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12. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY
   
 

Policy W1: Provision for New Business and Industrial Development
  Policy W2: Existing Business and Industrial Areas
  Policy W3: Uses Falling outside a Use Class Order
  Policy W4: Employment Uses Falling outside the Preferred Category
  Policy W5: Telecommunications
   
  Introduction
12.1 Preston’s employment base has evolved from being primarily manufacturing to one of the North West’s most successful business and administrative centres. Its economy has shown itself to be resilient to significant structural changes such as the closure of British Aerospace at Strand Road. If this evolution is to continue it is necessary for the plan to make provision for a wide range of employment uses.
12.2 The Local Plan must be able to provide a variety of sites that satisfy the changing needs of existing employers and which can attract new investment into the City by 2006. It must also give clear guidance as to what uses would be acceptable in particular areas.
12.3 This section is concerned with land for business and industry, but it is acknowledged that other land uses contribute significantly to job creation. Notable in this respect are shops and educational establishments and these are dealt with elsewhere in the plan.
12.4 The Council acknowledges the significance of telecommunications in the economy. The industry must act responsibly to protect the environment from unwarranted visual intrusion, both within the domestic and commercial markets.
   
  Policy Context
12.5 The main central government guidance is in the form of Planning Policy Guidance Notes 4, 7, 8, 13 and 23 respectively. These are:
 
  • Industrial and Commercial Development and Small Firms, 1992
  • The Countryside- Environmental Quality And Economic And Social Development, 1997
  • Telecommunications, 2001
  • Transport, 2001
  • Planning and Pollution Control, 1997
12.6 The Lancashire Structure Plan (1991-2006) requires that Preston make provision for 180 hectares of employment land. This figure reflects the major role Preston enjoys in Lancashire’s economy and the anticipated increase in Preston’s workforce.
12.7 The Council must allocate a wide range of sites which are readily available. This includes sites for industrial uses which are unattractive or potentially polluting.
12.8 Planning has historically encouraged the physical division between different types of land user, such as employment and residential areas. However, due to changes in production processes and the general shift from heavy manufacturing industries to light industrial, office, or computer based work, as well as the increasingly strict environmental protection laws, the significance of the type of use is becoming less important in amenity terms.
12.9 This means that, as a general rule, uses which at one time would have been separated can co-exist without causing problems.
12.10 The Use Classes Order, which is part of the Town and County Planning Act 1990, is the legal basis for differentiating between the various business and industrial uses. These are divided into categories of use:
 
  • Those which can take place in residential areas without causing disturbance are business and light industry (B1);
  • General industrial (B2), which are effectively all other industrial uses;
  • Storage and distribution (B8).
12.11 The General Development Order allows changes of use from certain classes to others without requiring planning permission. Some additional uses are referred to as Sui Generis (in a class of their own) and do not have this facility. The Order also establishes that a use can change from one use class to another, purely if environmental improvements occur which remove noise, disturbance etc.
12.12 Throughout this section the particular use class is referred to within brackets. Each category has differing land use requirements and environmental impact.
12.13 At the same time that the actual use becomes less important, the transportation implications and the location of the use have been given added significance because different processes can have widely differing traffic impacts and requirements.
   
  The Local Context
12.14 The underlying aim of the plan is to provide opportunities for an expanding job market, for all sections of the population, whilst at the same time moving towards a more sustainable pattern of development.
12.15 To do this a variety of sites are required for business and industry, both within the urban areas and on the edge of the City on green field sites.
12.16 The following table illustrates the requirements for employment land within the City.
 
Business and Industrial Land Hectares
A Requirement in Lancashire Structure Plan 180.00
B (Less Take-Up 1991-1998 at 4.78 ha per year) 34.67
C

Residual Requirement to be met

1998-2006 (A-B)

145.33
D Committed Site in 1998 122.85
E

Minimum Additional Provision Required

1996-2006 (C-D)

22.48
   
12.17 The Proposals Map differentiates between sites which are committed for employment uses, and new allocations.
12.18 Preston has a large number of sites which are already committed for employment uses, as set out in the table opposite.
12.19 Some sites have planning permission from the Council, or are approved former Commission for New Towns sites (now English Partnerships). Other sites, whilst not committed in either of the senses above, are allocated in existing Local Plans and have been rolled forward in this new plan.
12.20 In specifying particular uses for certain sites, the Council has followed the advice in PPG4 to locate development in areas which can potentially be served by the most sustainable and environmentally acceptable patterns of transport. For example, the location of high employment density office uses in the City centre gives workers a variety of alternatives to the car such as the bus, train, walking or cycling.
12.21 General industry should be located away from residential areas where its associated noise and traffic problems would be unacceptable. Sites for warehousing, which employs very few people but requires a large floor space and generates many heavy goods vehicle movements, should be close to major transport routes.
12.22 The majority of these sites are in the urban area on brownfield sites. However, Preston will not be able to satisfy the Lancashire Structure Plan’s requirements unless some greenfield sites are used for employment purposes.
 
