Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council - Unitary Development Plan 2006

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Chapter 8

EMPLOYMENT AND THE ECONOMY

8.1In order to address the problems in the local economy (outlined in Chapter 4) the achievement of sustainable economic growth, which will contribute to social progress and not compromise the environment and prudent use of natural resources, is a priority for the UDP. To achieve this, as well as restructuring of the local economy, it is important to ensure an adequate supply of land, in terms of size, location and market potential so that it is not a constraint on employment development. The employment development referred to in this chapter is primarily office, manufacturing, warehousing and distribution development in Use Classes B1, B2 and B8 in the urban area. The exception is in Mixed Employment Areas where a wider range of employment generating uses is permitted. However, it is recognised that other types of development such as leisure and retailing, and developments within rural areas, also create employment and play an important role in the local economy and these are supported by policies in Chapters 10, 11 and 15 respectively.

8.2An employment land supply (primarily for B1 – B8 uses) is required that:

• Will assist in the expansion, modernisation and diversification of the local economy;
• Complements the region’s sectoral priorities;
• Meets the needs of local businesses and communities;
• Supports existing employment sectors and assists the expansion of existing firms;
• Attracts new and growth sector industries and services, such as knowledge based and high technology industries;
• Promotes the clustering of existing and new economic activities; and
• Provides a wider range of better paid jobs in accessible locations for the local workforce.

8.3Economic growth needs to lead not only to an increase in the total number of jobs, but also to more jobs in modern and expanding industries. Without such modernisation, the Borough will continue to be over reliant on the low waged, low skilled jobs synonymous with traditional manufacturing industry. Diversification of the local economy is also essential if it is to be made more resilient to periodic downturns in the national economy.

8.4Employment must also be made accessible to as many residents as possible, but particularly to those suffering the greatest economic disadvantage, e.g. the unemployed, unskilled, ethnic minorities, women and disabled people.

8.5An employment land supply is therefore required that offers a sufficient number and variety of sites in terms of quality, size and location, to meet the varied needs of businesses that may wish to locate in the Borough.

In identifying land and drafting policies for industrial and business developments, the Council has therefore taken the following factors into account:

• The differing locational needs of the full range of modern employment uses;
• The suitability of the land or premises for employment use;
• Maximising the use of land within the urban area, particularly derelict land;
• The need for proximity to the workforce and especially areas of high unemployment;
• Ease of access by both public and private transport;
• The capacity of the highway network to safely accommodate increased traffic volumes, including commercial vehicles; and
• Protection of land of agricultural, landscape, ecological or recreational importance or potential from development.

8.6Developments that are unsightly, or that result in other environmental problems such as traffic congestion, will not only reduce the quality of life of local residents, but will also jeopardise the attraction of new investment into the local economy.

8.7Similarly, major expansion into open countryside should be avoided, as the open areas surrounding Rochdale’s various towns play an important role in projecting an attractive image of the Borough. Developments in peripheral locations can also lead to increased and lengthier journeys to work, thus exacerbating the adverse environmental impact of car-borne pollution. This negative impact must, however, be weighed against the benefits of keeping industrial traffic away from heavily built up areas.

8.8The UDP, therefore, firstly seeks to:

• Protect and enhance the best existing employment areas entirely for employment uses (policy EC/2 ‘Primary Employment Zones’ – total area 342.6 ha);
• Protect and enhance secondary employment areas for employment and commercial mixed uses, but allow other uses in some areas where it could support regeneration, (policy EC/3 ‘Mixed Employment Zones’ – total area 251.5 ha); and
• Protect existing employment sites outside the above areas for employment uses but, where appropriate, allow change to other uses (policy EC/4 ‘Change of Use of Employment Land Outside Designated Employment Areas’).

