A comparative analysis of the air quality management challenges and capabilities in urban and rural english local authorities

Local authorities in Great Britain have (in the main) completed their air quality review and assessments, the aim of the process being the identification of local hotspots where national air quality objectives are not likely to be met Across Great Britain approximately 120 Air Quality Management Areas are in the process of being declared. Local authorities, in partnership with others, are required to write and implement an action plan outlining remedial measures to improve the air quality situation in these areas. This paper compares and contrasts the challenges facing urban and rural authorities in carrying out these responsibilities. The capabilities of urban, rural and those authorities defined as 'mixed' in implementing the review and assessment process also are discussed. The data presented indicate that, although urban authorities appear to be facing greater and more complex air quality challenges, rural areas are not without their own air quality challenges. The issues facing urban authorities are different from those facing their more rural counterparts. It is hypothesised that urban authorities have more effective frameworks in place for tackling the challenges of air quality action planning. This hypothesis is tested by questionnaire surveys and in the context of an urban and a rural case-study authority. © 2002 The Editors of Urban Studies

Retail parks revisited: A growing competitive threat to traditional shopping centres?

Since the late 1970s retail parks have developed in the United Kingdom to become a substantial element of the process of retail decentralisation. From an early focus on 'bulky-goods' retailing, they have grown and evolved into a variety of unplanned and planned forms, the largest of which can be characterised as 'hybrid regional centres'. The more recent addition of typical 'high-street' retailers to their functions has earned the epithet 'fashion parks'. Intermittent concern has been expressed at the likely negative effects that these phenomena are having on the traditional system of city, town, and district shopping centres in British cities. In these circumstances it is surprising that little of the recent retail impact research has focused on the larger retail parks. Partially to redress this deficiency, the authors investigate the impact of a large unplanned retail park on the retail system of the Greater Swansea area. The evidence suggests that the greatest impact continues to be focused on the middle-order district and local town centres. The relationship is now 'strongly competitive' rather than 'benignly complementary'. At the same time, the growth in scale and functional diversity of the retail park suggests a strong 'competitive erosion' of the status of the city centre. Thus, local authorities concerned for the future of their city, town, and district shopping centres should view processes operating within the shopping centre development industry in association with the location and marketing strategies of the principal 'high-street' multiple retailers with considerable caution

Divergence or convergence? Devolution and transport policy in the United Kingdom

We examine the impact of devolution in the United Kingdom on transport policies in the first two terms of devolved government, from 1999/2000 to 2007/08. In particular, we discuss the nature and extent of policy convergence and divergence between the devolved territories (Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and London) and England (wherein responsibility for policy formulation remains with the UK government at Westminster), and between the devolved territories themselves. Our analysis builds on existing work on devolution and public policy not only through its focus on transport policy, but also by distinguishing between ‘horizontal’ and ‘vertical’ dimensions of policy divergence and convergence, referring to relations between territories and to links to previous policies adopted within the same territory, respectively. Findings point to a convergence of overarching transport strategies and a complex picture of both convergence and divergence in terms of specific policy measures. The latter provides evidence of a devolution effect on transport policy

Planning guidance and large-store development in the United Kingdom: the search for ‘flexibility’

An important feature of town-planning practice in Western Europe has been the attempt to control commercial-property development in order to conform with planning principles. The growth history of large stores such as hypermarkets, superstores, and retail warehouses has thus been characterised by disputes between developers and planners. In this paper we examine the responses of large-store developers to UK government planning guidance that retail developments should be of a nature and scale suited to the physical environment of town centres. This goes against some retailers’ preferences for large formats which are generally unsuited to town centres. We explain these two opposed views, devoting particular attention to the retail developers’ case. We then use findings from two interview surveys with selected retailers to explore how far retail developers are prepared to go in compromising their preferred models of store development in line with government policy. Finally we discuss potential effects of recent changes in government policy