Carlisle District Local Plan.indd - Carlisle City Council

Carlisle District Local Plan 2001 - 2016 Revised Redeposit draft4.12 In Mixed Commercial Areas no one land use predominates. Industry, offices, service trades,retail and residential uses are all present. Some of these areas contain small sites suitablefor development, or redundant or dated buildings suitable for redevelopment schemeswhich may provide opportunities for small businesses to become established, or expand.4.13 PPG 4: Industrial and Commercial Development and Small Firms states that positive policiesare needed to provide for the needs of small businesses. The City Council considers thatthe continued development and growth of new and small businesses in Carlisle and themajor settlements is an important part of the maintenance of a broad based local economy,providing a wide range of jobs and job opportunities. New and small businesses normallyrequire cheaper premises, often with flexible space which can be easily adapted for theirparticular needs. Demand for small industrial premises is relatively strong. The EnterpriseCentre on James Street has been running at high occupancy levels.4.14 There will be a presumption in favour of new industrial and commercial development andchanges of use in Mixed Commercial Areas and proposals for such development will beconsidered in relation to the criteria stated above. New retail development will only beconsidered within Mixed Commercial Areas if they are within 300m of the primary retailareas of the City Centre or Key Service Centre (in accordance with PPS6) and in accordancewith other policies of this Plan. It is the intention of Policy EC3 to safeguard the MixedCommercial Areas against inappropriate developments in terms of scale, nature of activity,effect on amenity of adjacent uses and traffic considerations.(New paragraph to clarify edge of centre)For retail purposes edge-of-centre, is a location that is well connected to and withineasy walking distance (ie. up to 300 metres) of the primary shopping area. For all othermain town centre uses, this is likely to be within 300 metres of a town centre boundary.In determining whether a site falls within the definition of edge-of-centre, account willbe taken of local circumstances. For example, local topography will affect pedestrians’perceptions of easy walking distance from the centre. Other considerations includebarriers, such as crossing major roads and car parks, the attractiveness and perceivedsafety of the route and the strength of attraction and size of the town centre. A site will notbe well connected to a centre where it is physically separated from it by a barrier such asa major road, railway line or river and there is no existing or proposed pedestrian routewhich provides safe and convenient access to the centre.POLICY EC3 Office DevelopmentWithin the Primary Office Area proposals for office development will be acceptableproviding that:1. the general scale and design of the development are compatible with thesurrounding area; and2. appropriate access and vehicle parking can be achieved.Add to Policy: Within the Primary Office Area where the building was originally constructedfor residential use, proposals for change of use back to residential use may beacceptable provided that residential amenity and the amenity of neighbouring users isnot compromised.EC350 September 2006