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Aug 2010 Wealth creation SIR - Your article regarding the evident
slump in industrial development in Wales is timely ("Warnings as extent of
Wales' industrial slump is laid bare", July 30). The service sector (particularly
shopping malls and supermarkets) now far outweighs the "wealth-creating sector"
in Wales and it is affecting the high streets in a dismal fashion. The lack
of work fuelled by despair and cheap booze in the supermarkets is a lethal combination
and steps to address this imbalance need to be taken urgently. Whereas developers
will have cheered the news that planning policy is to be speeded up to allow for
more building work to be undertaken, thus keeping some people in work, we should
warn against this being extended to the retail sector where, undoubtedly, some
tightening needs to take place. We agree with the Federation for Small Business
that this is an urgent job for the sustainability committee. JUDITH TOMS Hon
Sec Wales Action for Sensible Planning, on behalf of Bourke Le Carpentier, president
----------------------------------------------------------------------- 22
Sept 2010 Act on planning now? SIR - Your article on our towns
and villages losing their identity, taken from research by National Economics
Foundation, should be flagged up on posters the size of a house, outside the Senedd. You
mention that the problems of decreasing smaller shops in our High Streets, leading
to a lack of cultural identity for so many towns, is leading to a clone town effect
- you quite rightly say that this has been a problem a long time in the melting
pot. Wales Action for Sensible Planning, an outreach arm of Aberdare &
District Chamber of Trade & Commerce, one of the oldest chambers within Wales,
has been attempting for many years to spread the message that alterations to planning
policy are the obvious answer. The Federation of Small Businesses has also
recognised the problem and is discussing ways forward, as is the policy department
of the prestigious South Wales Chamber of Commerce (to whom we are affiliated),
who, in difficult times are still improving their membership numbers annually. It
is worth noting that for every pound spent in the local high street with a local
retailer almost 80% of that money stays and circulates locally, thus sustaining
our market towns, whereas the bulk of profit from these huge concerns leaves the
area, with money going offshore in cases like WalMart, etc. Wales has separate
planning policy to England and we do not have to wait for Westminster to flex
their muscles before we take action to ensure that the march of giant retailers
does not swamp our individuality and identity. BOURKE LE CARPENTIER ?Wales
Action for Sensible Planning ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 4
Oct 2010 Planners have lots to consider YOUR reader Chhimed from
Llanrumney makes some valid points in his letter about two separate planning applications
in Cardiff, one for a Sainsbury's store and one for a school (Viewpoints, September
25). As he seems to have detailed information regarding the petition sizes
in both cases, one must assume he has put some effort into understanding these
matters and we would not wish to interfere in a specific local planning matter
without fuller information. However, some general points could assist. These
applications would have to be measured against more than the weight of petitions. We
have planning policy in Wales which should govern aspects of each and every planning
application, and some of the guidance which applies to the retail application
would not be applicable to the school application. There is guidance which
tells planning officers and the council that, when considering a retail application
which may be large enough to affect the vitality and viability of an existing
conurbation of shops, they should first look to the survival of the existing shops
and that "the cumulative effect" of such an application should be put
into the balance. In other words, they should have measured the effect on the
spending power within that locality of other shops built over the past 10 years,
know what current spending is likely to be, and judge the likelihood of shops
shutting as a result. Without seeing the detail of the Sainsbury's application
we would genuinely hope that this application may have been deemed unsuitable
on those grounds, since there is precious little extra spending money around and
existing shops are shutting at an alarming rate. Chhimed may be well assured
that, if it is only on the traffic grounds that this has been turned down, it
is likely that Sainsbury's will appeal (unfortunately an option not currently
available to the existing retail fraternity who could lose their livelihood as
a result). If the plan is then passed, the public at large may be justified
in feeling this is something of a charade to allow some politicians to be seen
to be trying to protect existing interests with the full knowledge that public
money will now be expended re-hearing the matter, and minor adjustments made to
the traffic data to allow it to go ahead anyway. We shall see. Bourke A Le
Carpentier?Wales Action for Sensible Planning
BOURKE LE CARPENTIER Wales
Action for Sensible Planning ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 16
Oct 2010 Plan threatens town's shops THE Echo article about the
application by Tesco to expand their existing store in Caerphilly states that
much of the discussion revolves around the distance from the town centre of the
store - quite rightly ("Tesco Extra will create ghost town, inquiry told",
October 13). We had a similar situation in Aberdare where Tesco claimed they
were putting in an application for an "edge of town" store, when it
was quite evident that one of the criteria for such a store - "that the parking
attached would be as useful to the town centre as to the store" - was clearly
not met. Those who have visited Neath town centre will see instances where
that is indeed the case, but in Aberdare our chamber of trade was adamant that
this was, in fact, an out of town development. Tesco ran roughshod over such
a trivial delineation and was allowed to settle, leaving its "in town"
premises empty for three years with a price on it so huge that they knew no-one
would be interested. Like the situation in Caerphilly, Tesco simply bided their
time to ask for an extension (in our case almost doubling the size of the enterprise),
which, in our opinion, is a classic case of "planning creep" where the