Protecting and maximising existing employment areas and sites for industrial and commercial uses and development can bring a number of benefits including:

• Ensuring an adequate supply of employment land and premises;
• Aiding urban regeneration through redevelopment of underused areas and sites for employment use;
• Providing opportunities for further development without significant new highways or public transport expenditure, on sites that are easily accessible from residential areas;
• Retaining employment locations that are accessible by public transport and on foot, that can help reduce reliance on the car for journeys to work, thereby alleviating traffic congestion;
• Retaining employment locations that have easy access also benefits people without the use of a car, particularly those on low incomes;
• Contributing to the prudent use of resources;
• Limiting the amount of Greenfield land that has to be taken for new development.

Allowing redevelopment to new uses where appropriate, can also bring a number of benefits including:

• Aiding urban regeneration;
• Reducing the number of under utilised sites and premises;
• Meeting other land use, social and economic needs.

8.9The UDP secondly seeks to utilise the locational advantages that the Borough has for industry by carrying forward existing allocations and by identifying and allocating additional land for employment uses. The Borough is an attractive location for business because of its good location on the national road and rail network and its being part of the Greater Manchester conurbation with a large and varied workforce, major financial and educational facilities and an international airport. The opening of the M60 motorway, linked with the expansion of Manchester Airport, has further enhanced Rochdale’s attractiveness as a business location.

8.10The Kingsway Business Park (EC/7) and some smaller sites (EC/8), which were allocated in the previous UDP and have planning permission, have been carried forward in the new UDP in order to confirm the Council’s continued commitment to their development and to guide future development proposals. Kingsway will not only meet the Borough’s need for strategic sites in the long term but is also expected to make a major contribution to the modernisation and revitalisation of the regional economy.

8.11The plan identifies the sites that are available for development in the protected employment zones, under policy EC/8, and allocates one further site outside these areas at Sandbrook Park under policy EC/9.

8.12In addition eight Areas of Opportunity are identified in policies R/4(a),(c),(d),(f),(g),(h),(i) & (j) where mixed use development is proposed that may involve an element of employment development that is appropriate to a mixed use/residential area. The area of land likely to be available for employment use is uncertain and so these areas are not included in the industrial land supply indicated below.

8.13Government guidance PPG4 ‘Industrial and Commercial Development and Small firms’ and Draft Regional Planning Guidance 13 do not specify any target for, or method for determining, the total amount of employment land that should be provided within the Borough. This is because the varying needs of industry and its demand for land and premises is difficult to forecast with any degree of precision. Instead it is accepted that supply has to be based on local economic need and has to be responsive to patterns of demand and availability as revealed by regular monitoring at the local level.

8.14The plan identifies 159.7 hectares of land as being potentially available for industrial and commercial development or redevelopment through existing planning permissions, site allocations and premises as well as new allocations as outlined above. This scale of land supply is identified in order to achieve one of the key objectives of the plan which is “to strengthen the local economy” (KO/1). It is considered to be realistic because, based on an annual take up rate of 12 ha per annum which has been achieved in the past, as much as 156 hectares could be developed over the plan period up to 2016. If an urgent need is identified, through monitoring, for this aspect of the plan to be reviewed then this can potentially be done outside the timetable for the review of the whole plan. One of the key issues, in considering the need for any additional allocations of employment land, will be whether the objective of strengthening the local economy has been largely achieved. The land supply is as follows:

Employment Land Supply

Policy No	Site/Policy	Type of Site / Comments	Area (ha)
EC/7	Kingsway Business Park	Strategic greenfield site (Note: area shown is the approx. area likely to be available for B1-B8 uses)	100.0
EC/8	Development Sites in designated Primary Employment Zones (EC/2)	Generally larger, greenfield and brownfield sites	51.1
EC/8	Development Sites in designated Mixed Employment Zones (EC/3)	Smaller brownfield sites	5.5
EC/9	Sandbrook Park	Brownfield sites outside designated Employment Zones	3.1
R/4	Areas of Opportunity R/4(a),(c),(d),(f),(g), (h),(i) & (j)	Mixed use developments proposed involving an element of B1 employment uses	N/A
Total			159.7

See schedule of Employment Land Supply in Appendix A

8.15The land supply identified will provide the number and variety of sites, in terms of quality and size, necessary to attract new businesses to the Borough. They range from large strategic sites, for quality business park developments, to small estates catering for the needs of new and expanding local firms and are widely distributed across the Borough, providing maximum accessibility and minimising the length of journeys to work for the local workforce.

