Meon Valley MP pushes for Parliamentary ban on supermarkets in 'exceptional' towns (From Hampshire Chronicle)

Meon Valley MP pushes for Parliamentary ban on supermarkets in 'exceptional' towns

3:10pm Saturday 14th January 2012 in News

IT is too late to stop Sainsbury’s in Bishop’s Waltham, but Parliament is moving towards a policy to ban supermarkets from ‘exceptional town centres’.

Meon Valley MP George Hollingbery, a member of the Communities and Local Government Select Committee, pushed for the insertion of the idea in its report on the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).

Mr Hollingbery opposed Sainsbury’s plans last year to build a store in Bishop’s Waltham.

The application sparked a strong campaign to stop it.

At the time, he argued that Bishop’s Waltham was an outstanding town centre with many independent shops and should be protected.

The policy could be used in future to protect towns such as Alresford, which fought off plans by Waitrose for a store in the late 1990s.

He said: “I have long argued that some town centres are worth preserving for reasons that go beyond normal planning matters because they are the hubs of the community, a draw for tourists or a safety net for vulnerable people like the elderly.

“In the case of Bishop’s Waltham, I still believe that it ticked many of these boxes of outstanding qualities, but it was frustrating at the time that existing planning law could not take into account its exceptional nature and the application was passed.

“That said, it is also clear that the hurdle for such designation should be set very high indeed and most importantly, it must have widespread community support.

“Excluding a supermarket from the local area would disproportionately affect those on marginal incomes – if local prices were not competitive – and also those in need of local jobs, particularly the young.

“So the recommendation is a fine balancing act and any move for such a designation would have to prove that the circumstances in the centre were exceptional and that an edge or out-of-centre retail proposal would threaten a town meaningfully.

“This is so far only a recommendation, but I believe it does offer protection for such town centres and flexibility and I will continue to push hard for the clause to be put in the NPPF.”