Object

Representation ID: 4415

Received: 22/12/2022

Respondent: St Modwen

Agent: Savills

Legally compliant? No

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? No

We object to Policy EC1 ‘Sustainable Economic Growth’ on the basis that the proposed employment land strategy is not justified or supported by appropriate evidence.
Policy EC1 states that the existing supply of available employment land and allocations in the plan is enough to ensure there is a sufficient supply of employment land. However, in light of the conclusions of the Savills Industrial and Logistics Needs Assessment (attached as Appendix A), it is considered that there is a significant shortfall of employment land in South Staffordshire of between 76ha and 257ha, based on the scenarios considered. As such it is maintained that
insufficient employment sites are allocated within the Local Plan. To ensure that South Staffordshire’s future employment needs are met, Policy EC1 should be amended to allocate additional employment sites, whilst also providing sufficient flexibility to enable the delivery of additional employment sites, as and when required to address the identified needs of SSDC and the wider FEMA.

It is requested that the following additional text be included in Policy EC1:
'Where evidence indicates an immediate need or demand for additional employment land (E(g), B2 and B8) that cannot be met from land allocated in this plan, the
Council will consider favorably proposals that meet the identified need in appropriate locations outside of the district’s settlements in the open countryside,
subject to proposals:
a. Being accessible or will be made accessible by a choice of means of transport, including sustainable transport modes, as a consequence of
planning permission being granted for the development; and
b. Having good access to the strategic highway network (M6 motorway) and an acceptable impact on the capacity of that network, including any junctions;
and
c. Not being detrimental to the amenities of any nearby residential properties or the wider environment.'