Land at Woodlands Nursery, Road, Upper Caldecote

Comments on Local Plan consultation (August 2020)

Report on behalf of Solai Holdings Ltd

DLA Ref: 19/230 August 2020

CONTENTS

1.0 INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY ...... 1 2.0 POLICY AND STRATEGIC CONTEXT ...... 2 3.0 SUPPLY OF EMPLOYMENT LAND ...... 3 4.0 OUTLINE OF PROPOSAL ...... 5 5.0 CONCLUSIONS ...... 7

1.0 INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY

1.1 This report responds to consultation on additional evidence published by Central Council in support of the draft Local Plan currently being examined. The additional evidence was produced to address significant concerns raised by the Planning Inspectors examining the draft Local Plan. Specifically, these concerns related to the Council’s proposed employment site at Holme Farm south of Biggleswade. This report sets out for consideration through the examination process an alternative option for the provision of employment land.

1.2 The report is written in support of an employment allocation at Woodlands Nursery in Upper Caldecote. It explains why the site is both suitable and deliverable for employment purposes and the reasons it should be brought forward, either instead of, or alongside the Council’s current proposed allocations.

1 Land at Woodland Nursery, Biggleswade Road, Uper Caldecote DLA Ref: 19/230 August 2020

2.0 POLICY AND STRATEGIC CONTEXT

2.1 The UK economy has faced a number of challenges over the past decade and rebuilding after the global economic slowdown has been hampered firstly by uncertainty surrounding Brexit and, more recently, by the disastrous impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even before COVID-19, government policy was distinctly pro-business in seeking to encourage economic growth. These measures have become even more pressing in the light of the changes brought about by COVID-19. A particular element of the Government’s focus has been to support Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).

2.2 Council’s attitude towards economic growth has generally been proactive and positive, particularly compared with some surrounding local authorities. Central Bedfordshire lies at the heart of an area earmarked for substantial future growth and it is vital that housing growth is accompanied by new space for businesses to create jobs.

2.3 The Council’s adopted Local Plan is now somewhat dated and contains inadequate measures to deliver sufficient economic growth. However, attempts to adopt a new Local Plan have been hampered and the process is far from complete. Given the urgent need for new business space, the Council may need to look beyond the Local Plan process if the opportunities presented by a post-COVID-19 bounceback are to be realised.

2.4 While Government policy has allowed housing development to proceed in advance of the Local Plan through five-year housing land supply requirements, the same has not been true of commercial development. Section 3.0 of this report looks at recent economic development and how, particularly in the northern and eastern parts of Central Bedfordshire, and especially around Biggleswade, job growth has not kept pace with housing growth. This is all the more important since the area’s transport infrastructure is already struggling to cope. Providing more jobs locally will help reduce the pressure on southbound road and rail services, while also retaining the benefits of economic development (in the form of business rates) in the local economy.

2.5 Looking ahead, substantial new development is planned for the Oxford to arc and the Council will be undertaking an immediate review of its Local Plan as part of this process. Central Bedfordshire has a major opportunity to capitalise on its location between Cambridge, and Milton Keynes. The provision of high-quality new office space and the fostering of a stronger local economy will help create a platform for successful growth in the future.

2 Land at Woodland Nursery, Biggleswade Road, Uper Caldecote DLA Ref: 19/230 August 2020

3.0 SUPPLY OF EMPLOYMENT LAND

3.1 The case for more employment land to meet the needs of the Central Bedfordshire economy has been detailed by the Council in their recent Employment Technical Paper (ETP, ref EXAM112) submitted as part of the Local Plan examination. This makes reference to the Employment Land Update carried out by Stantec (May 2020).

3.2 In essence, the Council’s previous position was that there was a healthy supply of employment land in the district to meet local economic needs and any new allocations in the emerging Local Plan were specifically for “footloose” strategic warehousing. However, the Council now acknowledges that this position has changed. As stated at paragraph 6.5.13 of the ETP “the supply of land to meet local needs has been reduced to the level where it could now be demonstrated that additional sites to meet local needs (over and above those allocated for mixed use) are required.”

3.3 The reasons for this shift are discussed in paragraph 6.5.14:

“The recent Coop permission at Stratton Business Park has resulted in a lack of available land at this location and along the A1 corridor within Central Bedfordshire as a whole, to deliver local employment needs, which has contributed to this recently identified shortfall.”

3.4 The 660,000 square feet Co-op distribution centre has taken up the remaining land at Stratton Business Park, originally intended for local economic growth. This reflects a wider pattern across the south east of with an increase in demand for strategic warehousing outcompeting local businesses for space.

3.5 The Council’s response to this issue is to reallocate some of the land identified for strategic warehousing at Holme Farm near Biggleswade for local economic needs. However, there are a number of concerns with this approach:

• The Inspectors examining the Local Plan made it clear that had a number of significant concerns with this allocation and the way it had been assessed. It’s separation from Biggleswade and the landscape impact were key among them. While the Council has sought to address these concerns, there is no guarantee the Inspectors will agree that their concerns have been overcome. • Secondly, reallocating 25ha of the Holme Farm site reduces the overall land available for strategic warehousing. There is nothing in the Council’s updated evidence to suggest the need for strategic warehousing is reducing and the loss of 25ha to non- strategic uses suggests a weaker Plan response to this particular area of need.