8.16Some sites are not readily available due to physical constraints such as dereliction, poor access or lack of services, whilst others have ownership constraints. The Council will play its part in bringing these sites forward for development by using its powers of land acquisition, directing highways expenditure to improving access, and by making maximum use of grant aid.

8.17The UDP, however, is only one element of the Council’s activities aimed at fostering economic regeneration. As a land use policy document the UDP alone cannot tackle all these issues. Success in modernising and diversifying the local economy also depends on the Council working in partnership with the private and voluntary sectors to promote the Borough as a place in which to invest, train the local workforce in the necessary skills, and encourage local initiatives. The Council is working in partnership with the private sector to achieve economic regeneration, and has close links with a number of private and voluntary organisations. These include the Rochdale Development Agency which has the responsibility for promoting and implementing the economic regeneration of the Borough.

8.18The Primary Employment Zones identified on the proposal map are the major industrial areas and estates that are predominantly in employment uses in Use Classes B1, B2 and B8, along with sites that have planning permission for these employment uses but are not yet developed. They are generally on the edge of the urban area with good transport links and easy access to the primary highway network and contain new and older industrial premises suited to continued employment use and / or sites suitable for redevelopment for industrial use.  These areas offer some of the best locations for industrial, warehouse and business development in the Borough and it is important, for the future prosperity of the area, that they be protected from encroachment by other uses. The aim of this policy is, therefore, to protect and enhance Primary Employment Zones for the retention and expansion of existing firms and to attract new industrial and business enterprise.

8.19The policy is, however, flexible enough to allow the provision of appropriate ancillary and complementary uses such as small-scale shops, cafes, banks and nurseries to serve the needs of the local workforce.

8.20In considering development proposals, the Council will take into account their impact on the amenity of businesses within the employment zone and adjoining residential areas. The policy, therefore, requires that any development is appropriate in scale and character to the local area and that environmental mitigation measures, such as landscaped buffer zones, are provided where appropriate. Policy EC/8 “Development Sites in Employment Zones” sets out specific requirements for some sites.

8.21The Mixed Employment Zones identified on the proposal map are within the older urban area, often adjoining residential areas, with old industrial premises and infrastructure, vacant buildings and sites with constraints on redevelopment due to past use. They contain a wide variety of uses which, whilst not industrial, are commercial and employment generating activities and are compatible with industrial activity. Such uses can assist with the redevelopment of sites and premises, urban regeneration and the creation of employment and could not be so appropriately located elsewhere and, therefore, such uses will be encouraged in Mixed Employment Zones. However, developments will not be permitted if they are likely to cause nuisance or disruption to existing uses within the area. The aim of this policy is to protect and enhance Mixed Employment Zones for a variety of industrial, business and commercial uses to enable the retention and expansion of existing firms and attract new employment uses.

8.22Major retail development will not be permitted even though it is employment generating, because it would conflict with the plan’s retail policies. However, limited retail development will be permitted where it complies with policy S/9 “Shops in Industrial Premises”. This is to enable and assist the development and diversification of existing businesses with uses such as factory shops and trade and wholesale counters.

8.23Many of the zones are located very close to existing residential areas and full account has to be taken of the amenity of local residents when assessing proposals for new development. The policy, therefore, requires that any development is appropriate in scale and character to the local area and that it can be accommodated without harming local living conditions. Policy EC/8 “Development Sites in Employment Zones” sets out specific requirements for some sites to minimise their environmental impact. Residential development is not permitted within the employment zones because it is not employment generating and is likely to conflict with other uses in the area.

8.24Rochdale is a Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder authority and a major regeneration programme is proposed. This may involve the redevelopment of Mixed Employment Areas to other uses in order to achieve a better overall distribution of land uses. The policy therefore allows flexibility in the uses permitted in the MEZ’s, within the priority areas defined by policy G/R/1, where a development proposal is part of a Council supported regeneration programme or initiative.

