The Covid Pandemic has had a significant impact on the global and local economy, including consumer and travel to work patterns. The New Local Plan can play a key role in helping to act as a catalyst to recover from this impact. It will be important that we continue to monitor the impacts of Covid and the post pandemic recovery as the New Local Plan is prepared.
This section focusses on employment land provision for office, business, industrial and warehousing uses. However, the subsequent sections of the New Local Plan will all play an important role in facilitating job growth. The provision of new homes will provide construction jobs and attract investment and spending to the area, whilst a growing population will generate more jobs in schools and health related services as well as shops, cafes and restaurants in our town, neighbourhoods and local centres. Transport and access improvements for all modes of travel will be vital for attracting economic investment and there remains considerable economic growth potential at London Southend Airport.
The Southend Employment Topic Paper (2021)* summarises the latest available evidence on the employment space requirements and land supply position to inform how the New Local Plan should address the Borough’s future employment land needs. This includes a summary of the South Essex Economic Development Needs Assessment (EDNA) which was published in 2017.
The Borough will need to plan for around 11,000 new jobs over a 20-year period according to the EDNA which identified ‘growth clusters’ as having the potential to achieve future economic growth in Southend. These are: Southend Town Centre, London Southend Airport and northern Southend corridor centred around Progress Road, Airborne Close and Stock Road/ Temple Farm employment areas. Within these areas the principal growth drivers are identified as being the digital, cultural and creative; healthcare technology; advanced manufacturing and engineering; and tourism sectors. There is also potential within the climate change technology sector. The EDNA recommended that support and investment for education, skills and training is targeted towards these occupations and industries to help boost the qualifications and skills levels of local people in these sectors.
Southend is a very constrained area where employment land has seen significant losses in recent years, however for the New Local Plan to positively encourage sustainable economic growth it must not overlook potential opportunities for growth. Conversely, it should not underutilise land with unjustifiable designations if there is no reasonable prospect of the land meeting future employment needs. This will include a balanced approach of: safeguarding the existing stock, additional land provision, and re-allocation of employment land to other uses.
A key catalyst for meeting employment needs and supporting economic growth is delivering quality infrastructure improvements. The EDNA specifically states that without adequate infrastructure provision the employment growth scenarios for Southend will not be achieved. This aspect is considered within Section 2.7 Transport and Access below and will need to be further developed as the New Local Plan is prepared.
Safeguarding the Existing Stock
It is proposed that a number of key employment areas should continue to be designated and safeguarded for such uses as set out in Table 2. These employment areas are identified in Map 2.
It is considered that a number of the sites listed in Table 2 below could also provide additional employment floorspace of 500 sqm and above through the intensification of uses, notably at Progress Road and Stock Road/Temple Farm and should be promoted as such as part of the New Local Plan.
Table 2: Proposed Employment Land Designations
Map 2: Proposed Employment Land Designations
Question 2.1a Economic Recovery and Meeting Employment Needs
Have your say………Please explain your answers
Do you agree with the employment sites proposed to be safeguarded as set out in Table 2 and Map 2? Please reference the site.
You can also view and comment on all the individual sites using the online mapping feature Southend-on-Sea Borough Council – Local Plan: Map 1 Borough wide map with neighbourhoods and specific housing and employment allocations (opus4.co.uk)
Additional Employment Land Provision
National Policy Guidance outlines that local authorities should develop an idea of the future economic needs of their area based on a range of data and forecasts of quantitative and qualitative requirements. In this respect, planning for growth should avoid relying upon using single sources of data or forecasts which tend to rely on a number of different variables that are inevitably subject to change.
The Employment Topic Paper* reviews a number of economic growth scenarios including those set out in the EDNA and concludes that:
- in terms of office employment requirements, these are more likely to be around 16,000 sqm - this consists of the lowest positive projection across the scenarios tested in this analysis. Although, the office market is currently characterised as weak and very localised, the New Local Plan should provide for long-term and future growth needs without overestimating the levels of demand.
- in relation to the industrial and distribution requirements, it is estimated that the combined figure should be around 7,280 sqm reflecting increasing labour supply protection. This level of demand reflects better the past and emerging trends that have been recorded by the market, allows for some flexibility and unearths any latent demand.
