Linked trips and town centre viability

摘要

There is a widespread consensus in the UK planning community that 'linked trips' generated by large foodstores are potentially of critical importance to the viability and vitality of town centres. Indeed, in the case of market towns, some academics have argued that carefully sited supermarkets provide an essential 'anchor' for other services and must be seen, therefore, as a vital element in 'sustainable development' plans for those towns. Despite that -as a National Retail Planning Forum (NRPF) scoping study of 2004 makes clear - there are veryrnconsiderable gaps in the evidence base on these topics, and 'studies specifically focused on the retail planning aspects of linked trips are few and far between'.