The Irish Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Phil Hogan, has published for public consultation, draft Retail Planning Guidelines.

The aim of the draft Guidelines is to ensure that the planning system plays a key role in ensuring competitiveness in the retail sector advancing choice for the consumer while promoting and supporting the vitality and viability of city and town centres and contributing to a high standard of urban design and encouraging a greater use of sustainable transport.

When finalised after public consultation, the guidelines will replace those issued in 2005. The draft Guidelines take into account the recommendations of a Forfás Study Review of the Economic Impact of the Retail Cap prepared for the Departments of Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation, and Environment, Community and Local Government. The Study was undertaken as part of the terms of the EU-IMF programme for Financial Support for Ireland in 2010.

The Forfás report concluded that careful usage of caps on the size of certain retail outlets was appropriate in promoting both competitiveness and vitality in the retail sector and that an increase in, or removal of the retail caps would produce mixed results including:

• more vigorous competition in the largest population centres which can support a range of large stores
• in smaller population centres, allowing larger superstores could lead to a greater concentration of retailers’ power and potentially higher prices for consumers.

Minister Hogan said: "This independent economic analysis recognises that the planning system has been instrumental in facilitating the expansion of the retail sector in recent years.” He added that “the planning process needs to be steadfast in underpinning a competitive retail environment driving down prices for the consumer while also applying the lessons learned from past mistakes by refocusing on revitalising our city and town centres, moving against the tendency of the celtic tiger era to envisage extensive, even sprawling extensions of our cities and towns, drawing the lifeblood out of older, established central urban areas” and highlighting that “the reviewed Guidelines underpin this approach."

(CD)