The All Party Parliamentary Small Shops Group released its report ‘High Street Britain 2015’ recently. The report examined what commercial, political, social and regulatory factors might influence the shape of local retiling by 2015.

The main recommendations in the report are:

Implement a moratorium on further merges and take-overs until the Government has brought forward proposals to secure the diversity and vitality of the retail sector.

Establish a retail regulator

Introduce a new requirement for all local authorities to adopt a retail strategy within their development plan.

Develop regeneration units in all local authorities within the UK.[/BULETT]

Develop retail-focused regeneration units in all RDAs within the UK.

Make revisions to the retail property market.

The overall conclusions of the report are that in respect of store types, the report’s greatest concerns are of the post offices, rural shops, pharmacies, forecourts, newsagents, convenience stores, off-licences and other specialist retailers with little control over their supply chain, especially in urban areas. The value of the report – albeit that it is light on specific planning-related issues – is, in my view, the range of relevant issues subsumed under retail. In contrast to the prevailing Office of Fair Trading view, the market is not just about the economics of distribution. It is about lively, dynamic socially-relevant retailing that serves all the community. When we find food deserts we are finding market failure. Where access to food is poor, the health of the nation suffers. When rents rise, the independent shopkeepers sells out to the international fascia.

This article is taken from the newsletter of the National Retail Planning Forum based on comments by Professor Alan Hallsworth a reader in Retail Management at the University of Surrey.