Appendix 1 Land Allocations Local Plan

Dover District Council
Land Allocations Local Plan Adopted 2015
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2 Sustainable Development
2.1 The context for preparing the Plan is set by the District Core Strategy. The Strategy
is based upon a sustainability analysis of the District's social, economic and environmental
characteristics and performance which underpins the Aim, Objectives and Key Features.
2.2 Since the adoption of the Core Strategy, monitoring (through the Council's Annual
Monitoring Report) has shown that considerable progress has been made in providing the
infrastructure to support the Strategy. Owing to national economic conditions and local
changes in economic activity the employment base has,however, fallen,unemployment risen
and housebuilding levels declined. In addition, the level of social disadvantage has risen,
although skills levels have improved.
2.3 In order to ensure that the Plan contributes towards the achievement of sustainable
development, the Council has undertaken further work at a local level in the economic and
environmental areas of sustainable development. This work has directly informed the
preparation of the Plan by providing additional context for development land allocations and,
in the case of the economic work, identified the need to adjust the Strategy's provision for
new employment and retail floorspace.
2.4 Overall, the Strategy's Aim, Objectives and proposals remain firmly relevant but
implementation is slowing suggesting that it will take longer to realise the Strategy. In line
with the Strategy's programme management mechanism, the Council will maintain and
increase (as resources permit) its proactive role in promoting development opportunities.
Employment Development
2.5 The Core Strategy's provision for additional employment and retail development was
based upon research carried out prior to the national economic recession that took hold
around 2009. In order to ensure that the Plan is based on up-to-date information the Council
has undertaken further research (Dover District Employment Update 2012).
2.6 In relation to employment development (defined in the Core Strategy as Use Classes
B1, B2 and B8) the study has found that the Strategy's employment growth outlook of 6,500
jobs growth is no longer likely to be achievable over the period to 2026, although this remains
a longer term objective. The Core Strategy proposed that this Plan makes provision for
around 64.7 hectares of land for employment uses (to accommodate around 200,000 square
metres of floorspace) through reviewing and carrying forward suitable existing allocations
and commitments. As a consequence of the Employment Update this now needs to be
reconsidered.
2.7 There are two main factors which lead to these findings. Economic recession has
has meant that the projected trend based growth in the public sector, finance/business
services and distribution/hotels/catering is unlikely to materialise and there will be delay in
realising the planned employment growth proposals in the Strategy. The second factor is
the major contraction of the pharmaceuticals research and development facility at Sandwich
which is estimated, along with decommissioning a nuclear power station at Dungeness (in
Shepway District) to lead to between 4,000 and 5,000 job losses in the District by 2018. In
addition, the contraction of the pharmaceutical business at Sandwich has resulted in the
vacancy of some 280,000 square metres (2.8 million square feet) of largely modern research
and development and related business floorspace. The impact of the contraction of the
pharmaceuticals business on the District's unemployment level has not, however, been as