Consultants PACEC undertook the Housing Market Area (HMA; County wide) Employment Land Study 2008.
The Final report & Appendices were published in October 2008. It included:-
● Joint employment land planning and delivery up to 2026;
● Employment land policies and allocations through Local Planning Authorities’ Core Strategies; and
● Investment priorities and targets for Local Area Agreements and the Multi Area Agreement.
The methodology required: The review of existing supply of employment land and premises through criteria-based assessments; The review and critique of supply and demand forecasts for employment land and premises; The production of alternative demand scenarios; An estimation of the gap between supply and demand; A review of potential employment land allocations and advice on delivery of employment land.
The combination of three dominant policies pertinent to the HMA created the policy lens through which the Employment Land Review was undertaken:-
1.The market: To identify an adequate supply of sites of the right quality and in the right places at the right time to meet employment forecasts and safeguard and protect these sites from competition from other uses, particularly housing;
2. Sustainable development and climate change: To reduce the carbon emissions arising from development - through new construction standards and renewable energy generation - and transport - through aligning homes with jobs and services and making the fullest possible use of sustainable modes of transport; and
3.Local distinctiveness: To create a prosperous, enterprising and dynamic economy, characterised by innovative businesses and creative people with a new pattern of growth in the New Business Quarter and Sustainable Urban Extensions creating sustainable communities in an attractive environment.
Analysis of the 2001 Census commuting data shows that the eight districts within the HMA are closely inter-dependent in providing jobs for their residents. For example, 21,000 of Leicester City’s residents out-commute to other parts of the HMA and 61,000 of the rest of the HMA’s residents commute into Leicester City. These inter-dependencies highlight the importance of joint employment land planning across the HMA as employment land in one district strongly affects commuting decisions of residents in other districts.
Forecasts of employment change are made for each of the districts within the HMA. These are based on forecasts produced by Experian up to 2016 and extended by PACEC up to 2026 (the basis of the forecasts is explained in sections 6.3.3 and 6.3.5 of that report). The change in employment translates into an estimate of demand for land using:
Employment densities (sq.m. per worker) applied to the change in employment between 2007 and 2026 to give an estimate of the additional floor space required in the future and plot ratios (floor space to site area) applied to the forecast floor space to give an estimate of the amount of additional land required in the future.
An estimate is also included in the calculations to account for ‘renewal’ of existing stock. An annual rate of renewal for the three types of floor space is assumed and it is also assumed that a proportion of the renewal occurs on previously undeveloped employment land. Provision is made to maintain competition (between developers) and choice (for business occupiers) towards the end of the plan period and beyond. Accordingly the estimate of future needs is based on the net change in jobs together with demand for renewal and the needs for a pipeline of land required for the effective operation of the market. Estimates of demand for floor space and land are compared to estimates of the pipeline (or supply) of land, comprising planning permissions and outstanding allocations.
The difference between the demand and supply form the ‘gap’ and indicate whether there is likely to be an under supply of land in the future, where this may be and for what type of land. With regard to industrial and warehousing, the report identifies a requirement for 94 hectares of employment land within the City.
Of this requirement, 25 hectares of previously undeveloped employment land are in the development pipeline. This leaves a requirement for 69 hectares of additional previously undeveloped employment land. Of this, the Council can only consider allocating up to 10 ha of additional employment land at Ashton Green through the LDF process. In the absence of additional suitable land in the City, the balance of 59 hectares is recommended to be met through new allocations outside the City boundaries, in Blaby and Charnwood Sustainable urban Extensions.
Relocation Strategy
The following are the report’s suggested priorities to create opportunities for firms to relocate from the intervention areas and other employment areas in and around Leicester:
§ Lifting the user restrictions at Ashton Business Park (Bursom) to enable Leicester based businesses to acquire plots and vacate secondary space within the City.
§ Making a further employment land allocation at Ashton Green.
§ Selecting and investing in existing employment areas in Leicester to make them ‘fit for purpose’.
§ Supporting businesses relocating from the intervention areas into secondary property within ‘fit for purpose’ employment areas.
§ Relaxing car parking standards in the New Business Quarter and
§ Promoting the New Business Quarter to potential office occupiers in the region, West Midlands, London and the South East.
