Employment

Introduction

12.1 The purpose of this chapter of the Plan is to establish planning policies which will help to ensure the local economy remains buoyant and offers good employment opportunities for local people, and which will guide the main employment generating uses to the most appropriate locations. It deals with issues affecting the type of business and manufacturing employment-generating floorspace which the district needs to satisfy job needs in the future.

12.2 Retail uses also form a major source of employment in the district, principally in town, village and neighbourhood centres, outside of the Employment Areas identified in this Chapter. The scale of retail employment is closely related to the amount of retail floorspace and is therefore dealt with in the Town Centres and Retailing Chapter. Leisure, health and education are also an important employment sector in the district. Their land use and development requirements are dealt with in the Community, Leisure and Tourism chapter.

12.3 Maintaining economic growth and employment is one of the four key objectives of the UK Strategy for Sustainable Development. The availability of jobs, goods and services is fundamental to people's quality of life. In turn their availability is dependent on the prosperity of the national and local economy. At the same time, economic development must be sustainable. It is no longer right to accept economic growth and development at any cost. The Council wants to encourage development which stimulates employment and prosperity in the area, but it must be clearly related to the needs of the area and respect the environmental limits of the locality and the global environment.

Issues

12.4 The key role for the Plan in the development of the local economy is to manage the supply of land and floorspace for employment uses. The Structure Plan has established that there is already sufficient land and floorspace in the county to meet a predicted, continued growth in business and employment needs in Hertfordshire up to 2011, taking into account existing floorspace and land allocated in local plans for employment uses. This forecast trend applies at district level in Welwyn Hatfield. So the presumption is that there will not be a need to allocate any additional land for employment uses in the district, other than that already designated in the existing employment areas and on the Hatfield Aerodrome site. However, this balance between supply and demand for employment floorspace can only be maintained if pressure for other development such as housing, retail and leisure uses on employment land is resisted.

12.5 In terms of the quality of employment floorspace, research undertaken by Roger Tym & Partners in Hertfordshire in 1999 suggests that the three main areas where the current supply of floorspace is likely to fall short of demand are:

  1. industrial space for relatively low technology operations;

  2. space for new and small businesses;

  3. development opportunities, in particular for offices in accessible locations.

12.6 Another known employment floorspace demand in the district is for uses such as car showrooms, 'on the spot' car repair garages (e.g. tyre and exhaust centres) and trade wholesalers, which combine a retail element with a predominantly business, industrial or storage use. These businesses represent a growing service market. However, given the planned nature of the two main settlements in the district, these uses often have difficulties finding appropriate locations.

12.7 There is a range of good quality sites within the district, notably at Shire Park and other sites within the Welwyn Garden City employment area, which offer further opportunities for new business floorspace. However, it is important that the district can continue to offer a range of opportunities for expansion of existing firms or new businesses.

12.8 The Hatfield Aerodrome site provides by far the largest opportunity for meeting the district's future business and employment needs. It is likely to provide the majority of new floorspace supply over the plan period. Due to the emphasis on the high quality of the development and its resultant rental levels, it is likely to attract employment uses with higher land values, such as financial and business services, software and IT, telecommunications, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. The development will be required to provide some space for small businesses, but there will be sectors, particularly from lower-tech manufacturing and small businesses, for which the site may not provide space. Therefore, it is important that the existing Employment Areas in the district are retained, in order to maintain a supply of premises for the full range of business and industrial uses.

12.9 One of the key sustainability aims of the Plan is to encourage more balanced and self-contained communities, in order to reduce commuting and the need to travel. This requires maintaining a balance between housing and jobs. Travel-to-work figures show that almost half of the district's residents who are employed, work outside Welwyn Hatfield and that more people travel into the district to work than those commuting out. The right policy approach is required to ensure that these problems of in-commuting are not exacerbated by the development of the Hatfield Aerodrome site, where there is a significant amount of new employment floorspace proposed.

12.10 A range of planning, transport and economic development measures will be put in place to influence this. For example, on the Hatfield Aerodrome site over 1600 new dwellings are proposed, to give the opportunity for people gaining jobs on the site to live there and vice versa. Other measures include encouraging self employment and business start up through the availability of incubator space and related business support services; requiring incoming employers to run local recruitment campaigns, targeted at commuters; encouraging 'live-work' units in new housing or mixed-use developments to enable people to work or run businesses from home. These latter measures may provide opportunities for and encouragement to commuters to review their employment situation and consider working locally.

