Nexus Planning

Retail,
Leisure
& Town
Centre

Helping places perform, evolve and thrive.

Specialist sector team

Retail, leisure and town centre planning insight.

We advise local authorities, developers and investors across studies, impact assessments, sequential tests, peer reviews and expert evidence.

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Authority-wide studies

Evidence-led retail, leisure and town centre strategies for local planning authorities.

Impact and sequential

Planning assessments, peer reviews and commercial evidence for new development.

Expert evidence

Support for appeals, inquiries, hearings, examinations and strategic decision-making.

At Nexus Retail, Leisure & Town Centre
Retail evidence at scale

Planning advice that combines national retail and leisure experience with detailed local evidence.

Our team has worked with over 150 local authorities across England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, as well as some of the UK’s largest developers.

We provide the full range of retail planning services, including peer-review audits on major development proposals and authority-wide retail, leisure and accommodation studies.

Our work spans appraisals, capacity and impact assessments, sequential site searches and detailed demographic assessments using GIS, smart data and survey tools. We are experienced in successfully defending our advice at Examination and Inquiry.

Notable statistics

150+ local authorities advised across the UK and Ireland.

UK & Ireland

England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland

GIS + data

Smart data, survey tools and demographic assessment

Inquiry ready

Advice defended at Examination and Inquiry

What we do

Retail, leisure and town centre support

We provide the full range of retail planning services for local authorities, developers, investors and landowners.

Our work spans authority-wide studies, peer review, impact and sequential assessments, commercial demand advice, hotel and visitor economy work and expert evidence.

Evidence base Town centres Planning applications Expert evidence
01

Retail and Leisure Capacity Studies

Assessing future retail and leisure demand.

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02

Town Centre Strategies

Shaping thriving centres through evidence-led strategies.

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03

Peer Review Audits

Helping local authorities assess proposals located outside centres.

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04

Expert Witness Services

Providing evidence at appeals, hearings and examinations.

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05

Retail Impact Assessments

Supporting planning applications with robust impact evidence.

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06

Sequential Assessments

Demonstrating compliance with national planning policy.

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07

Commercial Demand Assessments

Understanding market demand and development potential.

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08

Hotel & Visitor Economy Studies

Assessing tourism, leisure and visitor economy opportunities.

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HighStreetPositives
High Street Positives

Changing the conversation around high streets through better evidence, better narratives and better collaboration.

Founding supporter
HighStreetPositives founding supporter badge

A UK and Ireland initiative dedicated to reshaping the narrative around high streets.

We are a proud partner of HighStreetPositives, a UK and Ireland initiative dedicated to reshaping the narrative around high streets.

HighStreetPositives spotlights stories of regeneration, community innovation and resilience, bringing together the high street ecosystem of businesses, councils, landlords and community groups all working with the same goal: thriving, vibrant local high streets.

Together, we are championing better evidence, better narratives and better collaboration through events, webinars, knowledge sharing, insight reports and marketing.

The aim

Moving from decline-only thinking to a balanced, evidence-led view of high streets.

Supporting practical action that improves high streets.

Through better evidence, better narratives and better collaboration, HighStreetPositives helps bring together the people shaping stronger local centres.

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Example outputs

Evidence made visible

Clear outputs help clients, officers, stakeholders and decision-makers understand place performance, demand, impact and opportunity.

This section is structured for cleansed study area plans, town centre use plans, mapped evidence and output data once final examples are approved.

Example visual formats

Visual outputs can include study area plans, town centre use plans, mapped evidence, charts and decision-ready reporting.

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Town centre use plan placeholder
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01
Study area plans

Plans that define centres, catchments, policy areas and the spatial context for retail and leisure evidence.

02
Town centre use plans

Visual summaries showing activity, uses, vacancy, frontage patterns and how centres are changing.

03
Mapped evidence

GIS-led outputs that show catchments, accessibility, demographics, provision and market context.

04
Data charts

Clear charts and data extracts that communicate demand, capacity, impact, trends and performance.

Evidence and reporting

Need clear evidence for a planning decision?

Speak to our Retail, Leisure and Town Centre team about mapping, charts, study outputs and visual reporting for your next project.

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Who we support

Public and private sector clients

We advise local authorities, developers, investors and landowners across retail, leisure and town centre planning.

Our role changes depending on the brief, from strategic evidence base work and peer review audits to planning applications, impact assessments, sequential assessments and expert evidence.

Local authorities Developers Investors Landowners

Local authorities

Evidence-led studies, peer review audits, town centre strategies, retail and leisure capacity work and advice that can be defended at Examination or Inquiry.

Evidence base / strategy / peer review

Developers

Planning support for retail, leisure, hotel, commercial and mixed-use proposals, including impact and sequential assessments.

Applications / impact / sequential testing

Investors

Evidence and market context to help understand demand, centre performance, development potential and planning risk.

Demand / risk / opportunity

Landowners

Site-specific planning advice, commercial demand assessment, policy positioning and evidence to support land use decisions.

Land use / evidence / planning strategy

Client logo grid

Add approved client names or logos here once the final Retail & Leisure client list is confirmed.

Need retail, leisure or town centre planning advice?

Speak to our team about studies, strategies, applications, peer reviews, impact assessments or expert evidence.

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Key contacts
Speak to the experts in this field

Our Retail, Leisure and Town Centre specialists combine planning strategy, evidence, market knowledge and expert witness experience.

Need sector-specific planning advice?

Contact the Retail, Leisure and Town Centre team about studies, strategies, assessments, applications or expert evidence.

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Speak to the team
Retail Leisure Town Centre

Evidence-led planning advice for local authorities, developers, investors and landowners.

Need advice on a retail, leisure or town centre planning matter?

Speak to our team about authority-wide studies, town centre strategies, peer reviews, planning applications, impact assessments, sequential assessments, commercial demand advice or expert evidence.

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How we can help

We help clients make robust decisions about centres, demand, impact and investment.

Studies

Retail, leisure, hotel and visitor economy evidence

Strategies

Town centre strategies and place-based advice

Assessments

Impact, sequential and commercial demand assessments

Evidence

Appeals, hearings, examinations and public inquiries