available in the town centres.
Mr King would not reveal what was discussed at his recent meeting with Ms Portas; however, he wants her and the NPPF to focus on eliminating the main causes of the problems which the high street operators face. For example, he attacked regulations which hinder companies operating in local areas – including noise abatement rules originally meant to resolve residential disputes between neighbours – that now prevent Sainsbury’s unloading its lorries at particular times in the morning.
King also pointed to restrictions on manufacturers and retailers using A-roads, meaning Sainsbury’s is forced to make a round-trip of 40 miles from its depot to an outlet in east London, rather than an 11-mile journey which could be made on smaller roads.
He said concerning the NPPF that any plans to remove businesses’ tax relief so as to restore buildings on long-term derelict or contaminated land could make them reconsider developing brown-field sites. Regarding the riots in August, King said that over recent years a subtle yet progressive decriminalisation of shoplifting has occurred, which most likely influenced some people without previous convictions to steal last month.
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