The Planning and Housing Committee will be presenting its report called ‘Cornered Shops’ at the London Assembly. The report reveals how local corner shops are on the decline in London and demands that the government provides these shops protection status local, regional and national planning policies. The reason for the decline of the corner shops was the growth of supermarket chains such as Tesco Metro and Sainsbury’s Local.
It is likely that the Assembly will follow the recommendations made by the report, in many areas of the country.
Talking about this, the Deputy chair of the Planning and Housing Committee, Jenny Jones said that the government should prevent the replacement of Corner Shops with Internet Cafes and Betting Shops. She said, “People in residential areas need local shops that provide essential services that they can walk to.”
She also added, “The Mayor [of London] must lead on changing the planning system to empower boroughs to take back control of their high streets and protect local shops from further decline.”