12.11 Another important factor in encouraging more people to live and work locally is to seek to match the jobs available with the skills of the local workforce. There are signs of possible skill mismatches in the district, evidenced by recruitment problems amongst local employers and the high levels of commuting into the district. However, it is likely that the high house prices or the lower rates of female participation in the labour force are also causes of these problems. The Council's economic development policies are aimed at attracting firms to the district which can offer the type of employment required by local people. The District Plan supports this by the type of floorspace it allows and by encouraging the occupiers of new employment developments to recruit locally, offer skills training and provide childcare facilities. In doing so the Council will continue to work with its partners, including Hertfordshire Learning and Skills Council, the University of Hertfordshire and Oaklands College.

12.12 The local community has expressed its concerns about the loss of major companies and the desire to avoid this in the future. The Council cannot control the commercial decisions of individual companies. However, through economic development and planning policies the Council can help to maintain the diversity of the local economy, to reduce its dependence on any one company or sector, so that the closure or contraction of large companies has less overall impact.

12.13 Whilst the economy is now more balanced, the Plan seeks to encourage it to continue to diversify. It can do this by influencing the type of business units developed, ensuring a range of unit sizes are provided in new developments or that flexible units are provided which can be used for a range of company types and sizes. It can also encourage diversification by supporting the development of small businesses through the provision of incubator units and small business accommodation.

12.14 In the light of the rapidly changing nature of the economy, the Council will continue to monitor changes in labour market skills, the sectoral composition of the industrial base, business and industrial floorspace requirements and other features of the economy.

12.15 The key employment issues that the policies in this chapter seek to address can be summarised as:

  • The supply of employment land and floorspace;

  • The quality of employment floorspace;

  • The range of employment uses;

  • Achieving a better balance between jobs and housing;

  • The need to match skills to jobs;

  • Encouraging a diverse economy.

Strategy and Objectives

12.16 The Council's Economic Development Strategy (EDS) provides a key local policy context for the District Plan. It is important for the Plan to be consistent with this strategy. The overall aim of the EDS is to promote sustainable economic development and to encourage the creation of a thriving local business community. Wealth creation is a means of enhancing quality of life in Welwyn Hatfield and of tackling social exclusion. Its aims and objectives for the district's economy form the basis of the objectives of the Plan for employment which are to:

  1. ensure that there continues to be enough employment land and floorspace available in the district, in the right locations and of the right quality, to provide jobs for local people, maintain a diversity of employment uses and accommodate the requirements of local businesses and firms seeking to locate in the area;

  2. to bring about a better balance between the levels and types of housing and jobs in the district and between the skills of the local workforce and the skill requirements of the jobs created, in order to help in reducing commuting flows into and out of the district and thereby reduce the need to travel;

  3. to encourage the development of small businesses, in order to stimulate more stable, indigenous economic development and increase the potential for living and working locally;

  4. to maximise the opportunity for a range of business and employment opportunities on the former BAe site at Hatfield, and throughout the district, to meet local job needs.

Policies

Employment Land

12.17 There is adequate capacity to meet the district's current and future job requirements without the need to allocate any new land for employment use. This is supported by the Structure Plan Review. However, there remains pressure to release further employment land for housing or other uses. Policy H1 identifies a site on the edge of the Welwyn Garden City Industrial Area for residential development to assist in meeting the district's housing requirement. However, further release of land within the Employment Areas for other uses must be resisted if an adequate level of employment land is to be retained to meet business needs. Therefore, the Plan continues to designate the main Employment Areas in the district. In addition, the former Dynamics and Sports Ground Employment Areas on the Hatfield Aerodrome Site have been extended and amalgamated to form the Hatfield Business Park Employment Area, including the area of land identified for a business park in the master plan for the site.

12.18 Minor amendments have been made to the boundary of the Burrowfields Employment Area (EA2), in Welwyn Garden City, to incorporate the electricity transformer station. This means that should it become redundant, the electricity transformer station could be redeveloped for suitable employment uses, which would be appropriate in this location.

Policy EMP1 - Employment Areas

The following areas of land as shown on the Proposals Map are designated as Employment Areas:

 Area (ha)
EA1 Welwyn Garden City Industrial Area149
EA2 Burrowfields, Welwyn Garden City15.6
EA3 Great North Road, Hatfield3.9
EA4 Beaconsfield Road, Hatfield5.3
EA5 Fiddlebridge Lane, Hatfield1.6
EA6 Hatfield Business Park, Hatfield85
EA7 Bishops Square, Hatfield8
EA8 Travellers Lane, Welham Green32.6
EA9 Sopers Road, Cuffley3.8

Acceptable Uses in Employment Areas

12.19 Employment land is a very valuable resource. Policy 14 of the Hertfordshire Structure Plan Review 1991-2011 seeks to foster economic growth in existing employment areas through planned regeneration. It provides for the re-use of existing employment land and buildings for Class B uses. With regard to non-Class B uses, these will only be allowed where existing employment land and buildings are no longer required to meet future employment requirements and business and community needs. This is important in the context of the restraint arising from the location of the district within the Green Belt, which limits the amount of land available for employment. Accordingly, a cautious approach has been adopted by the Council, which generally resists uses other than those within Class B in designated Employment Areas.