Site Name Hectares Appropriate Class of Use
Sites at Preston East Employment Area 35.63 B1, B2, B8
Cromwell Park 18.20 B1, B2, B8
Sites at Red Scar 15.78 B1, B2, B8 and possibly Alkali and Works Act 1960.
Red Scar Site F 9.00 B1, B2, B8
Sites at North Preston Employment Area 13.41 B1, B2, B8
Sites at Roman Way 2.89 B1, B2, B8
Sites at Riversway 8.14 B1, B2, B8
Broughton Business Park 15.80 B1
*Former BAe Works, Strand Road 3.00 B1(c)
Former Whittingham Hospital 3.40 B1
Riversway 4c 0.60 B1
Total 122.85  
  *NB The former BAe site does not count towards the Lancashire Structure Plan requirement for employment land because it was still in employment use in 1991 i.e. at the start of the Structure Plan period.
   
12.23 Certain employment uses are acceptable in the rural areas and the circumstances under which these would be acceptable are described within the Development in the Countryside section. These policies have been designed to ensure that the countryside remains a working environment whilst maintaining its character by ensuring that development in rural areas is sensitively related to existing settlement patterns and to historic, wildlife and landscape resources.
12.24 Where existing uses are considered non-conforming and are a source of conflict because of environmental, amenity or transport related problems, the plan has set out what uses the Council consider would be appropriate.
12.25 This does not mean that such uses will not be allowed to continue, nor improvements made which go some way to alleviate these problems, but that investment should not be allowed which would prejudice the site being redeveloped for more appropriate uses.
  Objectives
 
  • TO PROVIDE AN ADEQUATE NUMBER OF EMPLOYMENT SITES TO SATISFY THE LANCASHIRE STRUCTURE PLAN’S REQUIREMENTS AND TO PROMOTE INWARD INVESTMENT INTO THE CITY.
  • TO ALLOCATE SITES FOR NEW DEVELOPMENT WHICH BEST SATISFY ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS.
  • TO PROVIDE EMPLOYMENT SITES WHICH ARE CONVENIENT AND ACCESSIBLE TO ALL SECTIONS OF THE COMMUNITY, PARTICULARLY THOSE WHO ARE DISADVANTAGED.
  • TO IMPROVE THE ENVIRONMENT OF EXISTING EMPLOYMENT AREAS.
  • TO ENCOURAGE THE IMPROVEMENT OR RELOCATION OF EMPLOYMENT USES WHOSE LOCATION IS UNACCEPTABLE.
  • TO BALANCE THE NEEDS OF THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY WITH THE PROTECTION Of THE VISUAL ENVIRONMENT.
   
Provision for New Business and Industrial Development
12.26 The main thrust of PPG 4 Industrial and Commercial Development and Small Firms is to provide a wide variety of sites for employment purposes. This policy provides adequate land for employment purposes to satisfy the requirement of 180 hectares set out in the Lancashire Structure Plan (1991 – 2006). Provision for a wide range of acceptable uses and sites within the City will attract new investment and provide a wide range of employment opportunities for all sections of the population.
12.27 The policy complements those sites which are already committed for employment with extant planning permissions or those with CNT approval giving a wide variety of employment land in terms of type, size and availability over the Plan period.
12.28 Following Central Government Guidance to promote a mixture of uses, flexibility and urban regeneration, a wide variety of business and industrial uses have been shown as being suitable on a number of sites covered by Site Specific Policies. However, Site Specific policies 1 and 2 have not been included although it is likely that they will make a contribution within the Plan period. Details of the various site specific policies are given in Chapter 18.
Policy W1 Provision for New Business and Industrial Development
The following sites are allocated for business or industrial development and are shown on the Proposals Map.
Site Name Gross Area
( Hectares)		 Appropriate Class of Use
Hill Street 0.4 B1
Walker Street 0.9 B1
Former Whittingham Hospital 1.4 B1
Ringway/Falkland Street 1.8 B1
Red Scar Site H 3.0 B1, B2, B8 and possibly uses
covered by the Alkali and Works Act 1960.
Total 7.50  
   
