Planning applications for food superstores 1960–86: Great Britain and South Wales

Abstract

The development and implications of food superstores in Great Britain have been the focus of much study. Most analysis and research however has had the drawback of being based solely on successful superstore applications (i.e. trading stores). A recent example of such work has appeared in this journal (Guy, 1988). It is argued here however that such analyses provide an incomplete understanding of spatial strategies, planning policy effectiveness and the development of superstores. A better understanding is afforded through an analysis of all superstore applications, i.e. applications which are unsuccessful as well as those that succeed. A database for planning applications for superstores is used here to provide first an introductory analysis of superstore development processes in Great Britain and to a lesser extent, Wales, and secondly a critical analysis of Guy's(1988) study of superstore development in South Wales.