Employment Land Review for South Lakeland District on Behalf of South Lakeland District Council Prepared by Lambert Smith Hampto
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Employment Land Review For South Lakeland District On behalf of South Lakeland District Council Prepared by Lambert Smith Hampton 3 Hardman Street Spinningfields Manchester M3 3HF Tel: 0161 228 6411 Fax: 0161 228 7354 Date: February 2012 Ref: Planning, Development, Regeneration South Lakeland Employment Land Review Contents 1 Introduction 1 2 National, County and District Policy Appraisal: Key Considerations 4 3 South Lakeland Employment Land Review Methodology 18 4 Economic Overview 23 5 The Current Employment Land Supply 38 6 Property Market Overview 44 7 Employment Sector Forecasts 56 8 Creating a Picture of Future Requirements 63 9 Matching Supply and Demand 72 10 Conclusions & Recommendations 84 APPENDICES Appendix 1 – Sites Database Appendix 2 – Traffic Light Assessment February 2012 South Lakeland Employment Land Review 1 Introduction 1.1 LSH and ekosgen were commissioned by South Lakeland District Council to undertake an employment land review (ELR). The study will review and update the 2005 Employment Land and Premises Study. It will act as a background technical document to support the Council’s Local Development Framework (LDF). In terms of employment land, this relates to land that is suitable for the following uses: B1 (office/light industrial/research and development), B2 (general industrial) and B8 (storage or distribution) 1.2 As required by the brief the study will: deliver a rigorous and realistic market based assessment, including credible assumptions and forecasts about economic growth and the likely demand (both expressed and latent) for B1, B2 and B8 employment land and premises in the South Lakeland District for the 15 year plan period up to 2025; deliver a robust review of the needs identified in the 2005 Employment Land and Premises Study including credible figures for both the annual supply of employment land (forecasted annual average land take up per annum) and the total supply required over the plan period; an appraisal of the local commercial property market; an assessment of the types of site needed for different sectors in different parts of the District including Kendal and Ulverston, as well as in smaller towns and villages: identify gaps in the current employment land portfolio; advise on the suitability, market attractiveness and deliverability of emerging option stage potential employment allocation sites; specifically address / advise of the need for and potential location of, sites for B8 storage and distribution use to serve the Kendal area; with reference to the emerging option sites, specifically address / advise on the need for a strategic employment site & a business / science park to serve Ulverston & the Ulverston area. Given economic conditions, will solely ‘B’ use classes be deliverable / viable? Or, is a wider range of uses needed to cross subsidise? comment on the relationship between the scale and growth of housing land implied in the Core Strategy and the quantum of employment land needed. consider the role of neighbouring planning authorities, including the National Parks, in meeting the Districts employment land needs. 1 South Lakeland Employment Land Review the study has been prepared in accordance with the ODPM Guidance Note: Employment Land Reviews (December 2004). 1.3 This study concentrates on that part of South Lakeland District that is outside the Lake District National Park and the Yorkshire Dales National Park as shown in Figure 1.1 below. Figure 1.1 – The Study Area 1.4 The report is structured as follows: Section 2 summarises the key national and local policy context of relevance to the study; Section 3 details the method adopted to complete this study; Section 4 provides an economic profile based on past trends and comparisons with selected benchmark areas; Section 5 reviews the existing supply of employment land; Section 6 provides an overview of South Lakeland District’s Local Commercial property market; Section 7 provides an assessment of current and future demand for employment land and premises, through future employment projections and analysis of past take-up; Section 8 provide a synopsis of the types of site needed for different sectors in different parts of the District including Kendal and Ulverston as well as the smaller towns and villages; 2 South Lakeland Employment Land Review Section 9 reviews the suitability, market attractiveness and deliverability of emerging option stage potential employment allocation sites; and, Section 10 presents our conclusions and recommendations grounded by our detailed, geographical analysis of quantified supply and demand in terms of current, latent and future business needs. 3 South Lakeland Employment Land Review 2 National, County and District Policy Appraisal: Key Considerations Introduction 2.1 This section provides an overview of the strategic and policy context for employment land in South Lakeland District (outside the National Parks). It also includes a review of key research reports including those supporting national and local policy developments and identifies the key strategic development proposals that are likely to impact on the demand for and supply of employment land in the District. It contains the following key elements: national policy, including planning policy guidance notes issued by the government; local policy, including the saved and extended policies in the South Lakeland Local Plan and the adopted Core Strategy; and, other key documents, including relevant LDF evidence base studies, SPD, emerging policies and plans, property market reports and previous survey and appraisal work undertaken within the District. National policy PPS1 – Delivering Sustainable Development 2.2 PPS1 highlights the need for positive and proactive planning to achieve the creation of sustainable communities. It is stated that planning should facilitate and promote sustainable patterns of urban development by: Making suitable land available for development in line with economic, social and environmental objectives to improve the quality of life; Contributing to sustainable economic growth; Protecting and where possible enhancing the natural and historic environment; Ensuring high quality development through good design; and, Ensuring that development supports existing communities and contributes to the creation of safe, sustainable and liveable communities with good access to jobs and key services. 2.3 The Government is committed to promoting a strong, stable and productive economy that aims to bring jobs and prosperity for all. Consequently, planning authorities should have regard to the importance of encouraging industrial, commercial and retail development. At the same time, planning policies should enable the provision of a suitable mix of housing including adequate levels of affordable housing. Delivering sustainable development requires planning policies to: 4 South Lakeland Employment Land Review Promote urban regeneration; Promote regional, sub-regional and local economies; Promote communities which are inclusive, healthy, safe and crime free; Bring forward sufficient land of suitable quality in the right locations (housing, industry, retail and commercial development); Give high priority to ensuring access for all to jobs, health, education, shops, leisure and community facilities; Focus developments that attract a large number of people, especially retail development, in existing centres; Protect and conserve natural resources; Promote the more efficient use of land; and, Reduce the need to travel. PPS4 – Industrial & Commercial Development and Small Firms 2.4 PPS4 emphasises the need for a positive proactive planning for economic development and the need for greater integration between the planning system and wider economic strategies, programmes and initiatives. The guidance requires: all local authorities to undertake an assessment of the demand for and supply of employment land with regular reviews at least every three years; Following the demand-supply assessments and reviews, local authorities should consider de-allocating or allowing change of use of allocated employment land if there is no reasonable chance of the site coming forward in the medium term; Guided by reasoning and appropriate criteria, local authorities should adopt policies to safeguard employment land. This should not be used as a means to hoard employment land and should be subject to regular review (see above); The Use Class Order can hinder policies aimed at supporting particular sectors or types of businesses. However, local authorities should consider identifying sites for specific activities and types of organisations (e.g. small firms) where this is consistent with economic and regeneration priorities for the area; and, Comprehensive monitoring systems should be introduced, not only to assess the stock of employment land but also evaluations of the effectiveness of economic policies. PPS7 – Sustainable Development in Rural Areas 2.5 PPS7 advises that in their Local Development Documents (LDDs), planning authorities should set out their policies for allowing some limited development in, or next to, rural settlements that are not designated as local service centres, in order to meet local business and community 5 South Lakeland Employment Land Review needs and to maintain the vitality of these communities. In particular, authorities should be supportive of small-scale development of this nature where it provides the most sustainable option in villages that are remote from, and have poor public transport links with, service