12.29 The above allocations, together with the committed sites, represent a shortfall of about 15 hectares when compare with the Structure Plan requirement of 180 hectares. However, this shortfall is not considered to be significant because of the low rate of take up over the Structure Plan period. A further 66 hectares of land are covered by the Local Plan's 25 Site Specific policies that include provision for business and industrial uses. Some of these sites are intended to be for a mixture of uses and others to be one of a list of potential uses. These sites do not count towards meeting the Structure Plan requirement because there is too much uncertainty about their development, but they do nevertheless extend the variety and quantity of potential sites.
12.30 Red Scar has been identified as the most appropriate area to take potentially unneighbourly uses as it is away from large concentrations of housing and is easily accessible from the Principal Road network.
Policy W2 Existing Business and Industrial Areas
Within existing business and industrial areas, as shown on the Proposals Map, development will be restricted to the following categories of use.
Area Reference as shown on Proposals Map Categories of use for which development will be permitted
E1 Business use, offices and light industry (B1)
E2 B1 plus general industry (B2)
E3 B1, B2 plus storage & distribution (B8)
E4 B1, B2 and B8, but with restrictions on the scale of B8 uses
E5 B1 plus B8, but B8 uses restricted in scale
E6 Storage and distribution uses (B8)
E7 B1, B2 and B8 plus uses covered by the Alkali & Works Act 1960
Proposals for storage and distribution over 1,000 square metres on sites with reference E4 and E5 will only be permitted where:
(a) the size and character of the workforce justifies an inner urban area location;
(b) there is an over riding need for the use to be located at that particular site;
(c) the number and length of vehicle trips associated with the development will be less than if it was located elsewhere;
(d) the location is appropriate for the weight and type of vehicles visiting the site.
   
12.31 All proposals will be assessed against the criteria set out in Policy T19 (General Transport Considerations). Where proposals are likely to generate a significant increase in traffic levels, then the developer will be required to carry out a Traffic Impact Assessment. Paragraph 9.84 gives further guidance regarding the role of the Highways Agency in relation to development affecting trunk roads.
   
Uses Falling outside a Use Class Order Category
12.32 The following policy is primarily concerned with development proposals within existing employment areas, as defined by policy W2 above. Planning applications for sui generis uses in defined existing primarily residential areas will be assessed against policy H5 (Development Proposals in Existing Residential Areas).
Policy W3 Uses Falling outside a Use Class Order
Business and industrial uses, falling outside a specific Use Class Order category (sui generis uses) will be permitted where it can be demonstrated that they:
(a) will cause no risk to safety;
(b) will not adversely affect the amenity of the area; and,
(c) can be accommodated without detriment to highway safety.
   
Employment Uses Falling outside the Preferred Category
12.33 This policy aims to restrict the intensification, or long term continuation, of uses which do not conform to the preferred employment use shown on the Proposals Map.
12.34 The objective of this policy is to rationalise the uses within the existing primarily business and industrial use areas as defined in Policy W2, and notated on the Proposals Map as E1 to E7. This policy does not apply to development which falls within areas defined as an existing primarily residential area; this form of development is covered by policies H5 and H10.
Policy W4 Employment Uses Falling outside the Preferred Category
Development in connection with an existing employment use which does not conform to the preferred land use as defined on the Proposals Map, will only be permitted where:
(a) it will result in the use falling within the preferred use category; or
(b) (b) it will not consolidate an employment use falling outside the preferred category(ies) and will not affect local environmental conditions.
   
12.35 This policy aims to restrict the intensification, or long term continuation, of uses which do not conform to the preferred employment use shown on the Proposals Map.
12.36 The objective of this policy is to rationalise the uses within the existing primarily business and industrial use areas as defined in Policy W2, and notated on the Proposals Map as E1 to E7. This policy does not apply to development which falls within areas defined as an existing primarily residential area; this form of development is covered by policies H5 and H10.
   
Telecommunications
12.37 The following policy is included to enable a consistent approach to be adopted at local level to that advocated in PPG8: ‘Telecommunications’. The criteria set out will facilitate the growth of telecommunications, including cellular radio and cable television and new forms of broadcasting without allowing the appearance of buildings, City and countryside to suffer serious damage.
Policy W5 Telecommunications
Telecommunications equipment will be permitted where:
(a) it is essential to the operational needs of the company;
(b) it cannot reasonably be located in a less environmentally damaging location;
(c) every effort has been made to reduce the visual impact of the equipment through the use of colour, siting and landscaping where appropriate;
(d) undertakings have been given to dismantle any equipment and make good the site once the use has ceased.
   
   
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