Planning application - local requirement
When the requirement applies
An economic statement is necessary to support all major and minor applications which propose a development which will have a direct impact on employment or the local economy:
- New developments or changes of use which will create new employment floor space
- Developments which propose changing the use of existing employment land or buildings
This will include proposals for change of use of industrial units, laboratories, factories, research and development sites, manufacturing sites, storage facilities, warehouses, distribution centres and other uses falling within planning use classes E(g), B2 and B8.
This will include offices where they are within the Bath Central Area, the Bath City Riverside Enterprise Zone, Somerdale, or a town centre listed in Policy CP12, or on a site that has been granted permission since 2011 as well as other scenarios where a significant quantity e.g. over 1000m2 of office space is being lost.
What the statement should include
If you are applying to create new employment floor space, you need to submit a report setting out the regeneration benefits of the proposed development, including the following:
- Details of the number and type of any new jobs that might be created or supported
- The relative floor space totals for each proposed use (where known)
- Reference to any regeneration strategies that might lie behind, or be supported by, the proposal
If you are applying to convert employment floor space to alternative uses, you need to submit a report setting out the following:
- Evidence that the site has been marketed for potential commercial development
- Evidence of why the site is no longer suitable for employment uses
- Evidence of why the use of the site for employment purposes raises unacceptable environmental or traffic problems
- A statement explaining how your proposed alternative uses offers greater benefits including social, environmental or economic benefits