Branston Locks Employment Land Statement November 2012 Employment Land Statement Nurton Developments (Quintus) Limited Branston Locks, Burton upon Trent November 2012 Branston Locks – Employment Land Statement Contents 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................ 2 2 Communications and Site Characteristics .......................................................................................................... 3 3 Relevant Planning Policy and Supporting Evidence Base................................................................................. 4 4 Market Overview for Burton ................................................................................................................................ 10 5 Assessment of Demand ...................................................................................................................................... 16 6 Conclusions ......................................................................................................................................................... 18 Appendix 1 – Schedule of Occupiers and Map of Centrum ........................................................................................ 19 Appendix 2 – Schedule of Available Industrial Floor Space in Burton Upon Trent .................................................. 20 Appendix 3 – Schedule of Available Office Floor Space in Burton Upon Trent ........................................................ 21 COPYRIGHT © JONES LANG LASALLE IP, INC. 2012. All Rights Reserved 1 Branston Locks – Employment Land Statement 1 Introduction 1.1 This statement has been prepared on behalf of Nurton Developments (Quintus) Limited (NDQL) to support the submission of an outline planning application for a mixed use Sustainable Urban Extension at Branston Locks. This will be a new community for Burton. 1.2 An important element of the development proposals is the provision of up to 92,900 sq m (1,000,000 sq ft) of employment floor space. The employment floor space will span Classes B1, B2 and B8 and will be accommodated on 21.45 hectares (53 acres) of the application site. The vast majority of the employment land will be located on the part of the site bound by the A38, the Trent and Mersey Canal and Branston Road. This part of the site will enjoy almost direct access to Branston Interchange. 1.3 This statement provides principally a market based assessment. A market overview of Burton is provided in Section 4. This has a particular focus on the successful Centrum development, an area that is closely related to the application site, with the development proposals for Branston Locks considered likely to be able to attract a similar type and range of occupiers. 1.4 Sections 2 and 3 provide a context to this market overview. Section 2 considers communications and site characteristics. Section 3 reviews relevant planning policy and refers to the supporting evidence base. 1.5 Section 5 provides an assessment of demand. Specifically, this assesses the quantum of development, likely floor space demanded by type, the parameters for development, and locational criteria. 1.6 The findings of this assessment have been drawn from a number of different sources. These have included:- established search engines, such as Focus and EGI; the Jones Lang LaSalle in-house data systems; data on land completions held by Staffordshire County Council; Review of the Draft East Staffordshire Employment Land Review Allocations, Jones Lang LaSalle and Regeneris, August 2009; Study into Existing Land and Property Markets in Staffordshire, for Staffordshire County Council, King Sturge, May 2010; an interview with Philip Hickman and Paul Rushton of Rushton Hickman, established local agents, held on 17 May 2012; an interview with Tony Joynson of Make it Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire on 22 May 2012; an interview with Dean Piper of East Staffordshire Borough Council on 22 May 2012; and a tour of sites at Centrum. COPYRIGHT © JONES LANG LASALLE IP, INC. 2012. All Rights Reserved 2 Branston Locks – Employment Land Statement 2 Communications and Site Characteristics Communications 2.1 Burton upon Trent is a large town on the River Trent in the east of the county of Staffordshire. It lies approximately ten miles to the south of Derby, 28 miles north of Birmingham and approximately 123 miles north of London. 2.2 The town lies on the A38 trunk road. This links Burton to the M1 to the north and to the M6, M6 Toll Road and M42 motorways to the south. Communications to the east and west are provided by the A50, that connects to the A38 to the north of Burton at Burnaston. 2.3 Burton’s communication links has made the town a popular destination for a number of industrial and distribution occupiers, given its proximity to both the West and East Midlands. In addition, Burton has a large commuter base with a workforce able to access the major employment centres of Birmingham, the wider West Midlands, as well as Nottingham, Derby and other parts of the East Midlands. 2.4 Burton upon Trent Railway Station is situated on the Cross Country Route, between the principal cities of Derby and Birmingham. Trains operate regularly between Cardiff Central, Birmingham and Nottingham, as well as longer distance services to Bristol Temple Meads, Leeds and Newcastle. 2.5 East Midlands International Airport is located approximately 20 miles to the east of town. Birmingham International Airport lies some 30 miles to the south. Site Characteristics 2.6 Branston Locks site is located immediately to the south west of Burton and will form a natural extension to its existing built form. It is strategically located, with direct access to Branston Interchange, a grade separated junction on the A38 and the principal access point to Burton from the south. 2.7 Branston Locks is well related to the principal facilities of Burton. The town centre is just over a mile away at its nearest point, with the railway station closer still. The site is also well placed in terms of existing employment. Centrum - the prime pitch for offices, industry and warehousing in Burton - is located in close proximity immediately to the other side of the A38. 2.8 Branston Locks is well connected to the existing road network serving this part of Burton. Branston Road to the south provides a direct connection to Branston Interchange and alternative routes to the town centre; namely, the A5121 through Centrum and the B5108 through Branston. 2.9 The total area to the application site is 136 hectares (336 acres). This provides a sufficient critical mass to accommodate a Sustainable Urban Extension. The Trent and Mersey Canal crosses the site at its lower eastern quadrant effectively separating approximately 20 hectares (50 acres) from the main section of the site. As referred to above, it is this part of the site that has been identified as the most suitable for employment land. 2.10 The site has no obvious constraints to development. The site is visually contained, is green field and has been intensely farmed. The site is generally flat and has no issues in terms of ground contamination. 2.11 The land is owned by one organisation and is fully deliverable. COPYRIGHT © JONES LANG LASALLE IP, INC. 2012. All Rights Reserved 3 Branston Locks – Employment Land Statement 3 Relevant Planning Policy and Supporting Evidence Base Relevant Planning Policy 3.1 At a national planning policy level, the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) provides the principal guidance. The NPPF was issued by Central Government in March 2012 and is an important consideration both in terms of plan-making and decision-taking. 3.2 Paragraph 17 to the NPPF sets out 12 core planning principles. The third principle is directly relevant to the employment element to the development proposals at Branston Locks. This principle can be summarised as follows:- Planning should pro-actively drive and support sustainable economic development to deliver the homes, business and industrial units, infrastructure and thriving local places that the country needs. In doing so, development plans should take account of market signals and the needs of the residential and business communities. 3.3 Under the heading of ‘Delivering Sustainable Development’ a number of key objectives are stated. These include building a strong and competitive economy. 3.4 Paragraph 18 of the NPPF states the Government’s commitment to securing economic growth in order to create jobs and prosperity. Paragraph 19 adds that significant weight should be placed on the need to support economic growth through the planning system. 3.5 Paragraph 20 provides advice on how local planning authorities can achieve economic growth. It advises them to plan pro-actively to meet the development needs of business and support an economy fit for the 21st Century. 3.6 Paragraph 21 provides a number of criteria that local planning authorities should consider and act on. These include:- setting out a clear economic vision and strategy for their area which positively and pro-actively encourages sustainable economic growth; setting criteria, or identifying strategic sites, for local and inward investment to match the strategy and to meet anticipated needs over the plan period; supporting existing business sectors and identifying and planning for new or emerging sectors likely to locate in their area; and planning positively for the location, promotion and expansion