8.25There are a number of sites and premises currently or last in employment use (Use Classes B1 – B8) that are not included in designated employment areas, under Policies EC/2 and EC/3, because the sites are either too small or they contain only one business. These sites, however, may be an important source of employment and may be appropriate for continued industrial use.

8.26Therefore, the policy seeks to protect those sites that are still suited to industrial use but accepts the loss of sites that are considered inappropriate or where redevelopment could assist urban or economic regeneration. In order to justify a proposed change of use the applicant will be required to provide evidence to the Council to demonstrate how one of the criteria in the policy may apply.

8.27Where the suitability of the site/premises for continued employment use is the issue the requirements of modern industry and current expectations in terms of the environmental impact of industry will be taken into account with reference in particular to policy EC/5 “Employment Developments and Extensions outside Allocated Areas”.

8.28Where redevelopment to a new use is permitted in order to obtain other benefits (particularly under criteria (c) to (e) above), the Council will impose planning conditions, or seek a legal agreement, to ensure that the intended benefits arise.

8.29The Council recognises that, in addition to the sites and employment areas allocated in the plan, other appropriate sites outside these areas may come forward within the Plan period, either through redevelopment or the reclamation of derelict land. In such cases industrial and business developments will be supported by the Council, as a means of further expanding the local economic base, provided the locational and environmental criteria identified in the above policy can be satisfied and the proposals comply with other policies of the Plan. In particular, proposals will not be permitted outside the Defined Urban Area (except in areas designated under Policy D/5 ‘Infilling at Major Existing Developed Sites in the Green Belt’), on land allocated for other uses, or in areas of ecological or recreational value.

8.30The existence of sources of employment close to and within residential areas can bring benefits to the local workforce in terms of accessible employment. Government planning guidance recognises that certain industrial and commercial activities can be carried out within residential areas without detriment to the local environment or residential amenity (these uses are defined within Class B1 of the 1987 Use Classes Order), and the policy permits such uses provided the other criteria in the policy are also met.

8.31Problems of incompatible industrial uses within residential areas can be found in many of the older parts of the Borough where a number of long established general industrial and warehouse (B2 and B8) premises can be found in close proximity to housing. In particular if a use becomes too large it can undermine the basic residential nature of the area. The expansion or redevelopment of existing uses in residential areas will only be permitted if the Council is satisfied that criteria (b) to (e) can be met to ensure that the scale and nature of the development can be accommodated without loss of residential amenity.

8.32Major office developments (over 1000sq m in Use Class B1) will be encouraged to locate firstly within and secondly, if no sites are available, on the edge of established town and district centres in order to maintain the prosperity and vitality of those centres and to maximise the use of public transport for journeys to work. However, it is recognised that there may be a lack of suitable sites in town and district centres. Therefore, major office development will also allowed on sites allocated for employment outside town and district centres. They will only be permitted in other locations if there are no suitable sequentially preferable sites available and the development will be easily accessible, particularly by public transport, and can be accommodated without damage to the amenity or environment of surrounding areas.

8.33This policy does not apply to small scale office development (below 1000 sq m) or office development that is ancillary to other uses such as manufacturing and warehousing.

8.34The principle of this Business Park development has already been established by its inclusion as an allocation in the South Rochdale Local Plan (adopted in June 1989) and in the Rochdale Unitary Development Plan (adopted in March 1999). Outline and, in parts, full planning permission has been granted for a comprehensive development scheme in compliance with the UDP policy. Due to the size and complexity of the project development may take several years to complete. Therefore, the previous UDP’s policy, with only minor modifications, has been carried forward in the new UDP in order to confirm the Council’s commitment to the development and to guide future development.

