East Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy 2005/06

Data Analysis
4.46 There continues to be an increase, comparing
2004 and 2005 data, in the amount of floor space
committed to warehousing in the East Midlands,
particularly in Northamptonshire.There are declines
in floor space committed to retail, offices and
factories although in the case of offices this is a small
decline.The direction of change, with a few
exceptions, is the same across the East Midlands.
4.47 Table 4.13 indicates that there has also been an
increase in the total of employment land committed
in 2005/06 - approximately 3,086 ha., compared to
approximately 2,834 ha. in 2004/05.
4.48 Whilst the number of local authorities able to
supply information on floor space, land losses, retail
commitments and leisure developments showed an
increase on the previous year, this section of the
regional monitoring form was not completed by
many others. The information provided is presented
in the tables above and due to its incompleteness
needs to be viewed with care but it represents some
progress in establishing more detailed monitoring of
land use.The information provided by local
authorities on leisure development, which listed a set
of developments, has not been produced in this
report but is available on the database that supports
the evidence in this report available on
www.emra.gov.uk .
4.49 The rentals paid in all types of non residential
property have increased or in a limited number of
cases remained static. This may in part be due to
inflation but also reflects the continuing demand for
non residential property in the East Midlands,
reflecting a stable, yet positive, private sector view of
the region.
Policy Commentary
4.50 Ensuring the adequacy of available
employment land supply, including the monitoring
of take-up and the review of land allocations, is
central to the success of the economic policies of the
RSS and a number of studies including the Quality of
Employment Land Supply Study (QUELS) published
in July 2002 has already been undertaken in relation
to this issue. More recently, Roger Tym & Partners
undertook the ‘East Midlands Land Provision Study’
of employment land provision comparing forecast
future requirements and current supply in order to
propose indicative land requirements to inform the
emerging RSS.Their final report was published in
December 2006 and highlights the complexities
associated with undertaking such an exercise and
recommends that local employment land reviews
should be undertaken, perhaps by local authorities
working jointly across Housing Market Areas, in order
to develop the overall conclusions of their study.
4.51 The recently completed Strategic Distribution
Study by MDS Modal and Roger Tym & Partners
confirmed the importance of the sector to the
economy of East Midlands, accounting for an
estimated 9% of both employment and output - a
higher share than in any other region.The study
recommended that a transparent framework is
required to balance market needs against policy
objectives in order to realise the sector’s potential for
the foreseeable future.
4.52 The conclusions reached in the previous AMR in
relation to this policy remain valid. Pressure for the
development of B8 uses, particularly along the M1
corridor, is significant and will continue because the
locational advantages are such that they are
preferred locations for distribution companies.
4.53 In order to meet the Regional Economic
Strategy’s objectives for economic development it
will be necessary for the regional offer of
employment sites to be improved. A portfolio of
quality sites will be required across the region with
an emphasis on quality sites which will help develop
key sector priorities.
4.54 Northamptonshire is currently in the process of
developing new spatial strategies in line with the
Milton Keynes & South Midlands growth agenda and
review of the Regional Spatial Strategy.This requires
the generation of 147,000 new jobs by 2031.To
achieve this various research has been undertaken
such as the Northamptonshire Commercial Property
and Employment Land Assessment, North
Northamptonshire Retail Study and Northampton
Town Centre Study.These will be developed through
emerging core spatial strategies which will in turn
lead to an increase in the growth of retail and
East Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy Annual Monitoring Report 2005/06
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