Sustainable Economic Development Monitor, April 2010 Sustainable Economic Development Monitor 2010 Information presented in this study represents data monitored from the period: 1St April 2009 to 31 st March 2010 This study also includes analysis of Malvern Hills District’s rolling five-year reservoir of employment land Sustainable Economic Development Monitor, April 2010 Sustainable Economic Development Monitor, April 2010 CONTENTS PART A PAGE 1.0 INTRODUCTION 6 1.1 What is Economic Development 6 1.2 Planning Policy Framework 7 1.2 Economic Profile 8 1.3 Employment Land Availability 8 2.0 METHODOLOGY 9 3.0 PLANNING POLICY FRAMEWORK 11 3.1 National 11 3.2 Regional and Sub-regional 14 4.0 AN ECONOMIC PROFILE OF THE SOUTH 23 WORCESTERSHIRE AREA 5.0 MALVERN HILLS DISTRICT EMPLOYMENT LAND 27 AVAILABILITY MONITOR 5.1 Malvern Hills District Employment Completions 27 2009 to 2010 5.2 Malvern Hills District Employment Land Position at 36 April 2010 5.3 Progress Towards Meeting Employment Targets 38 and Five-Year Reservoir of Employment Land for Malvern Hills District 6.0 WORCESTER CITY EMPLOYMENT LAND 43 AVAILABILITY MONITOR 6.1 Worcester City Employment Completions 2009 to 43 2010 6.2 Worcester City Employment Land Position at April 53 Sustainable Economic Development Monitor, April 2010 2010 6.3 Progress Towards Meeting Employment Targets 56 and Five-Year Reservoir of Employment Land for Worcester City 7.0 WYCHAVON DISTRICT EMPLOYMENT LAND 61 AVAILABILITY MONITOR 7.1 Wychavon District Employment Completions 2009 61 to 2010 7.2 Wychavon District Employment Land Position at 67 April 2010 7.3 Progress Towards Meeting Employment Targets 69 and Five-Year Reservoir of Employment Land for Wychavon District GLOSSARY OF TERMS 74 APPENDIX ONE: MALVERN HILLS DISTRICT MAPS & DATA 77 APPENDIX TWO: WORCESTER CITY DATA 99 APPENDIX THREE: WYCHAVON DISTRICT MAPS & DATA 114 Sustainable Economic Development Monitor, April 2010 1.0 INTRODUCTION This document is the principle source of information for economic development within Malvern Hills District each year and contributes to the District Council’s primary monitoring document, the Annual Monitoring Report, published in December each year. It also provides figures for regional monitoring and national government returns such as the National Land Use Database. The study has been designed inclusively with Worcester City’s and Wychavon District’s Economic Development Monitor, so that the reader can compare and contrast tables, graphs and analysis across all three South Worcestershire authorities. Furthermore, the document has been designed to take account of Malvern Hills District’s, Worcester City’s and Wychavon District’s role in preparing the joint South Worcestershire development plans This document replaces the Employment Land Availability (ELA) study and where applicable the Authority’s annual retail monitor as the primary sources of economic and employment development with Malvern Hills District, and is designed to take into account the recently adopted Planning Policy Statement 4 (PPS4): Planning for Sustainable Economic Growth in December 2009. PPS4 sets out the Government's comprehensive policy framework for planning for sustainable economic development in urban and rural areas. This replaces PPG4: Industrial, Commercial Development and Small Firms, PPG5: Simplified Planning Zones, PPS6: Planning for Town Centres and the economic development sections of PPS7: Sustainable Development in Rural Areas. 1.1 What is economic development? The study uses the definition as defined in PPS4 and includes development within the B Use Classes (The Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 as amended), public and community uses and main town centre Page 5 Sustainable Economic Development Monitor, April 2010 uses. PPS4 defines main town centre uses as retail development (including warehouse clubs and factory outlet centres); leisure, entertainment facilities, and the more intensive sport and recreation uses (including cinemas, restaurants, drive-through restaurants, bars and pubs, night-clubs, casinos, health and fitness centres, indoor bowling centres, and bingo halls) offices, and arts, culture and tourism development (including theatres, museums, galleries and concert halls, hotels and conference facilities). PPS4 also includes other development which achieves at least one of the following objectives: • provides employment opportunities; • generates wealth; or • produces or generates an economic output or product. For these reasons the document is split into four sections to aid the effective monitor of economic development within Malvern Hills District and South Worcestershire, these are: • Planning Policy Framework; • Economic Profile of Malvern Hills District and South Worcestershire; • Employment Land Availability Monitor (Use Classes Order B1, B2 and B8); and • Town Centre Uses (Retail & Leisure) Monitor (Definitions of the Use Classes Order can be found in the glossary) Each section will collect market information and economic data on the key indicators as set out in PPS4 Annex D (Town Centre Health Check Indicators). This provides a source of data for use at appeals, public inquiries, policy formulation and for many organisations and individuals who approach the Council requesting employment information. The following introduces each section and their contents. 