E3 - Employment Areas

Comment

There needs to be a better employment for people with learning difficulties.

PO14

Support

I wish more shops in Fareham where I can stand more chance of employment and we want more pet shops as well and they should have places for people to work with mild learning difficulties.

Anonymous submission

Object

I am very worried the children are being deprived of natural open spaces. Local habitat for natures creatures. The amount of cars, queues can be ridiculous now the roads cannot cope, they wear away with pot holes. I always thought the North of England was the crowded area. But when visiting these areas there is so much open space. Also the north could do with industry to revive them. Is it really necessary to build everything in the South. Travelling from Winchester to Fareham there is so much building being made it is changing the face of this beautiful area. The shops have changed to cheap and nasty – scruffy.

Anonymous submission

Comment

Industrial/Warehouse Premises Opportunities. We are also Agents for an SME currently based in Cosham, previously Portchester, providing employment for appx 30 local people, who are currently seeking a freehold 1 to 1.5 acre site to provide 25 – 30,000ft2. Ideally they would like to move the business back into the Borough but so far they have been entirely unable to find any opportunity. The opportunities at Faraday Park have been pointed up to them but its difficult accessibility during peak periods makes this quite unsuitable to their trading activity. Further similar provision around Fareham, accessible to the A27, and available to local businesses is urgently needed to bring further growth & prosperity to the Borough.

PO15

Comment

The representations outlined below are submitted on behalf of our client, Wilky Group, in response to the consultation on the Draft Fareham Local Plan 2036. This comment form is accompanied by a separate letter (dated 8th December, reference WILW3015) which provides further detail on the representations made by our client. This form should therefore be read in conjunction with this letter. The representations relate specifically to Cams Hall in Fareham, which is owned by our client and currently provides serviced office accommodation. Cams Hall is also used as a wedding and events venue. At the current time, Cams Hall is protected by adopted and emerging policies for employment uses and is therefore covered by the criteria outlined under emerging Policy E3. However, our client may need to consider alternative uses for Cams Hall in the future in order to a). enable our client to respond quickly to changes in market demand within the office sector, including changes in demand driven by other competing serviced office providers and b). cover the maintenance costs associated with the preservation of the Hall as a Grade II* Listed heritage asset and enable our client to continue to safeguard its conservation in the longer term. Our client therefore needs a supportive emerging planning policy position that provides the flexibility for a broader range of uses to be considered for Cams Hall in the future. Emerging Policy E3 does not provide the flexibility for our client to do this for the following reasons. Specifically, our concerns relate to part (g) of the policy which requires that any proposals for a change of use will only be considered in the event that Cams Hall is vacant and accompanied by details of marketing the building for a minimum period of twelve months. This would require marketing the entirety of Cams Hall for sale or for rent and is not an option our client would wish to consider. Needing to comply with this part of the policy will not enable our client to respond proactively to changes in market demand and take advantage of opportunities as they arise, which may be in the best interests for securing the long-term conservation of Cams Hall. Part (f) of the policy also requires proposals to clearly demonstrate that Cams Hall is not fit for purpose and that modernisation or redevelopment for other forms of employment uses would be financially unviable. This would mean that all employment uses would have to be considered and assessed in terms of their financial viability before other uses could be considered. This part of the policy is considered over burdensome for our client and, coupled with part (g) of the policy and the additional requirements outlined in the supporting policy text in paragraphs 6.25 and 6.26, could result in significant delays to other non-employment opportunities being considered. Our view is that this employment policy should not apply to Cams Hall given that its character is distinctly different from the buildings within the wider Cams Estate business park. Cams Hall is an important heritage asset with maintenance costs which warrant further consideration of other, more viable uses to ensure the long-term conservation of the Grade II* Listed Building. We therefore request that Cams Hall is disaggregated from the Cams Estate employment area shown on the Draft Policies Map and that the preservation of Cams Hall as an important heritage asset be the starting point for considering alternative future uses instead of the emerging employment Policy E3. We wish to highlight at this stage that a residential use for Cams Hall is not under consideration by our client.

GU1

Support

Large Format Response - Ref0072

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