12.20 In the context of this cautious approach, it is important to keep employment development in balance with potential housing supply and the available infrastructure. Employment development on a large scale may increase pressure for additional housing to be built within the district in order to attract an inflow of labour; there may also be circumstances where the scale of employment generated will, instead of attracting workers from the local area, attract commuters in to the district, resulting in an unsustainable increase in traffic and subsequent congestion.

12.21 The approach set out in paragraph 12.19 above provides clarity for existing occupiers and potential investors and thereby facilitates continued investment and the regeneration of the older parts of the Employment Areas, through the upgrading of existing building and facilities and through redevelopment. The Council will give favourable consideration to proposals for the redevelopment of existing employment sites, in the designated Employment Areas, which would update and improve the quality of the employment stock in the district.

Other Employment Generating Uses in Employment Areas

12.22 Whilst the Council seeks to retain designated Employment Areas for uses within Class B, it is recognised that there is a need for some flexibility to meet the needs of uses such as tyre and exhaust centres, trade wholesalers, vehicle hire, plant hire and taxi vehicle depots, which are composite uses, combining a retail element with a predominately business, industrial or storage use, but which do not readily fit within Use Class B. Due to the planned nature of the district's two main towns, it is difficult to find suitable locations for these uses outside of the designated Employment Areas. Vehicles sales showrooms are a sui generis use and are dealt with separately in Policy EMP4.

12.23 In situations where it can be clearly demonstrated that existing land or premises are no longer required to meet future employment requirements and business and community needs, the Council may grant planning permission for other, non-Class B, uses. In considering proposals for non-Class B uses in Employment Areas, the Council will also pay particular attention to the resultant employment density of the proposed development, the impact on the vitality and viability of the district's town centres, the effect on local transport infrastructure and the general impact on the environment of the area. Proposals for retail and leisure uses in the designated Employment Areas will also need to demonstrate that they accord with the sequential approach set out in Planning Policy Guidance note 6: Town Centres and Retail Developments or its successor.

Policy EMP2 - Acceptable Uses in Employment Areas

In the designated employment areas, proposals for development within Use Classes B1, B2 and B8 will be permitted, subject to the following criteria:

  1. The proposal would not, due to the scale of employment generated, have an unacceptable impact on the demand for housing in the travel to work area;

  2. The proposal would not have an unacceptable impact on the local and/or strategic transport infrastructure;

  3. The proposal would not harm the amenities of any nearby residential properties;

  4. The development would provide adequate parking, servicing and access;

  5. Any retail element of the development would clearly be ancillary to the main business use.

Proposals for Class B8 development should also be well located in relation to the primary road network.

Proposals for any other uses in the designated employment areas should generally be resisted and will only be permitted where it can be clearly demonstrated that the existing land or premises are no longer required to meet future employment requirements and business and community needs. All such proposals will also be required to satisfy criteria (i) to (v) above and other relevant policies of the Plan relating to the use proposed.

In all cases, the proposed development must comply with the design policies contained in the Plan.

Broadwater Road West

12.24 This area of land is defined on the Proposals Map. It is part of the Welwyn Garden City Industrial Area (EA1) and, as such, is subject to the provisions of Policy EMP2. A significant portion of this highly accessible site, which is close to Welwyn Garden City town centre, has become disused. In the light of this, the site presents opportunities for planned regeneration for a mix of uses comprising primarily employment, housing, leisure and rail-related uses. To guide the future development of the site, a development brief will be prepared.

Policy EMP3 - Mixed Use Development Site at Broadwater Road West

The site within Employment Area EA1 (as defined on the Proposals Map) is identified as an opportunity area of planned regeneration for mixed use development comprising primarily employment, housing, leisure and rail-related uses. Development of the site shall be in accordance with the criteria in Policy EMP2 and other relevant policies of the Plan relating to the uses proposed. Development shall also comply with a Development Brief to be approved by the Council as a supplementary planning document. The Development Brief shall include the minimum quantum of Class B floorspace to be provided on the site.

Car Sales and Showrooms

12.25 The Council recognises that there is a demand for sites for car sales/showrooms within the district. The sale of motor vehicles is a sui generis use, that is, it does not fall within any specific use class, and as such, it is difficult to find suitable locations for such uses. In terms of the environmental impact of car sales/showrooms, in many ways, industrial areas are the most suitable location for them, as they are liable to generate significant levels of traffic and associated noise, for example, from delivery vehicles, repairs etc.

