ABSTRACT
More than any other consumer service evaluated in this book, retailing is widely held to be a dependent activity with little, if any, role in economic development. As Lowe and Crewe (1991:345) put it, ‘the retail trade is typically seen as an insignificant backwater, a sector which is somewhat tangential to the “real” world of production’. This is clearly illustrated in local authorities’ attitudes towards new retail developments. Although separate agencies have been established in many localities and regions, as well as nationally, to encourage inward investment from manufacturing and producer services, a retailer’s application for planning permission is normally met by questions about the trade diversion impacts of the proposed development. Ironically, and unlike all other economic sectors, the more successful the retail development is forecast to be, the less likely it is to be granted planning permission. A new shopping centre that diverts more than 10 per cent of trade away from an existing centre, for example, is likely to be rejected, while one that diverts only 5 per cent is more likely to be accepted. This is not the case with manufacturing and producer services. Quite the opposite. The larger the trade diversion impact, and thus jobs created, the greater is the probability that it will be granted planning permission and even be given enticements to locate in the area (Williams 1996c).
