Retail Planning Sequential Test - Confirmation from The Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has considered the interpretation of the sequential test for retail development in Scotland (Tesco Stores v Dundee City Council) which has relevance to Northern Ireland Planning regime in so far as the form of words is largely similar. It also has relevance to retail applications
In Tesco Stores v Dundee City Council Tesco had challenged a decision to grant planning permission to Asda for an out-of-centre store on the basis that no suitable site was available in a more central location. The case centered on the meaning of “suitable”.
Tesco argued that the meaning was that an alternative site should be “suitable for meeting identified deficiencies in retail provision in the area”. Whereas the council’s interpretation was that it meant “suitable for the development proposed by the applicant”.
The court examined the context of provided by the wording of the structure and local plan policies and by NPPG8. It agreed with the council’s view that “suitable” referred to the format, scale and design of the developers proposal and that the council had correctly interpreted the development plan policies in granting planning permission to Asda.
