Stormont may rule on Asda superstore plan
Town centres are under threat from out-of-town shopping and increases in online purchasing.
STORMONT officials are looking at taking control of a decision on controversial plans for a 40,000 sq ft Asda supermarket in Newtownabbey, it has emerged.
The Department for Infrastructure intervened this week in plans for a store on the site of the former Nortel plant.
It has been opposed by trade group Retail NI over concerns that it will draw business away from town centres.
Writing in today’s Belfast Telegraph, former DUP MLA Nelson Mccausland says planners should not exacerbate the pressure facing shops and town centres “by approving more out-oftown developments”.
Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council confirmed that its members voted to defer consideration of the application.
A spokesman said councillors had received a notice under Article 17 of The Planning Order 2015 that they should not grant planning permission for the development until further advised by the department.
The notification brings the application a step closer to being “called in” — where plans are deemed to be regionally significant and should therefore be decided by Stormont officials rather than councillors.
This week’s development gives DFI time to decide what to do. Asda said: “Whilst we are disappointed that the application has been deferred we will continue to work with all concerned to successfully progress our plans for a new store in Newtownabbey.”
Glyn Roberts, chief executive of Retail NI, said it was strongly opposed to the plan.
Speaking at the weekend, he said: “Retail NI is of the view that this out-of-town superstore application is in clear breach of the current Town Centre First retail planning policy and we are concerned it may be granted for short-term reasons to bring Asda to Newtownabbey.
“Planning policy must be the only criteria.”
He claimed out-of-town stores displaced existing town centre roles. “Newtownabbey has a distinctive retail environment with a significant number of local neighbourhood retailers who are the lifeblood of the community,” he added.
“These facilities will be jeopardised, and job losses will occur if permission is granted.”
But Asda has said the store will bring new jobs and better-value shopping.
“Our long-running engagement with the local community has been extremely positive and we hope to bring this major investment to the area, creating new jobs and bringing Asda value to consumers in the local area,” it said.
There has been some controversy about a planning proposal for a major supermarket store on the Doagh Road in Newtownabbey. When it came to the council planning committee earlier this week, the decision was deferred because the Department of Infrastructure had issued an Article 17 direction order to the council to enable the department to consider whether to call in the decision.
However, we do know that the company has promised 250 new fulltime and part-time jobs. Now jobs are always welcome, but what consideration is being given to the jobs that will inevitably be lost elsewhere?
Very often with such developments, there is no net gain in employment. It is simply a case of displacement, with a loss of existing jobs in other places, often in smaller, locally owned businesses.
The truth is that no matter how many new superstores may open, there is a limit to the amount of money that people have in their pockets to spend and a limit to the number of tins of baked beans, or whatever else, they may buy.
The other selling-point for new outof-town developments is that they will increase the rates base of the council. And they may — for a time.
A short-term approach will look at this and see the increase in rates’ income for the council, but what is the knock-on effect on the rates’ income from other businesses in the longer term, in particular shops that eventually close down?
Last year, more than 10% of all retail spaces in the United Kingdom were vacant and the figure is rising year on year.
Many times, we have seen interviews on television with the interviewees standing in streets of boarded-up shops, lamenting the decline in our high streets.
Of course, it could be argued that people don’t care; they don’t value high streets and town centres and they wouldn’t miss them.
However, there is strong evidence to the contrary. A 2019 survey found that almost nine out of 10 shoppers would care if high streets disappeared.
Our high streets are much more than just a place for shops; they have been the centres of towns and communities for hundreds of years and they are places where you meet other people in social settings. Our society would be all the poorer without them.
Just look on Friday mornings at the people going into St George’s Market in Belfast city centre; for many of them, it is as much about the social event as the food, or whatever else, they purchase.
Everyone can see the empty shops and the signs for closing-down sales and we can think of the reasons for them.
One reason is undoubtedly the growth in internet shopping and, in 2018, online retail spending was 18% of total spend — a figure that will have increased significantly during the current pandemic.
However, many people do value the opportunity to actually see and handle a product, to talk to a salesperson and compare the item with similar items they have seen and handled elsewhere. There is still a place for physical shops and town centres.
Online shopping is a national and, indeed, an international issue and very much an issue for Westminster, but there are many other factors that can be influenced at a regional Assembly level, or a council level, especially rising business rates, poor in-town parking facilities and the growth of out-of-town shopping.
There have been attempts to address the issue and, in 2011, Prime Minister David Cameron turned for advice to Mary Portas, who produced a report with 28 recommendations.
Meanwhile, at Stormont, we invested in public realm schemes to make our town centres more attractive, we created a legislative framework for business improvement districts and we encouraged “living over the shop”.
However, the decline has continued. So, can I make a plea to our Assembly at Stormont and, in particular, to the Executive to make this issue of town centres a priority before it is too late?
It is not a unionist or nationalist issue and it should be possible to get cross-party agreement on a coherent and comprehensive approach.
And, in the meantime, can I appeal to planners to beware of exacerbating an already difficult situation by approving more out-of-town developments?