Update of Shepway District Council’s Employment Land Review

Shepway District Council commissioned an independent Employment Land Review (ELR) to inform the drafting of its Core Strategy Local Plan, with the final draft ELR completed in 2011. Since its completion, a number of factors have combined so that it is now timely to commission a review and update of the ELR. The Council is at an advanced stage in preparing its local plan, with the NPPF compliant Core Strategy formally adopted by the Council on the18th September 2013. This sets out a long term vision for the District up to 2031. A consultation on the Places and Policies Local Plan: Issues and options ran during the early part of 2015 and closed in March. An update of the Strategic Housing Land Availability and Assessment (SHLAA) is also currently taking place. The Council is therefore seeking to appoint an experienced consultant to carry out a review and update of the ELR. The review will form part of the evidence base that informs and supports the implementation of policies contained within the Council's Core Strategy Local Plan, in respect of employment land. The ELR will also form a key input to the development of the next stage of the Places and Policies Local Plan. The review will assess the amount, type and location of employment land, required over the life cycle of the Local Plan. A key objective will be to enable economic, business and jobs growth in the district. In preparing the review, consideration will need to be given to: the economic growth prospects of the district; the stock, use of, and take up, of existing employment land, sites and premises; the need for and role of additional employment land; and the most appropriate broad and specific locations best suited to support and enable business and employment growth. The review should in the main focus on the provision of land for Class B uses as defined in the Town & Country Planning (Use Classes) Order, plus sui generis uses that are similar in nature. The review should however, also consider the findings of a recent Town Centres Study, in respect of the provision of land for Class A uses as defined in the Town & Country Planning (Use Classes) Order, and whether the introduction of more Class B, specifically Class B1a (offices), in town centre and adjacent locations, is viable to support regeneration aims.

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