Why is there still no official, national planning policy attached to supermarkets opening up in local towns (affecting local businesses and local jobs)?

Green Party

Votes for: 1    Votes against: 0

The Green party believes that our local high streets and shops are dying. Independent shops in the town centre are closing down and taking cinemas, cafes and banks with them. They leave behind deserted high streets and communities which are isolated from essential services. Local food producers are also dying. We lose on average 17,000 farmers per year. These are overwhelmingly the small and family farmers who face such low farm gate prices - often below the cost of production – with the result that they either intensify production or go bankrupt. Both local high streets, and local food producers are being damaged by chains and large out-of-town superstores. These attract customers away from independent shops and overwhelmingly source their produce from abroad, and their services "in house". The net result is that money is being drained out of the local economy and redirected towards just a few large farms or large businesses. We do not think this is progress. Greens believes Real progress is a vibrant local economy, with locally sourced and organic produce being sold in thriving independent shops. We believe that having shops and services within close reach for all isn’t a luxury: it’s a necessity.