This paper contrasts conflicting interpretations of the UK food store development process in the late 1990s. In particular, an attempt is made to unpack critical dimensions of the debate which surrounds the Department of the Environment's Planning Policy Guidance Notes 6 and 13 and the so-called ‘Gummer effect’ which is seen as having actively discouraged green-field out-of-town development and provided a mandate for reinvestment in town centre retail development. By exploring new evidence on the changing economics of superstore development, the impact of tightened land-use planning regulation, and shifting patterns of capital investment, I provide a conceptual framework in which to understand a radically transformed retail development picture.
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