Mayor urged to ban out-of-town shopping centres - commercial mortgages

12 June 2008

London mayor Boris Johnson has been urged to ban out-of-town shopping centres.

The proposal was made by environmentalist and Conservative party candidate Zac Goldsmith, on the grounds that such developments attract a high number of heavy goods vehicles and shopping traffic, Property Week reports.

Such a move could have implications for those with commercial mortgages on retail-based property, with investors concentrating on district centres in the capital benefiting if trade is concentrated there through such a measure.

However, the idea was criticised by the head of retail planning at CB Richard Ellis, Ian Anderson, who called it "naive".

Mr Anderson argued that most out-of-town centres in London were well connected to public transport and that "a wholesale ban is not the answer".

In Northampton, retailers have said they have been put off taking up empty units in the town centre by the high level of rents demanded there, despite the drift of shoppers towards out-of-town shopping, the Northampton Chronicle reports.