Town centres at risk after court ruling on out-of-town scheme

摘要

High streets and shopping centres up and down the country are on their knees. Bricks-and-mortar retail has been struggling for years due to the rise of ecommerce, and the problem was only made worse in 2020 by the forced closures of most retail outlets due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The resulting administrations among retailers are too many to list. With this in mind, a Court of Appeal ruling towards the end of last month seems bizarre, if not downright dangerous. The case involved a challenge to the approval of an out-of-town shopping development, which it was acknowledged would cause significant harm to the town's centre. And yet the court allowed the decision to stand. So what was behind the court'sjudgment and how might it affect other places?