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Allocating an alternative site for local businesses while retaining a larger site at Holme Farm for strategic uses would appear a better solution. • Thirdly, the Holme Farm is somewhat detached from Biggleswade itself and there is no guarantee that this sort of location would be attractive to smaller-scale businesses. By comparison, the Woodlands Nursery site has already seen significant commercial development where units have been let successfully and demand is high.

3.6 The need for additional land for local economic purposes is clear. The debate is around the policy response and where best to plan for additional space. The land at Woodlands Nursery is, in our view, a better solution than the Council’s solution of reallocating space at the Holme Farm.

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4.0 OUTLINE OF PROPOSAL

4.1 The site at Woodlands Nursery has planning approval for 9,275sqm of commercial (B1//B2/B8) use, together with an element of residential use and the continued horticultural use of the site. This planning approval secured delivery of a much-needed access road and also a plant production unit to help underpin the sustainability of the horticultural business. The access road is now largely complete and the plant production unit is expected to be brought into use during 2020. At the time of writing this report, the commercial development was part-way through construction.

4.2 In addition to the approved development, there is a further stage of commercial development currently going through the planning process. An application for around 10,000sqm of commercial floorspace has been made adjacent to the approved scheme. This proposal has the support of the Parish Council and no technical issues have been raised that cannot be overcome. A further application for around 4,000sqm of B1 office space has been made adjacent to Biggleswade Road and this is also, as yet, undetermined.

4.3 Further commercial development as now proposed would be seen against the backdrop of the existing scheme and would be consistent with it.

4.4 The masterplan for the site drawn up at outline stage indicated that part of the site would remain in horticultural use and the commercial development was approved to enable investment in a plant production unit. That development is now underway and the plant production unit under construction. However, it would be feasible to relocate this plant production unit to elsewhere within the Woodlands site or to another off-site location if that led to a more efficient use of the site. While the site is intended to continue in horticultural use for the time being, as further phases of commercial development get built out, it may be more appropriate to relocate the plant production unit and focus on the commercial use of the Woodlands site. It is expected that the Council would look to secure the relocation of the plant production unit as part of the commercial development proposals and this could be secured through a section 106 agreement.

4.5 The Woodlands Nursery site is located adjacent to the A1 and the impact of the road and associated development, as well as the existing buildings on the site, gives the site a semi- urban feel. The site is partly previously developed. The site benefits from a substantial tree screen down the eastern side adjacent to the A1 and this limits the visual impact of both the proposed and consented buildings from the eastern side. The approved development provides for a new substantial tree buffer on the southern side and this would be continued across the site as part of these wider proposals.

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4.6 Access is taken from Biggleswade Road via the newly constructed access road, which alleviates the impact of road traffic on nearby residential properties. Access from the A1 is via Biggleswade Road and enhancements to this junction are currently being discussed with Highways England in the context of the two live planning applications.

4.7 The eastern part of the site falls within Flood Zone 2. However, a flood mitigation strategy has been developed as part of the approved proposals for Woodlands Nursery to the satisfaction of the Environment Agency and local authority. A similar strategy would be deployed for the wider site and this is not expected to be a significant constraint to development.

4.8 The site is separated from Biggleswade by the A1. As such, improvements would be needed to facilitate walking and cycling links. Previous explorations on a possible foot/cycle bridge over the A1 to the south of the town have concluded that such a project could cost around £1m. This could be feasible to deliver in connection with development of the site for commercial purposes, particularly if combined with land to the south of the report site off Hill Lane. The potential for a bridge in this location has previously been identified in the adopted Neighbourhood Plan: “Another aspiration given high priority is for improved access to Biggleswade, enabling the A1 to be crossed safely by pedestrians and cyclists” (para 7.7.4).

4.9 Development of this site would increase the supply of space to employers to help balance the recent housing growth in Biggleswade and surrounding areas.

Site Benefits 4.10 Allocation of the Woodlands Nursery site would deliver an additional 11ha of employment land over and above the already approved floorspace. At a typical plot ratio of 40%, this could deliver around 48,000sqm of floorspace. At a typical employment density for this type of unit this could deliver around 1,800 jobs.

4.11 Not only would there be direct economic benefit through the creation of on-site jobs, the creation of a major business hub here would also create knock-on benefits through supporting the supply chain of businesses that support other businesses.

4.12 In addition, substantial new business rate income would be created for the Council from the new commercial B1/B2/B8 space.

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5.0 CONCLUSIONS

5.1 There is clear need for more commercial space to support the national programme of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. This is reflected at various levels of government and in all forms of policy.

5.2 In addition to the wider imperative, there is a clear local need for more space to enable the local economy to function. The Council specifically acknowledges a shortage of space in the Biggleswade/A1 corridor area arising from the increase in pressure for strategic warehouse units.

5.3 The Council’s proposed response to this shortage is to reallocate space away from strategic warehousing to the local economy. However, doing so may harm the competitiveness of Central Bedfordshire to attract strategic operators and there seems no need to do so when alternative sites like the Woodlands Nursery site are available.

5.4 The Woodlands Nursery site is highly suitable for commercial purposes. The land is partly previously developed and contains substantial existing approved commercial buildings. It is located adjacent to the A1 and the proposed buildings would be seen against the backdrop of the existing commercial development and the nearby Sainsbury’s supermarket. The landscape impact could be mitigated through existing and proposed planting.

5.5 The benefits to the local economy in terms of additional jobs, additional spend, knock-on impacts and business rates are substantial.

7 Land at Woodland Nursery, Biggleswade Road, Uper Caldecote DLA Ref: 19/230 August 2020