The Commission for Integrated Transport has weighed into the debate sparked by a Treasury review over out-of-town retail, with a call to give planning precedence to town centre locations.
The interim report for Kate Barker’s review of the planning system last week said that while the ‘town centre first’ policy has been successful – increasing town development from less than 25% to 40% – it was a blunt tool for controlling traffic flows. ‘Most traffic is unrelated to shopping,’ she said in her analysis.
But CfIT this week called on the Government to retain the ‘town centre’s first’ policy, to encourage shopping around public transport hubs and population centres. www.cfit.gov.uk