developer has neatly avoided the application being of a size which requires a
call into the Assembly for a second opinion and chosen to have exactly what they
initially wanted by digesting their oversized meal at two separate sittings. Your
article quotes from the words of Christopher Young QC for Tesco in asking what
is wrong with Tesco simply offering goods in competition with other stores in
the town at lower prices. Tesco has neatly sidestepped the Monopolies Commission
(which is specifically set up to ensure fair trading) by being allowed by successive
Governments to split its superstores from its smaller "in town" enterprises,
and neatly avoiding attaching the profits from Tesco Garages, which are located
strategically on the same sites as the superstores (despite the fact that points
gained by shopping in the store can be attached to benefits in lower petrol costs). With
the greatest respect to, and in answer to Christopher Young QC, at present, everything
is wrong with the concept of this store being able to even contemplate a move
which may well result in large swathes of empty shops in a town centre where the
Government needs every penny it can lay its hands on. The rates from these
various other retailers is part of the essential bread and butter of the national
economy. Tesco is simply asking for more and more and more jam when the others
are being asked to exist on bread and water. Bourke A Le Carpentier President,
Aberdare & District Chamber of Trade & Commerce ----------------------------------------------------------------------- High
streets need special care to thrive 22 Dec 2011 SIR - Your report on some of
the main findings within the Mary Portas Report, which highlights the steep decline
in high street shopping habits, quite properly concentrates on some very positive
steps she has suggested. Street markets and free parking are some of the most
notable as well as realistic overhaul of the business rates scenario. All good
so far! Those traders caught up in the current downturn of financial stability,
the supermarket and supermall development and the rise and rise of online shopping
will welcome any measures of relief, but we should be careful of swallowing the
prescribed medicine wholesale. Mary Portas has stopped short of a moratorium
on supermarket development (which could be the most sensible measure over an agreed
time period to allow the town centres to regroup and thrive), going for the idea
that any large development should be "signed off" by Government. In
Wales that would mean deferral to Wales Assembly Government because we have separate
planning guidance. It has been our experience that even when councils have had
the courage to turn down applications that decision has been overturned by WAG.
No firewall there, then. We note that Morrisons have said they are to build
25 new stores creating 7,000 new jobs. That is firstly presumptuous, since it
is the planning departments and councillors who will decide how many of these
will get permission; and it also sounds rather ambitious over jobs - does 280
per store sound feasible? in the current financial climate they can only detract
from the spending ability within the high streets as no new money is coming into
play. Also the idea of street markets seems extremely appealing on the face
of it, especially when those depicted are taking place in towns like Cirencester,
Winchester, etc, with good tourism footfall, but continental marketers who came
to Aberdare during the past few years made it clear they had no intention of returning
as there was not sufficient money circulating, and ultimately ending up in their
purse, to make it a worthwhile venture for them. Also, from the point of view
of stabilisation of financial gain to Government, which must feature in any solution,
we must remember that market traders do not pay business rates. This is a suggestion
which needs to be thoroughly explored on a town to town basis. Valley towns
are impoverished, with a very high rate of residents reliant on the state. Special
care is needed to make sure these towns survive and thrive - no one expects a
reversal of fortune overnight but if the suggestion of Mary Queen of Shops of
"town teams" means something more robust than the current system to
reflect the voices of the trading community we would welcome discussion on ways
forward. BOURKE LE CARPENTIER Wales Action for Sensible Planning ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Letters
to the Editor, Western Mail, Thursday 23rd Feb 2012 Town centre revival SIR
At the risk of repeating ourselves may we point out that the statistics
for High Street shopping in Wales where you quote The British Retail Consortium
figures for Wales (Feb 20) includes the 8% rise in footfall in Cardiff where the
new St Davids 2 was a major draw. This totally distorts the findings for
Wales overall. We think we should fall back on the recent statement by Sir
Philip Green, who knows a thing or two about High Streets, that any idea that
Christmas was a success story has to be balanced by the fact that 2010 was like
shopping in the Arctic, and figures for sales were frighteningly low, and that
this year, frantic retailers discounted to the bone. It may have kept the doors
open a bit longer but that cannot go on as the normal format. However, Stephen
Robertson, director general of the British Retail Consortium, makes no claims
for quick success or turnaround. In fact he says the condition of too many High
Streets is bleak and that the 5.6% rise in business rates in April will be another
major factor. He asks for a reduction as do so many other organisations fearful
for the continued cultural hub of town centres. The important statistic in your
report is the vacancy rate that is still higher in Wales. We feel that if some
of the input into the town centre regeneration exercise recently undertaken cross
party in Wales is taken seriously, this balance could be redressed exactly when
it needs to be. Now! BOURKE A LE CARPENTIER President, Wales Action for
Sensible Planning. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Letters
to the Editor, Cynon Valley Leader, Thursday 23rd February 2012. Leeching
the life from town centres. WE ARE sorry to hear Aberdare resident Richard
Davies feels the protestations of Aberdare & District Chamber of Trade &
Commerce have in some obscure way affected the success of the town by objecting
to the massive proliferation of out-of-town supermarkets on our doorstep.
