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British town centres are suffering from the growing trend towards out‐of‐town retailing. The Continental model for the future of town centres appears attractive, but there are problems. National durable multiples face a locational dilemma – they have a commitment to town centres but wish to follow the market out of town if that is necessary. The result is that many run both town centre and out‐of‐town operations in parallel. The three waves of retail decentralization – food, bulky goods and comparison goods‐have varying effects on different sizes of centre. Larger durable‐based town centres are likely to suffer slow attrition, but some food‐anchored district centres could suffer from new, smaller, out‐of‐town supermarkets. There is a growing amount of leisure‐based shopping which could work to the advantage of some small market towns. The tide of out‐of‐town retailing is running so strongly that the new tighter government policy is unlikely to stop it completely. Many town centres could contract commercially, but they could continue to prosper by encouraging housing and services.

Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s the debate surrounding the comparative costs and benefits of town centre and out‐of‐town retail developments for consumers and to the environment has been a heated one. Informed by a largely puritanical view of consumerism, current Government policy tends towards the preservation of the traditional town centre. However, the actual evidence is far from conclusive and there is limited consumer research supporting this stance. Based on an interviewer‐administered survey conducted during 1994 and 1995 to assess shoppers’ opinions in both types of location in Preston, presents an examination of consumer perspectives and examines differences in perceptions and behaviour patterns among town centre and out‐of‐town shoppers.

During the past 30 years the balance between retail development in “out of town” as opposed to “town centre” locations has been a recurrent theme in retail planning policy debates and policy initiatives within the UK. This paper reviews the continuing growth and diversification of out‐of‐town retail development and draws attention to the recent investment in retail services complexes in out‐of‐town sites. A brief outline of changing central government thinking suggests an increasingly restrictive approach to new out‐of‐town retail development coupled with a policy commitment to “put town centres first”. The paper then offers some illustrative examples of town centre management initiatives in Leicester, Leeds and Manchester, and concludes with a brief discussion of some of the issues surrounding the “in town – out‐of‐town debate”.

Identifies some of the industry‐wide changes such as the decentralization of retailing and the impact and implications for town centres of retailing and its wider function. Examines the recent upsurge of interest in town centre management in the context of current government planning policy guidelines and ministerial statements. Identifies the key components of successful town centres including private/public sector partnerships and funding. Demonstrates, through an examination of initiatives taken by two particular authorities, the need for a flexible interpretation of the concepts of town centre management.

Examines the attitude of the consumer and local authorities to out‐of‐town shopping centres by means of results of a survey carried out in two suburbs of Bournemouth in the UK. Reveals that both the consumer and local authorities have reservations about the role of out‐of‐town shopping centres and its effect on the overall pattern of retail distribution, despite the apparent benefits of this kind of shopping.

Whether the recent pressure for more out‐of‐town shopping appears to be easing in favour of further revitalisation of the inner city centre is discussed by involved interlocutors, both at local and at ministerial level. Amongst other relevant aspects of retail development, the pros and cons of superstores operating side by side with small businesses in town centres are examined.

Hardly a day goes by without a report about one of the great traditions of British dissent: a small group protesting at the demolition of a cottage; a lone crusader chaining him or herself to a tree to prevent its felling; or a band of enthusiasts standing in the way of a bulldozer as it attempts to fill in a duckpond. Yet that same culture, which has bred a stubborn tradition of activism in the cause of a manageable and human‐centred environment, is curiously silent in the face of a threat that will involve the demolition, potentially, of hundreds of cottages, thousands of trees and scores of duckponds. Additionally, it will involve the desecration and impoverishment of the urban landscape that city‐dwellers are only now beginning to learn is every bit as fragile and in need of care and attention as our natural heritage. This is the looming threat of the giant multi‐purpose out‐of‐town retail centre. Whether it be for a large clear span warehouse, for a retail ‘farm’ of several similar centres selling stratified lines in bulk, or the establishment of an entire alternative High Street in the middle of nowhere, most urban centres and particularly free‐standing centres, face a plethora of applications and a wash of finance and public relations expertise in the drive to persuade, cajole or bully local authorities into accepting planning applications of monumental consequences for the established retail centres of those authorities. In South Hampshire alone there are currently 18 applications under consideration for out‐of‐town shopping centres which together total in excess of 4,000,000 sq. ft. (To put this figure into real context, Southampton City Centre currently has 1,500,000 sq. ft of retail.)

The fears of many consumers a few years ago concerning the apparent impersonality and size of many shopping developments, have now been largely overcome. These have been superseded with concern for the distance and competitiveness factors associated with the latest trend in retailing — the movement ‘out‐of‐town’ — a development which at present receives hostility from many people in the United Kingdom, and cautious enthusiasm from others.

Marks & Spencer's decision to go out of town is one of the most significant in the retail sector in recent years, but so far little research has been done into its implications. In July 1987 Marks were granted planning permission to put up a shopping complex at Sprucefield, on the southern edge of the Belfast conurbation, and trading will probably start in December 1988. A survey into this development, of both retailers and consumers, was carried out by the Department of Marketing at the University of Ulster. The favourable views of shoppers were perhaps not all that surprising — but the support of retailers is contrary to received wisdom.

Presents the results of an interview survey carried out in an out‐of‐town store, compares these with the impact of the store as predicted by the Lakschmanan‐Harsen real potential model. Suggests that the model is an effective way of assessing the impact of out‐of‐town stores.