Town centre dwellers affected by planning laws

Planning laws mean that there isn't a level playing field for small businesses in the UK and this means people who want to shop in their own town centre are being affected, according to the Federation of Small Businesses.

At the moment the government is considering abolishing the needs test which supermarkets need to pass in order to build in out-of-town large-scale developments.

Instead an impact assessment will be carried out which makes it very difficult for small firms to compete with large chains.

"The business sector doesn't need a lot of the regulation that we've already got. What it needs is effective enforcement of certain regulations which means that a fair market can establish itself and then can provide the various customer choice that's required," said Matthew Knowles from the federation.

The new test requires supermarkets to provide free parking while town centres' parking is so expensive because it is set by local authorities. This is tantamount to the local council stopping people from visiting town centre shops, according to Mr Knowles.


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