Hawkins said: 'The formation of an independent body to oversee planning applications is potentially the most significant announcement for retailers. We hope this will remove bias and lead to greater consistency.'
The chancellor committed the Government to following suggestions outlined in the Barker Report, released earlier this week. And the BRC believes planning proposals by Bank of England policymaker Kate Barker could be good news for retailers.
However, the BRC is disappointed that the Capital Allowance scheme has not been extended to include retail businesses.
According to Hawkins: 'The retail sector is vital to UK productivity and encouragement should be offered to retailers that are willing to expand and diversify their businesses. It is ridiculous that some business sectors receive this incentive while the engine of the British economy is excluded.'
Hawkins said the increase in fuel duty was 'disappointing' and would be an added cost burden to retailers, which have already experienced rises in transport costs in recent years. However, he is pleased that the chancellor has committed to adopting a risk-based approach to tax inspections, which could eliminate unnecessary and time consuming assessments.
On the Treasury's environmental commitments, Hawkins believes the chancellor has missed out on the opportunity to provide practical incentives for retailers to go green.
He said: 'The Treasury's failure to exclude renewable energy plant and machinery, such as solar panels and wind turbines, from business rate valuation is nonsensical and acts as a disincentive to green investment.'
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