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1998 Retail Development Survey

3. Number of Retail Developments

3.1 Table 1 summarises the number of retail developments recorded by each local authority in 1998, in terms of the planning stages reached.

3.2 The table shows that Edinburgh had the highest number of recorded entries for the year (31), followed by Glasgow (30) and North Lanarkshire (18). Edinburgh also had the most retail planning applications submitted during the year (15), followed by Glasgow (10) and South Lanarkshire (9). Glasgow granted the highest number of consents during 1998 (16), followed by North Lanarkshire (8) and Edinburgh (7).

3.3 Scottish Borders Council refused the most applications without prospect of further appeal (5) followed by Aberdeenshire (3), then jointly by Aberdeen, Glasgow, Perthshire and Kinross and Renfrewshire, each with two. However, Edinburgh (9) had the highest number of applications refused pending appeal, local inquiry or determination by the Secretary of State. This was followed by Scottish Borders (3), and Dumfries and Galloway and South Lanarkshire (2).

3.4 Glasgow had the highest number of retail developments under construction (7), followed by North Lanarkshire (4) Aberdeenshire and South Lanarkshire (3). Similarly Glasgow had the largest number of newly trading developments (5), followed by Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Fife each with three.

3.5 It is important to note that this table does not permit conclusions to be drawn regarding the rate of approval / refusal for each local authority. The table provides a snapshot of planning activity throughout 1998. It does not indicate that, in the case of Edinburgh for example, the local authority received fifteen applications and approved eight of them. It merely represents the level of activity in each category throughout the year. None of the planning stages identified are expressed as a proportion of the total number of applications submitted. Furthermore, the total number of entries for each local authority will not necessarily equal the value in each category, as any given scheme may have been at more than one planning stage during the course of the year, and may have two or more planning stage entries as a consequence.

3.6 Table 2 illustrates that planning application submissions and approvals were concentrated in the Glasgow and Clyde Valley and Lothian Structure Plan areas. The Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire Structure Plan Area had the third highest number of total entries and the third highest number of planning applications submitted.

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