Cornwall Employment Sites Study St Austell October 2012 Cornwall Development Company Tyncroft House Station Road Pool Redruth TR15 3QG Cornwall Employment Sites Study – St Austell October 2012 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................3 1.1 Background ....................................................................................................................3 1.2 Methodology...................................................................................................................3 1.2.1 Site Identification ........................................................................................................3 1.2.2 Engagement with the private sector ...........................................................................4 1.2.3 Site Assessment.........................................................................................................4 2 St Austell.................................................................................................................................5 3 Commercial Property Agents ..................................................................................................6 3.1 Summary of Agents’ Responses ....................................................................................6 3.2 SWOT Analysis for St Austell.........................................................................................7 3.3 Commercial Property Snapshot......................................................................................8 3.3.1 Supply & Demand.......................................................................................................8 3.3.2 Enquiries for Commercial Property in the Last Six Months ........................................9 3.3.3 Quantity of Available New and Second-Hand Accommodation................................10 3.3.4 Office Rental Levels and Yields................................................................................10 3.3.5 Industrial Rental Levels and Yields ..........................................................................11 4 Assessment and Reporting...................................................................................................12 5 Conclusion/Recommendations .............................................................................................13 5.1 Way Forward ................................................................................................................14 6 Appendices ...........................................................................................................................15 6.1 Appendix A – Sites Scoring Matrix ...............................................................................15 6.2 Appendix B – Matrix Scoring Criteria............................................................................24 6.3 Appendix C – Maps of Sites .........................................................................................27 2 Cornwall Employment Sites Study – St Austell October 2012 1. Introduction 1.1 Background Cornwall Council (CC) commissioned Cornwall Development Company (CDC) to report on the deliverability of potential employment sites1 within thirteen towns across Cornwall: Launceston, Liskeard, Saltash, Hayle, CPR (Camborne, Pool and Redruth), Falmouth/Penryn, Truro, Penzance, St Austell, Torpoint, Looe, Wadebridge and Callington. This report focuses on St Austell. The overall aim of this study is to list specific sites, within the Optional Growth Areas (OGAs) of Cornwall Council’s Draft Core Strategy2, record factors affecting their deliverability and gather market intelligence for the sites. CC identified this study as necessary to support the Economic Papers that are being produced for the Town Framework Plans (TFPs)3. As the studies are based on the evidence available at the time of writing and, given the fact that employment developments are subject to rapid and significant change (e.g. loss of finance, decision to move elsewhere, etc), it is likely that information will become out of date. Therefore, the studies have been constructed in such a way that they are adaptable and allow for updates to be made as circumstances change. 1.2 Methodology The methodology involved initial site identification, followed by engagement with the private sector (local agents) and finally, assessment of the identified sites, using set criteria, and reporting of conclusions. 1.2.1 Site Identification Site identification was achieved by reviewing the Employment Land Review4 (ELR) and the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment5 (SHLAA), along with planning officers identifying specific sites within the OGAs and the town boundaries, which they were aware that the private sector was actively pursuing for employment space development. Planning officers also identified employment sites with extant or expired planning permission. 1 Employment sites has been defined for the purpose of the project as land with potential for B1 (offices/light industry), B2 (general industrial), B8 (storage or distribution) and some A2 (financial and professional services) use development. 2 The Core Strategy will be a lead document in Cornwall’s Local Development Framework – a suite of planning documents outlining the planning policy for Cornwall for the next 20 years. 3 Town Framework Plans are being produced for Launceston, Liskeard, St Austell, Hayle, Camborne, Pool and Redruth (CPR), Falmouth/Penryn, Truro, Bodmin, Penzance, Newquay, St Ives and Carbis Bay, St Austell and Bude/Stratton/Flexbury/Poughill. The Framework for each town provides a spatial strategy for the future growth/enhancement/protection of a Town for the next 20+ years, linked to an overall vision for the town. They provide an additional layer of evidence for the Core Strategy. 4 Nathaniel Lichfield and Partners, 2010, Cornwall Employment Land Review. 5 Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (Identifying sites with potential for housing). 3 Cornwall Employment Sites Study – St Austell October 2012 1.2.2 Engagement with the private sector Engagement with the private sector has been an important part of this assessment; commercial agents6 were appointed to identify local demand and supply, potential sites that had not been previously identified, barriers to development and factors constraining the property market. The information from the agents informed the assessment of sites in St Austell, as well as providing an overview of the commercial property market in the town. 1.2.3 Site Assessment A ‘Deliverability Assessment’ of the sites identified in St Austell was then undertaken. The criteria for the matrix assessment included: Planning Constraints Financial Viability Control of land and developer role Established business location, and Accessibility Detailed descriptions of each of the above scoring criterion can be found at Appendix B. To ensure a consistent approach, the same criteria were used to assess sites across all thirteen towns. The resulting scores are indicative of how likely a site is to come forward for employment use in a certain timescale and the consistent approach allows comparisons to be made on a like for like basis. However, it is also important to recognise that there are limitations when using a standard set of criteria to assess sites and towns that vary significantly at a local level, be it by the size of site or the status of the town as an employment centre. Therefore, in some cases, it was not possible to fit a site exactly into a scoring bracket and so it has been necessary to find ‘best fit’ scores and to further explain with comments and annotations. Similarly, where the availability of information has been limited at the time of compiling, sites may have a score which does not reflect the ‘true’ situation as local officers know it to be. This should not pose a problem as the matrix is intended to be a ‘living document’, which can be updated as and when new information is made available. 6 Alder King; Vickery Holman; Jones Lang LaSalle; Miller Commercial; Charterwod; Stratton Creber Commercial 4 Cornwall Employment Sites Study – St Austell October 2012 2 St Austell St Austell is part of the ‘China Clay Community Network Area’, which covers the 8 parishes of Carlyon, Mevagissey, Pentewen, St Austell Town, St Austell Bay, St Ewe, St Goran and St Mewan. ‘St Austell is a key settlement within this area and acts as the local service centre to the smaller settlements surrounding it. The St Austell Community Network Area also includes the villages of Trewoon, Sticker, Polgooth, Pentewen, Mevagissey and Gorran Haven, Tregrehan and St Ewe. Almost absorbed into St Austell are other distinctive settlements such as Charlestown and Carlyon Bay.’7 The St Austell Community Network Area Discussion Paper highlights the following local issues: The area has been impacted by the decline in major employment sectors (particularly the china clay industry) The shift of employment industry has led to large areas of redundant land, previously mined for china clay, which has fundamentally changed the character of the land Traffic congestion Lack of public transport connectivity Lack of employment opportunities8 St Austell, St Blazey and the China Clay Area has been identified, in the Council’s Economic White Paper, as one of the Council’s two priorities for regeneration. 7 St Austell and St Blazey Community Network Area Discussion Paper, 2011, CAB 2. 8 St Austell and