There were 6,525 applications in England in the year to March, which was almost half the number in 2008/09 and 11% less than in 2014/15, said Lendy, which provides property finance and development loans. The Greater Manchester area saw the biggest fall in retail planning applications last year, according to the research. Liam Brooke of Lendy said, “The continued softness in the retail property market shows no sign of abating. Retailers are shunning and shutting bricks and mortar shops…Big brands are continuing to shift their focus towards their online services.”