At the start of February, the Town Centre Action Plan Expert Review Group, which was established to look at how Scotland’s towns and town centres can be made stronger, released its recommendations and findings in its report: A New Future for Scotland’s Town Centres.

There was one of its (many) suggestions that stood out to me as a commercial property solicitor specialising in the retail and leisure sector: a recommendation to introduce a moratorium on out-of-town development - i.e. a temporary five year ban on any new out-of-town retail parks in Scotland.

Is this a good idea and why make such a recommendation?

Making the case for reviving town centres

The report highlights the importance of Scotland's towns and strengthening them. This includes support for community regeneration, town centres and ‘20 minute neighbourhoods’ where people can meet their needs within a short walk from their home – an idea bolstered by the restrictions placed on us all by Covid-19.

The group has made three key recommendations, each supported by a series of suggestions for action:

  1. Strengthen the formal positioning of towns and town centres in National Planning, including requirements to produce town and town centre plans, co-produced with communities and enhance data collection and use at town and town centre level.
  2. Scottish Government should review the current tax, funding and development systems to ensure that wellbeing, economy and climate outcomes, fairness and equality are at their heart.
  3. Funding of Demonstration Projects in Towns and Town Centres.

The suggestion to introduce a moratorium on out-of-town development falls within Recommendation 2 (along with suggestions to amend non domestic rates, amend VAT, introduce a digital tax and introduce an out-of-town car parking space levy).

The group believes the renewed interest in independent and local businesses, often in local towns and neighbourhoods, and encouraged in part by home working and reduced commuting, could prove to be a significant legacy of Covid-19.

That is undoubtedly true, but is it sensible to just seek to ban any new out-of-town retail parks for a period of five years?

Would a more radical approach be to leave the market to decide and for the different retail sectors to compete and complement each other?

What’s driving demand for out of town retail?

Some of the recommendations in the report should certainly be implemented to give local retail more support, and tie that in with a push for diversity in town and city centres to encourage people back in to living in, where possible, car-free town and city centres.

There is a trend towards younger people no longer taking driving lessons and owning cars. That in itself would lead to increased local retail demand, to be met by a more dynamic breed of retailer willing to open up in a younger, more vibrant and mixed social setting.

None of that, though, lessens the need for other types of retail, such as retail parks.  Busy families still want and need to do the ‘big shop’ and that is often easier done at an out-of-town retail park, where parking is free (or cheap) and easy.

It is also important to realise that some retail parks, particularly those on the outskirts of smaller towns, can attract shoppers in to the town from a large hinterland. These shoppers then go on to stay in the local town to shop at smaller local shops and eat and drink in local cafes and restaurants. This benefits smaller retail and leisure operators in the vicinity of the retail park.

Although often derided as soulless metal boxes, retail park units do offer savings to developers and retailers (such as easy 24 hour deliveries by large lorries, energy efficiency etc). These savings and reduced costs to the retailer can be passed on as lower prices to the benefit of their customers.

The rise of the discount retailer has much to do with the rise of the retail park. It is easier and cheaper to build a 20,000 sq ft retail space in a retail park than it is to create a 20,000 sq ft retail space out of existing buildings in a town or city centre.

Throw in a lack of parking in city centres, difficult access for full length articulated lorries and higher costs, and it is not difficult to see why a certain type of retailer will always favour retail parks over city centre locations.

Banning new retail parks will not suddenly make those retailers choose an unsuitable town or city centre location.

Is there another option to support high street revival?

Many of the recommendation made by the group should clearly be followed up, but sometimes it is easier for governments to stop or ban something than actually make the difficult and more challenging decisions that really need to be made – such as the overhaul of non-domestic rates (“NDR”), introducing a digital tax etc.

Successive governments have failed to deal with NDR - which just about every interested party sees as an essential element of any goal of supporting the ‘High Street’ in our towns and cities.

Grasping that thistle would be far more forward-looking than a ban, which seems to me to be a step backwards that will deter investment in Scotland and ultimately prove to be counter-productive.