Shopping centres uglier than landfills?

Polish planning law is unclear on this. Some legal provisions suggest that the location of a shopping scheme with a sales area exceeding 2,000 square metres - a so-called "large-area shopping scheme" - must be expressly provided for in a local zoning plan and no planning permit may be issued for such a scheme. Two Poles - three opinionsIn practice, many Polish local authorities have refused planning permits for large-area shopping projects, but some authorities have granted such permits. Rulings by Polish administrative courts on appeals against planning permits have differed as well.In several rulings, the Polish Supreme Administrative Court has stated that a zoning plan with explicit provisions for a large-area shopping scheme is necessary to develop such a project. Despite these rulings, some local authorities have continued their practice of granting planning permits. "Where there are two Poles there are three opinions" - to paraphrase a well-known Polish saying.In October 2011,