Proposals for new planning rules from Communities and Local Government would give councils more scope to refuse out of town development proposals that threaten the survival of high streets and small shops.
The new proposals maintain the ‘town centres first’ policy, but impose a tougher ‘impact test’ to give councils a better tool to prevent big developments that put small shops and town centres at risk. 

Social entrepreneurs are more likely to come from under represented groups and it is these people that are likely to be innovative in tackling the needs they see in front of them on a daily basis. These findings come from a report based on a five-year survey of social entrepreneurship in the UK, published by the Social Enterprise Coalition.
The Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities are more likely to produce entrepreneurs than the White community. 

By Nicola Linkleter, Executive Director, Badenoch & Clark
The negative image of the public sector can act as a deterrent in attracting talented people. It is perceived as an industry that is “down-sizing”. Career prospects are viewed as slow burning to stagnant. The author believes that doing nothing to counter this negative image is a lost opportunity.