WRITTEN QUESTION E-2274/98

by Richard Corbett (PSE) to the Commission

(22 July 1998)

Subject: Hypermarkets and the decline of city centres

Is the Commission aware of the increasing number of local shops in inner city areas (such as those in Liverpool) which are closing because of the growth of supermarkets and out-of-town shopping centres?

Is it aware that old people and people who have no cars find it difficult to travel to these hypermarkets to make their essential purchases?

Does the Commission consider that such social costs should be taken into account when deciding whether to allow such hypermarkets?

What steps is the Commission taking to find out the facts concerning this problem and to propose means by which the difficulties can be alleviated?

Answer given by Mr Papoutsis on behalf of the Commission

(5 October 1998)

The Commission has long been aware of the difficulties caused to small shops by the growth of large retail stores and out-of-town shopping centres. This problem has particular impact in remote rural areas and in declining areas of towns and cities. The latter situation is probably the more serious because it is less widely recognised but nevertheless accelerates the downward spiral of the locality.

Local shops are often viewed as being social focal points in the neighbourhoods they serve. The closure of such shops may therefore damage the local social fabric. The effect is particularly severe on people who do not own cars, for financial reasons or through old age or illness, adding to the risk of social exclusion.

In the light of the follow-up to its communication "Towards an urban agenda in the EU"(1) the Commission intends to present an action plan which will emphasise the problems related to urban sprawl and the growing need to travel in towns and cities. The concept of the "compact city" has already been stressed in the draft European spatial development perspective that was presented to ministers for regional policy and spatial planning at their meeting in Glasgow in June 1998. The granting of permission for the construction of large out-of-town shopping centres is not within Community competence, but the above-mentioned policy documents can provide a reference framework for national and local action.

A partial solution to the difficulty for small local shops in remaining competitive may lie in the establishment of co-operative structures such as buying groups, voluntary chains and franchising. The Commission is considering whether current competition rules should be modified to facilitate such co-operation.

In the context of the Commission's commerce 2000 programme(2) to increase the competitiveness of small shops, an enquiry is being carried out to identify common problems in declining urban areas. Presentation of the results is expected to take place at a conference to be held in Brussels during the first quarter of 1999. Experience of the inclusion of the distributive trades within the scope of the European structural funds, for which certain Member States have opted, will be among subjects to be discussed. It is hoped to identify and to disseminate best practices, possibly relating to modern management methods such as the use of electronic commerce, the training of shop owners, better access to finance, the use of buying groups and multiservice retailing.

The Commission has approved an operational plan under the URBAN Community initiative(3), designed to counteract problems of lagging development and crime in Merseyside, in which region there are sub-programmes for the communities of North Huyton, Netherton and Central Liverpool, to be 48,5 % funded from the Community structural funds. These sub-programmes include measures such as community-based economic development and encouragement of sustainable business.

Discussions have taken place about the possibility of inviting representatives of Liverpool to join representatives of other European cities which have similar problems in parallel with the enquiry mentioned above to make a first analysis of the problems.

(1) Commission Communication: document COM(97) 197 final.

(2) Referred to in document COM(96) 591 final: Proposal for a Council Decision on a Third Multiannual Programme for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the European Union (1997-2000).

(3) Commission communication 96/C 200/4 of 10.7.1996.