E2 - Employment Allocations

Object

The new allocations are dominated by Daedalus, with Welbourne the most significant other new location. Both of these have significant infrastructure and connectivity issues which are not addressed. A number of old allocations and consents ...eg Whiteley.... are carried forward. A number of employment sites have been turned into housing so there have been losses . The evidence base is mainly provided by 3 reports: • GL Hearn report for PUSH 2016. The main output of this is calculations of floorspace for each of the District Councils derived from projections of the various economic classifications (national). The additional employment is then converted into floorspace using various rules of thumb and then into the Use Classes. This methodology is not of sound basis for providing for the needs of local firms and for inward investment. • PUSH position statement June 2016. This allocated the extra floorspace to districts in the form of Office and B Class uses. The Position Statement continues to support Southampton and Portsmouth city centres as the main focus of growth, based on offices, despite their failure to perform over the last 15 years or so. So this position statement has a fundamental flaw at its core. • Employment land and premises survey FBC 2017 The FBLP chapter 6 Employment does not include any further analysis of the economic needs of Fareham's firms and employers, either on its own or as part of South Hampshire. There is no discussion of the supply chains or the degree to which FBC and the PUSH economy is interdependent. As to the degree to which FBC is self contained for employment purposes, the FBLP notes that the number of jobs in their borough are not very different from their economically active population. There is no discussion on who works where or what difference providing more local employment will make. There is no reference to any LEP reports in the Evidence base or to its economic strategy for 2014 to 2020. The LEP Strategy is based on identifying the main drivers of the South Hamshire economy and the sectors and clusters on which they depend. In this it follows the NPPF. The lack of this analytic base for the FBLP is a fundamental weakness. There is no discussion of the logistics requirement of South Hampshire and of Fareham's role in making proper provision. Apart from Daedalus, the allocations at Welbourne appear many years away from implementation; Whiteley has had an office consent for 10 years or so and has not been taken up. The other allocations are small/ difficult. Supply outside Daedalus is very limited and constrained until Welbourne is available. Shorter term sites could be increased, by allocating one or more of the housing sites to meet current demand and needs. Suggest: Revisit evidence base to look more closely at meeting economic and commercial need of new and expanding local firms and inward investment. Increase supply of commercial land readily available for the short term. Increase supply of commercial land by changing one or more housing allocations to economic/commercial where better suited. Provide for additional Logistics land in particular. Bring forward Commercial allocations at Welbourne

PO16

Comment

Large Format Response - Ref0019

SO30