BBC: "Town centres 'missing out on new retail development'." (Quite a convenient day for this story to arise, eh?)

Link to web site

"Planning rules are doing little to coax local authorities into locating big new retail developments in town centres, research suggests.

"Developers in England have applied for twice as much shopping space out-of-town as in-town so far this year, the study by Estates Gazette found.

"... The government's Town Centre First planning policy, which came into effect last March, is supposed to require planning authorities to encourage development within town centres before looking out at out-of-town sites.

"This data suggests councils are not always implementing the new strategy." [What? Barnet?]