| Abstract: | Summary This paper examines in detail the policy responses of planners, as seen in structure plan policy statements, to the challenge of a dynamic retail sector. The spatial scale of Scotland is taken to rectify the omission in previous work on planning and retailing which has been mainly Anglo‐centric in focus. Common themes from the structure plans are identified and analysed and the Scottish experience compared to the wider British context. The process of plan monitoring and policy review is examined to see if planners are meeting this challenge of retailing in a constructive way. The question is posed as to whether the traditional approach to retail planning, as exemplified in the structure plans, can now be maintained in the light of persistent attacks on the grounds of inadequacy and inappropriateness. |
