2.15 Tops Estates is a specialist developer of town and city centre leisure and retail centres. Their proposal included a small arena and sporting activities, cross-subsidised by retail outlets covering 26 per cent of the Dome. This proposal raised issues for the London Borough of Greenwich, which was reluctant to grant permission for any major retail development that would compete with existing local shopping centres. The Borough had made its concerns over retail developments clear to bidders that had taken part in the previous competitive process, and it is clear from our discussions with the London Borough of Greenwich that English Partnerships were right to perceive this as an area of particular risk. Tops Estates told us that in response to these concerns they had commissioned a specialist report which showed that their specialist sports and leisure retail `operation would not damage local shopping centres. They had shared this with English Partnerships and the Borough, and had not been subsequently told that any major concerns remained. Tops did not consider that this risk to delivery of their scheme had been high.