The return of regulation in the shopping landscape? Reflecting on the persistent power of city centre preservation within shifting retail planning ideologies

Since the construction of the hierarchical retail system in the postwar period, the main goal of Dutch retail planning has been to preserve city centres and the complementary shopping centres. National guidelines restricted the development of large-scale retail locations on peripheral sites. Considering this restrictive planning ideology since the 1970s, the recent proposal to deregulate and decentralise retail planning came as a surprise and caused great controversy. Dutch retailers in particular raised their voices. They feared a disruption of the hierarchical retail system, following the removal of national restrictions on peripheral developments. The policy goal to preserve city centres seemed to disappear but returned when the national government and provincial authorities decided to reregulate retail planning. This paper analyses shifting retail planning ideologies in the Netherlands and reflects on the strength and persistence of city centre preservation within these shifts.