To meet this identified need and to provide for a degree of flexibility, it is proposed that:
- land at Nestuda Way** is designated for employment use;
- smaller sites that will deliver a proportion of employment floorspace are promoted as part of mixed-use developments, within local neighbourhood centres; and
- niche office developments are promoted as part of regeneration proposals for the Southend town centre – see Section 3: Southend Neighbourhoods.
The EDNA identifies the important role that town centres play in not only providing opportunities in the digital, cultural and creative sector but also providing the opportunity more generally to encourage smaller and more diverse employment activity. A level of professional and business sector growth in particular could be expected to locate in town centre environments considering their strong link with population clusters, and the level of service, amenities and facilities they provide in one location.
In addition to the above sites and opportunities, the Borough Council is actively pursuing the provision of new employment land to the north of Southend in liaison with Rochford District Council as part of a joint approach to meeting future development needs in the sub-region. This includes land at the Airport
Business Park and potentially to the north of the Temple Farm estate, both situated within the administrative district of Rochford. If agreed, these sites will be identified in the emerging Rochford New Local Plan.
Collectively, these sites and their potential contribution to future employment land provision are set out in Table 3 and identified in Map 2.
Table 3: Potential New Employment Land Allocations
|
|
Map Ref. |
Broad Development Type |
Name |
Potential Use |
Neighbourhood Area |
Land Area |
Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Within Southend Borough |
A |
Provision of new Employment land within Southend |
Nestuda Way |
Range of employment, including convenience retail, EV charging hub |
Eastwood |
2.75 |
Being promoted for a range of uses including potential retail and/ or EV charging hub.
Currently allocated for employment within Airport Joint Area Action Plan. |
|
B |
Land at Nestuda Way/ Eastwoodbury Lane |
General Employment |
Prittlewell |
1.56 |
Promoted for potential car show room. However, proximity to airport runway may prohibit development. |
||
|
C |
Intensification of economic uses within existing employment areas |
Southend Town Centre and other neighbourhood and local centres |
Niche/ small scale employment activities as part of mixed-use schemes/ refurbishment |
Southend town centre and other neighbourhoods |
Various |
No specific allocations. See section 2.4. |
|
|
D |
Existing employment areas along A127/ A1159 corridor |
Intensification of existing employment uses |
Various |
Various |
No Specific allocations. Focussed around Progress Road, Temple Farm and Stock Road (Map Ref – 1, 2, 3) |
||
|
Within Rochford District |
E |
Provision of new employment land on the edge of Southend with Rochford District |
Airport new business park |
Range of employment |
North of Airport |
27.05 |
Proposed within Airport Joint Area Action Plan – Committed site being built out. To be considered as part of Rochford New Local Plan. |
|
F |
Land to the north of the Temple Farm Estate |
Range of employment and flexible work spaces |
As part of a series of new neighbourhoods on the edge of Southend |
TBC |
Currently agricultural land. To be considered as part of Rochford New Local Plan as part of a series of new neighbourhoods to the north of Southend. See Section 2.3 Development Opportunity D. |
Question 2.1b Economic Recovery and Meeting Employment Needs
Have your say………Please explain your answers
2.1b: Do you agree with the identified potential new employment sites as set out in Table 3 and Map 2? Please reference the site.
2.1b(i) Should we prioritise the provision of new employment land within Southend (Sites A + B); or
2.1b(ii) Should we prioritise the intensification of economic uses within existing employment areas
(Areas C + D); or
2.1b(iii) Should we prioritise the provision of new employment land on the edge of Southend in partnership with Rochford District Council (Sites E + F)? or
2.1b(i.v) Should we prioritise all or a combination of the above?
You can also view and comment on all the individual sites using the online mapping feature Southend-on-Sea Borough Council – Local Plan: Map 1 Borough wide map with neighbourhoods and specific housing and employment allocations (opus4.co.uk)
Re-allocation of Employment Land to housing-led redevelopment
A number of economic forecasts summarised in the Employment Topic Paper* indicate a negative land requirement for industrial uses within the Borough. As such the opportunity for re-allocating such employment use to other uses, such as housing, is identified. The report identifies three sites as having the weakest offer, suffering from high levels of vacancies, namely:
- Prince Close - the continued employment use at this site has been severely reduced by recent permissions for residential development. Once the permissions are implemented the site will lose most of its employment footprint and this combined with its context and restricted access do not make it attractive for employment investment.
