Does tea taste better with milk added before or after pouring, does eating cheese at night really give you nightmares, and does Nessie exist? While some questions will never be answered to everyone’s satisfaction, commercial property owners have received welcome guidance for one of their own long-standing and contentious debates – that of town centre vs out-of-town development.
An appeal involving local authorities and commercial property developers has concluded, with the Planning Inspectorate deciding an out-of-town development should take priority over a town centre one.
The case dates back to May 2010, when Coal Pensions Properties and LaSalle Investment Management submitted an initial application to increase mezzanine space in an out-of-town Habitat.
The 2,991 sq m commercial property, located in Oldings Corner Retail Park in Hertfordshire, already has an 871 sq m mezzanine. Plans were to increase it by 939 sq m, splitting the unit for use by other retailers.
Welwyn Hatfield Council rejected the proposal, fearing the commercial property plans would undermine the development of its town centres in Hatfield and Welwyn Garden City.
The case went to appeal, where the Planning Inspectorate disagreed with the decision, ruling that a proposed expansion would not affect the town centres. It accepted Indigo Planning’s argument that retailers occupying the additional space wouldn’t have seen the town centre as an option, there were no other alternatives for retailers and that the type of unit, a retail outlet, would not be in competition with town centre businesses.
The ruling will be seen as a welcome shot in the arm for out-of-town commercial property landlords and retailers, with Indigo chairman Simon Neate highlighting the ‘support from the Planning Inspectorate for the view that town centre schemes are not always suitable for retailers wanting to serve a particular town and that out-of-centre development can be a sustainable option’.