8.35The site, covering some 170 ha (420 acres) of which 114.6 ha is developable, has many physical and locational qualities to commend it as a strategic location for high quality business and industrial development, not just in Rochdale and the Greater Manchester conurbation but the whole of the North West. It is a very large site, offering the opportunity to provide a supply of large, commercially attractive sites for a wide range of business development within a high quality, well landscaped setting. It is situated immediately adjacent to the M62 motorway and is capable of being accessed directly from junction 21 of that motorway and has the opportunity of having its own stop on the Rochdale to Manchester Metrolink line (see policy A/18 Metrolink). It is within the Greater Manchester conurbation and is easily accessible to a large workforce, which has pockets of high unemployment, and all the services and facilities available in the conurbation such as financial services, higher education institutions and Manchester Airport. The development may take between 10-25 years to complete and the Business Park represents the Council’s primary opportunity to provide a large supply of strategic sites to attract major, modern industries to the Borough and region into the foreseeable future. Due to the above characteristics it is expected to contribute to the economic regeneration not just of Rochdale and adjoining areas but the whole of the North West region. Consequently, in the North West Development Agency’s economic regeneration strategy “England’s North West, A Strategy Towards 2020” (published in 1999) Kingsway is included in a list of large regional sites to be developed to assist the regeneration of the region. Kingsway is also likely to be identified in the revised RPG 13 as a committed Regional Investment Site supported by the NWDA and the NWRA.

8.36A main distributor road linking the A664 and Junction 21 of the M62 motorway is required. This link is an essential part of any development proposal in order to ensure that the site can fulfil its potential as a major strategic business site. Significant improvements to the geometric layout of junction 21 of the M62 will be required and a scheme has been agreed with the Department of Transport. The site will also be accessed from the A664 (Kingsway), which is one of the Borough’s primary roads and bus routes, making it readily accessible to the local workforce. Additional land may be needed outside the allocation boundary to facilitate the provision of a satisfactory vehicular access from Kingsway. In order to minimise traffic generation from the development planning applications for major developments will have to be accompanied by a Travel Plan as required by policy A/12 ‘New Development – Travel Plans and School Travel Plans’.

8.37The site adjoins the Inner Rochdale Physical Regeneration Area, defined under policy G/R/1 ‘Physical Regeneration’, which contains a workforce that suffers unemployment levels well above the Borough average.

8.38The fundamental design principle for the Business Park is that any built development must be of a high quality set in an attractive landscape setting at a density and of a design appropriate to the proposed use and the topography, character and location of the particular site consistent with other policies in the plan.

8.39A further important aspect of the proposal is the opportunity it presents for opening up the site for other uses. About 114.6 hectares is developable for industry and other permitted uses, the other 30 hectares remaining as open land or used for a variety of low intensity, informal recreational activities. The site also adjoins the Rochdale Canal, which is an SSSI and SAC and protected under policy NE/2 Designated Sites of Ecological Importance. The canal also offers considerable potential for the development of recreation uses in an attractive environment and reference should be made to policy LT/7 Rochdale Canal. Features that provide the site with its special character, such as trees, hedges, footpaths, streams and buildings of architectural or historic value, will be retained wherever possible. The Stanney Brook Corridor and Park will also be protected and enhanced for both its nature conservation and informal recreational value in line with policies NE/2 ‘Designated Sites of Ecological and Geological / Geomorphological Importance’ and UG/9 ‘Stanney Brook Corridor and Park’.

8.40Development of the site is likely to be phased and it is essential that any development is compatible with the overall objective of a strategic business park and does not constrain a comprehensive overall development that meets all the criteria set out in the policy. Any development within the site will therefore be expected to accord substantially with an approved Master Plan for the comprehensive development of the whole site; and in any event to:

• Be compatible with the overall objectives of a strategic business park development, which are primarily to attract major inward investment to the Region and sub region to support economic regeneration;
• Comply with, or allow and enable an overall scheme to comply with, all the criteria in this policy;
• Not constrain a comprehensive and satisfactory overall development of the entire site;
• Not hinder the provision of a satisfactory highway link between the A664 and Junction 21 of the M62; and
• Contribute to the total cost of all on and off site infrastructure works, including highways and services, necessary for the development of the entire site. Such contributions will be secured though planning conditions or other legal agreements.

