Local Economic Solutions for Sustainability

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Localise West Midlands
The Warehouse
54-57 Allison Street
Digbeth
Birmingham
B5 5TH
Tel: 0121 685 1155
Fax: 0121 643 3122
Email: info@localisewestmidlands.org.uk

Registered in England and Wales as a company limited by guarantee (not for profit) no: 6239211

Localise West Midlands is a member of Planners Network UK and recently organised a very successful meeting for that network to discuss retail planning particularly relating to supermarkets. We received a small grant for organising this meeting from Lush through their 'Charity Pot' charitable giving scheme.

The objectives of the project were to bring together Planners' Network UK (PNUK) members with Friends of the Earth, Tescopoly and other campaigners to:
- share information on the current state of supermarket planning and campaigning, what can be done to protect local retail diversity, and what help communities and campaign groups need.
- identify how PNUK members can help, e.g. advise, influence teaching programmes, help with independent impact assessment, research, policy work.
- take back our ideas and action points to the network.

The rationale was a concern that supermarket 'monoculture' has damaging social, economic and environmental impacts, and that government policy and the planning process are not doing enough to guard against this, whilst campaigning and community support organisations are over-stretched in trying to help. So the aim of bringing these audiences together was to enable PNUK members to better use their planning knowledge to protect retail diversity and policy and community level - and everything in between - whether by encouraging research in appropriate areas, lending support to community groups etc.

The meeting was very successful, with a lively debate and some solid actionable outcomes such as:

- a list of research topics for PNUK's academic members to circulate to students

- draft list of model clauses and policies on retail that could be added to local development frameworks

- a commitment to investigate the implications of Planning Policy Statement 4 (economic development) for retail development specifically

- an agreement to meet again in summer to discuss PPS4, local development frameworks and other relevant developments.

For more detail of the event, contact us at LWM or try PNUK's website where some web forum discussions may be held as well as notes of the meeting.