Agenda item

Report of Director of Regeneration and Planning.

Lead cabinet member:  Councillor Steve Wallis.

(1) Eastbourne employment land local plan endorsed and full council recommended to adopt along with the revised policies map.

(2) Any minor or technical adjustments found necessary in the plan delegated to director of regeneration and planning in consultation with lead cabinet member.

47.1 Cabinet considered the report of the director of regeneration and planning.  In May 2012, the Eastbourne core strategy local plan had been subject to public examination by a government appointed planning inspector.  The Inspector had expressed concerns over the evidence that supported core strategy policy ‘D2: Economy’, particularly relating to the employment land supply.  In order to address this issue without delaying the adoption of the core strategy, the inspector recommended that this policy be the subject of an early review, leading to its replacement with an additional local plan to deal specifically with the employment land supply.

47.2 Subsequently. an employment land local plan (ELLP) had been produced.  The plan would guide job growth and economic development in Eastbourne up to 2027 by identifying an appropriate supply of land to meet project needs for future employment development, in order to achieve a sustainable economy and make Eastbourne a town where people wanted to live and work.  It specifically related to land and buildings within the B1 (offices and light industry), B2 (general industry) and B8 (storage and distribution) use classes.

47.3 The ELLP was subject to consultation in December 2013 (proposed draft), in December 2014 (proposed submission) and again in December 2015 (revised proposed submission).  It was subsequently submitted to the Secretary of State for examination in February 2016.

47.4 The examination considered whether the plan was ‘sound’ and whether it was  compliant with legal requirements. In order to be found sound, a local plan should be: positively prepared; justified; effective; and consistent with national policy.  The examination hearings took place on 12 and 13 May and 30 June 2016.

47.5 The inspector’s report was formally received by the council on 24 October 2016, and publicised in line with regulations the following day.  The inspector concluded that the ELLP provided an appropriate basis for the planning of employment land provisions in the borough, provided that a number of modifications were made to it, and that with the recommended modifications the plan satisfied the requirements of Section 20(5) of the 2004 Act and met the criteria for soundness in the National Planning Policy Framework.

47.6 A summary of the inspector’s findings and the modifications to the ELLP were given in the report.  Following the incorporation of the modifications, the ELLP strategy to meet an employment land requirement of 48,750 sq.m. GEA (gross external area) was:

·         20,000 sqm (GEA) of industrial and warehouse use and 1,875 sq.m. (GEA) of office use to be provided within the existing industrial estates through redevelopment and intensification.

·         3,750 sq.m. (GEA) of office use to be provided in the town centre on development opportunity site 2 (land adjoining the railway station and the Enterprise Centre).

·         23,125 sq.m. (GEA) of office use to be provided at Sovereign Harbour, predominantly on sites 6 and 7a.

47.7 As a result of policies contained in the ELLP there would be some changes to the core strategy’s policies map and the revised policies map would need to be adopted alongside the ELLP.  A local employment and training supplementary planning document (SPD) had been prepared alongside the ELLP to provide additional detail on how local labour agreements would be secured as part of development and was the subject of a separate item on the agenda.  A copy of the ELLP was appended to the report.

*47.8 Resolved: (budget and policy framework) (1) That the Eastbourne employment land local plan (incorporating the inspector’s recommended modifications) be endorsed and recommend that at full council it is approved for adoption along with the revised policies map.

(2) That any minor or technical adjustments found necessary in the employment land local plan are delegated to the director of regeneration and planning in consultation with the lead cabinet member.