8.41The principle of employment development on the above sites has been established by either their allocation in the previous UDP or through granting planning permission. They are protected for employment use by their inclusion in an Employment Zone under either policy EC/2 or EC/3. The sites are identified in this policy in order to:

• indicate the amount of land that is potentially available within the Employment Zones for development and where;
• indicate the type, size and variety of sites available;
• direct appropriate development industry interest to the available sites;
• ensure the application of any conditions considered appropriate to the development of these sites as outlined above; and
• make clear the appropriate future use of these sites should their existing planning permissions expire.

8.42The sites identified as potentially available for development or redevelopment range in size from 0.3 ha. to 13.7 ha and offer a total land supply of 56.6 ha of which 51.1 ha is in Primary Employment Zones and 5.5 ha is in Mixed Employment Zones. In addition to the above sites it is expected that further sites will become available within the Employment Zone’s for redevelopment for employment use during the plan period due to restructuring in the economy and property market.

8.43The type of development that will be supported on each site is determined by the Employment Zone policy under which the site is listed. The sites are all in accessible locations close to the local workforce. It is expected that they will be appropriate for a wide range of business and industrial activity, including traditional manufacturing and warehousing, and will be particularly important in providing for the needs of small and medium sized local businesses.

8.44Most of the sites are either vacant or greenfield and are available for development without the need for property acquisition or clearance, however they may still require significant infrastructure works. Some of the sites, although they may be occupied, are identified as having potential for redevelopment because of their current under use and problems such as dilapidated buildings and land. Where significant investment is required to overcome physical constraints and bring sites forward for development maximum use will be made of grant aid where available. Where off-site highway improvement works have been identified as a pre-requisite to development, appropriate developer contributions will be required. Some of the sites are in the catchment of watercourses that have flooding problems in the downstream reaches, and some adjoin watercourses and may be at risk of flooding. Development needs to be in accordance with Policy EM/7 to ensure that for sites EC/8 (d,e,m,o) flood risk to development is minimised and there is adequate access to the watercourses for maintenance, and for EC/8 (b, c, g, h) surface water run off is limited.

8.45This site is not within a defined Employment Zone but it is within the urban area in a highly accessible location with direct access to the primary highway network and good access to the motorway network. It is a brownfield site and offers development opportunities for B1 uses seeking a highly accessible location.

8.46A Transport Assessment, and consultation with the Highways Agency, will be required for any major office development on this site because of its potential impact on the trunk road network.

Other Issues

Catering for the Needs of the Workforce

8.47True economic revitalisation and urban regeneration cannot be achieved solely by increasing the number of jobs available in the Borough. In addition, these jobs must be made available to as many local residents as possible. The need to combat disadvantage in the labour market is one of the three basic aims of the Council’s Economic Strategy, and was also an issue raised during public consultation on the UDP Review Issues Paper. Appropriate local recruitment and training initiatives will be vital to ensure that local residents benefit fully from new employment developments. The Council, therefore, is already working closely with relevant local agencies to provide recruitment and training packages aimed at increasing employment opportunities for local residents, particularly the unemployed, ethnic minorities, disabled people and women and will encourage business to participate in such schemes.

8.48In addition, the provision of crèches and nurseries within the workplace would widen women’s job opportunities and provide employers with a larger pool of labour. The Council will, therefore, seek to encourage the provision of workplace nursery and crèche facilities in any major new industrial and business developments.

Tourism

8.49The importance of tourism in providing employment, broadening the local economic base, and as an aid to economic regeneration is emphasised in Strategic Guidance and in the Council’s own ‘Economic Strategy’. Whilst the Council is aware of the limitations of Rochdale as a tourism destination in its own right, there is clearly some potential which could be developed for day visitors, short-break and specialist holidays, and business tourism. Thus, the UDP seeks to help consolidate and develop the Borough’s tourism base, and specific policies are contained in the Chapter 11 ‘Leisure and Tourism’ including policies to improve hotel provision.

The Rural Economy

8.50A large proportion of the borough’s land area is rural in character consequently the rural economy is an important element in the local economy and has, in parts of the borough, strong linkages with the urban economy. The relevant policies dealing with the rural economy are contained in the Chapter 15 ‘Countryside and the Rural Economy’.