- Grainger Road - is identified as being unlikely to be appropriate for future employment use due to its location, the vicinity of retail and residential properties and its poor quality and poor accessibility.
- Terminal Close - is currently underutilised with half of the site being vacant and difficult to let due to the poor condition of premises and the unviable nature of the significant investment that would be required to bring the site up to modern day standards.
In addition to the above three sites, part of the Shoebury Garrison (Phase 1) regeneration scheme is identified for employment uses. However, since its designation take up rates have been slow and only a small proportion of the site is occupied by employment activities. The only newly developed commercial space in the area relates to a retail food store. Given this context and that the employment area will mainly comprise residential uses once existing planning permissions are built out, it would be inappropriate to continue promoting the site as an employment area.
Having regard to all these considerations it is proposed that the New Local Plan should re-allocate these designations for housing led redevelopment as set out in Table 4 and Map 2.
Table 4: Potential Re-allocation of Employment Land to housing led redevelopment
|
Map Ref. |
Site |
Description |
Neighbourhood Area |
Land Area (hect.) |
Vacant Premises (Aug 2020) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
i |
Prince Close |
General Industrial |
Prittlewell |
0.90 |
33% |
|
ii |
Grainger Road |
General industrial |
Southend (Central) |
2.76 |
41% |
|
iii |
Terminal Close |
General Industrial |
Shoeburyness |
0.94 |
47% |
| iv | Shoebury Garrison | Smaller Scale General Industrial | Shoeburyness | 1.49 | 0% although over half are no longer in employment use |
| Total | 6.09 |
Other Policy considerations
Due to recent changes in planning law to the General Development Order***, it is now possible to change an employment use to other uses without the need to apply for express planning permission. As such existing planning policies to protect employment space will become less effective where these relate to existing B1(a/b/c)****premises, because there will no longer be the same degree of planning control to change an employment use to retail, leisure and community use. The New Local Plan will therefore need to state clearly the protection of office – Use Class E(g)(i)/(ii), light industrial – E(g)(iii), industrial, B2 General Industrial, and B8 Storage or distribution uses - by labelling as appropriate within the emerging policies and allocations. This will be justified in Southend where there is pressure from other Class E uses and there is also a constrained land supply in general.
Question 2.1c Economic Recovery and Meeting Employment Needs
2.1c Do you agree with the identified potential re-allocation of employment sites to residential-led redevelopment as set out in Table 4 and Map 2?
2.1.c1 Do you agree with the identified potential re-allocation of Grainger Road to housing led redevelopment?
2.1.c2 Do you agree with the identified potential re-allocation of Terminal Close to housing led redevelopment?
2.1.c3 Do you agree with the identified potential re-allocation of Shoebury Garrison to housing led redevelopment?
Economic Recovery and Meeting Employment Needs
What does this issue cover?
- Protection of important employment sites and premises
- Identification of new employment locations and opportunities
- Potential release of underused employment areas for new uses (redevelopment of poorer quality employment sites)
What information or evidence do we need for this issue?
- Housing and Employment Land Availability Assessment (HELAA) (2020)
- Southend Economic Strategy (2017)
- South Essex Economic Development Needs Assessment (EDNA) (2017)
- Southend Employment Topic Paper (2021)
Related Southend 2050 Outcomes - where we want to be
- Key regeneration schemes, such as Queensway, seafront developments and the Airport Business Park are underway and bringing prosperity and job opportunities to the Borough.
- Southend is a place that is renowned for its creative industries, where new businesses thrive and where established employers and others invest for the long term.
- Southend provides fulfilling careers for our residents, and enough job roles to match the needs of the population.
- Southend businesses feel supported to respond to economic shock; adapt to evolving global markets; and, have the tools to preserve their businesses by responding effectively and positively to change.
Question 2.1d Economic Recovery and Meeting Employment Needs
2.1d: Do you agree with how we plan to meet employment needs? Please explain your answer.
*https://localplan.southend.gov.uk/new-evidence
**Land at Nestuda Way is currently identified for employment use in the London Southend Airport and Environs Area Action Plan.
***The Government Recently introduced under the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2020 changes regarding the Use Class Order which took effect on 1 September 2020.
****Use Class B1 – Business, (a) Office other than a use within Class A2, (b) Research and Development of products or processes, (c) For any industrial process (which can be carried out in any residential area without causing detriment to the amenity of the area).