1.2 Methodology This section details the techniques and assumptions used when collecting and analysing employment site data. Page 6 Sustainable Economic Development Monitor, April 2010 1.3 Planning Policy Framework The study will examine and set out the national, regional and local planning policy context for sustainable economic development. At a national level PPS4 is the main policy steer. Chapter 7: Prosperity for all of the adopted WMRSS forms the regional context and at the local level the study will examine economic prosperity policies contained within the Worcestershire County Structure Plan and the Malvern Hills District Council Local Plan (2006). 1.4 Economic Profile This section provides a succinct economic summary of Malvern Hills District and South Worcestershire. This is primarily based upon the findings of the Worcestershire County Economic Assessment 2009-2010. 1.5 Employment Land Availability This section is comparable to previous editions of the ELA in that it outlines the employment land position for Malvern Hills District, covering the period from April 1996 to March 2010. The individual sites detailed in this section represent employment sites with the benefit of planning permission which have been constructed since April 1996, are under construction or remain outstanding. The status of each site is obtained from individual site checks carried out by Planning Officers in April of each year. The employment land situation at 1st April 2010 is displayed in terms of Local Plan allocated sites and windfall sites. This section also examines the trend in employment completions and the contributions towards the supply of employment on previously developed land and buildings. Additional information such as the size, use class type, density, and previous use, is also provided. Finally, this section examines the District’s rolling five-year reservoirs of employment land and current targets. Page 7 Sustainable Economic Development Monitor, April 2010 2.0 METHODOLOGY To effectively manage these previously separate studies the sustainable economic development monitor has still ensured a degree of separation between employment and town centre uses (retail and leisure) monitor. This requires the employment section and the town centre uses (retail and leisure) section to have separate methodologies, where each section details the set of methods and procedures used to collect and analyse relevant data. Lastly this chapter will justify the data collection methods used to prepare the economic profile of the District and the South Worcestershire area. This study examines employment land in two categories: • large sites - those equal to and over 0.4 ha; and • small sites - those under 0.4ha. For each site with planning permission information is recorded on its location, planning status, land type, stage of development (outstanding, under construction or completed), employment mix and sizes, density and site area An analysis was undertaken of all sites with a current planning approval. For sites with a detailed planning approval and outline permission information was recorded on their location, planning status, land type and stage of development. The detailed survey of these sites can found in the appendices. This provides information on employment site completions between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2010. The survey also identifies sites that are currently under construction and sites with outstanding planning permission. Employment Sites identified for the purposes of this report are those sites that fall within Class B of the Use Classes Order and are defined as: Page 8 Sustainable Economic Development Monitor, April 2010 Class B1 – Business (including offices not within Class A2, research and development, studios, laboratories, hi technology uses and light industry) Class B2 – General industry Class B8 – Storage or (wholesale warehouses, repositories). Distribution Page 9 Sustainable Economic Development Monitor, April 2010 3.0 POLICY FRAMEWORK 3.1 National Policy The recently adopted (December 2009) Planning Policy Statement 4 (PPS4): Planning for Sustainable Economic Growth sets out the Government's comprehensive policy framework