Firstly, we recognise that some people, particularly with cars, find it easier
to shop at such places. However, there is a natural balance to be struck between
an area's spending power and the amount of out-of-town shopping that money can
sustain alongside an established town centre. A Government-sponsored report from
Mary Portas revealed quite categorically that the towns in worst decline were
those surrounded by massive out-of-town enterprises. Had Tesco stayed
in our town centre, where they were a good anchor store, instead of leaving us
in the lurch with a reputed covenant which disallowed foodstuffs to be sold in
the then-empty premises, we would have been in a stronger position. That
premises, with a ridiculously high price tag, remained empty until virtually all
food shopping had relocated out of town, where a few years later they were allowed
to practically double the size of the enterprise, even though the approach road
had been brought up to design capacity by the original development. Now
we have Asda, Lidl, Morrisons soon, and Home Bargains all outside the town. Exactly
how much more does Mr Davies think appropriate in a deprived area? Ask
shops in Merthyr town centre whether they think Cyfarthfa Park helps or hinders.
In their town centre they are lucky enough to have Tesco centrally, with the car-parking
useful for other shopping. Contrast that with our fight to get RCT to realise
that car-parking is key to our survival. We make no apologies for continuing the
fight to protect our existing town and make it more accessible for shoppers. It
has a cultural identity that no other town for miles can match and loyal customers
come regularly from outside the area for our Aberdare market, certain shops, cafes
and restaurants. We are currently working with the events team in RCT
to try to enliven and enrich that unique shopping experience during the coming
months. Watch this space. Bourke A. Le Carpentier President, Aberdare
& District Chamber of Trade & Commerce. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Western
Mail letters: Thursday, 5 April 2012
Enterprise Zones a threat to high
streets SIR May we link your article on enterprise zones (Business,
April 3) to a recent report on planning reforms in England in your newspaper? With
the jobs shortages so critical and the economy of Wales particularly in
terms of manufacturing in such a low state, we should all surely be glad
to hear of the new Enterprise Zones. However, so much depends on how this is interpreted
in each locality if they end up as huge retail enclaves we shall have sold
the idea far short and dealt a complete death blow to the high streets and town
centres in Wales. Your recent article which posed the question as to whether
Wales would be left behind now that England has adopted simplified planning
guidance which will be sustainability led is interesting for
the same reason. Surely we are short of jobs and, on the face of it, supermarkets
and supermalls seem to be able to offer these but there is already a high percentage
of empty premises in retail parks with talk of removing the original conditions
imposed to protect neighbouring town centres in order to bring them back into
use. In our area large manufacturing zones quickly became a mixed bag and
are now largely retail to the detriment of the high streets within the county. If
the sustainability factor is aimed at ensuring the town centres survive
maybe we should look to a tightening of some of the planning policy; we should
ensure that the clause which states that an authority looks first to the vitality
and viability of existing town centres becomes central in order to make sense
of the Town Centre Regeneration Report which, under challenges recognises
that the worst-hit towns are those near large supermarkets or malls. JIM
BRADLEY President Aberdare & District Chamber of Trade & Commerce -----------------------------------------------------------------------. Letters.
Cynon Valley Leader Thursday 26 April 2012 Car park charges counterproductive
WE consider that the illustrated letter showing an empty car park and commenting
on parking charges (April 19), deserves a reasoned response. S Phillips
seems to be under the illusion that both RCT Council and Aberdare Chamber of Trade
have turned away large retail concerns from the town centre. We would
stress that our chamber welcomes all large and small stores to the town in order
to ensure the healthy balance of national names and brands alongside our rich
mix of individual entrepreneurial stores, and we have a very good working relationship
with the management structure of all the large stores in town. We do not
always agree with the council. In fact we strongly disagree with the charging
policy in car parks, which has been shown to be counterproductive not only here
and in other town centres in RCT, but also was flagged up as a major problem both
in the detailed Mary Portas Report and the recent Town Centre Regeneration Report
from Cardiff. These charges are totally counterproductive, hence why supermarkets
do not charge, and we have asked for the full figures of the income from this
operation to be made available because it is our opinion that the strategy is
unjustified. The delay in the reply at a time when votes are being sought, speaks
volumes. We have not found them to have a particularly sound knowledge
of how a town centre functions, however, we find ourselves in the strange position
of having to defend them in that, to our knowledge, they have never turned away
any big store with an interest in coming to Aberdare. Your correspondent could
write to them to verify. The cost of shopping in town is largely imprinted
by the national stores, who have goods priced centrally and are, thus, exactly
the same in any town. We are indebted to the smaller individual traders who keep
costs very realistic in order to ensure survival. They are adding a vibrancy to
the town which is not reflected in their take-home pay but customers are having
a mixed, exciting and friendly shopping experience when they visit Aberdare, with
a chance to dine in a variety of eating establishments.
If the business
rates were adjusted to reflect the fact that town centres are not now the most
lucrative places to trade, prices could come down even further. By next
week we shall have done some comparison shopping to shed light on points made
above. Jim Bradley Honorary President, Aberdare & District Chamber
of Trade & Commerce
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