12.26 The Council seeks to protect the availability of and maximise the use of employment generating land within the district. Car sales showrooms tend to provide employment at the lower range of employment density and it is therefore necessary to restrict the amount of floorspace used for car sales within the Employment Areas. Therefore, on larger developments with a gross floorspace in excess of 235m2, the Council will limit the amount of car sales floorspace and ancillary office and/or storage space to 49% of the gross external floorspace. The remaining floorspace should be used for Class B uses, such as vehicle servicing and repairs.

Policy EMP4 - Car Sales and Showrooms

Car sales/showrooms will only be permitted in the designated Employment Areas. They will not be permitted in residential areas or in the town centres. Planning permission will only be granted for development which meets all of the following criteria:

  1. The proposal would not have any adverse impact on the amenity of residential areas;

  2. The proposal would not adversely affect the highway network, including highway safety;

  3. It would have adequate servicing facilities;

  4. It would not have an adverse effect on the provision of employment land, in terms of the cumulative impact of similar uses in the locality.

In the case of any proposed development which has a gross external floorspace in excess of 235m2, no more than 49% of the floorspace shall be used for the sale and display of motor vehicles, and the sale and display of motor vehicle parts and accessories, including office or storage floorspace ancillary to such sale or display. The remaining floorspace should be used for Class B uses such as vehicle servicing and repairs.

Notwithstanding the provisions of the Town And Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order, 1995, any grant of planning permission will be subject to the removal of permitted development rights in order to prevent the change of use of the building to Class A1 (shops).

Mix of Unit Sizes and Small Business Accommodation

12.27 The Council seeks to encourage small and medium sized enterprise (SMEs) to establish within the district, in order to broaden the employment base and to provide a more balanced and stable local economy. In this way, the Council can maintain the diversity of the local economy, in order to reduce its dependence on any one large company or sector, so that the closure or contraction of large companies will have less overall impact.

12.28 There is a requirement for the provision of additional small and medium sized business/industrial units within the district. This is supported by the findings of the report "Employment Needs in Hertfordshire" by Roger Tym and Partners in 1999 and by business enquiries handled by the Council's Economic Development Unit.

12.29 Expanding companies who have outgrown their small scale starter-units have reported difficulties in finding suitable medium sized units to move to within the district and are therefore having to remain in their existing premises, which is exacerbating the lack of availability of small starter units. Whilst the Weltech Centre in Welwyn Garden City provides serviced office accommodation for start-up business, there is no comparable provision for small, starter industrial units.

12.30 Small businesses are rarely able to be in a position to develop their own business units and the commercial property market rarely provides affordable units for small businesses because they may not be economically viable. Therefore, large employment sites over 2 ha will be required to provide a mix of unit sizes, including specific provision of small units. An exception will be made in the case of existing companies who are developing a large site for their own expansion, as the Council does not consider that it would be a reasonable requirement in this case.

12.31 The Council will also encourage the provision of small business/industrial units through the conversion of larger industrial premises. In addition, the Council will pursue initiatives such as the "Fledgling Business Scheme", which encourages larger firms with under-used floorspace, to let it out to small businesses seeking premises.

12.32 For the purposes of this policy, small units are defined as those up to 235m2; medium units are between 236m2 and 1000m2; and large units as those over 1000m2.

Policy EMP5 - Mix of Unit Sizes

In the designated employment areas a mix of unit sizes will be required. On development sites over two hectares in area, there will be a requirement for a minimum of 10% of the net floorspace area within the site to be developed for small and/or medium sized units for business or industrial uses within use Class B. This policy will not apply in the case of existing companies, which are developing large sites for their own expansion.

Policy EMP6 - Small Business Units

The provision of small business/industrial unit accommodation will be encouraged by the Council through measures such as:

  1. The conversion or sub-division of larger buildings to form small units, provided that adequate servicing and access arrangements are provided; and

  2. The promotion of premises sharing through the 'fledgling business scheme'.

Bad Neighbour or 'Dirty User' Industries

12.33 There are some industries which due to the particularly adverse environmental impacts of their activities are considered to be bad neighbour or 'dirty user' industries, for example, scrap yards, car body workshops, recycling facilities and other uses which are considered to be offensive, hazardous or potentially polluting. Many of these uses previously came under the Special Industrial Groups B3-B7, which have now been abolished. Whilst these uses now come under either Class B2, General Industry, or are sui generis uses, they are also controlled under other legislation including the Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act, 1989 and the Planning (Hazardous Substances Act), 1990.

12.34 Planning applications for recycling facilities may be 'County Matters' and any proposals for these would therefore be determined by the County Council as the Waste Planning Authority. In addition, the identification of new sites for waste management facilities would also be dealt with by the County Council, through the review of the Hertfordshire Waste Local Plan.

12.35 The Council recognises that these uses may have an important function in the local economy and that in some cases they can contribute towards the aims of sustainable development, for example, when they involve recycling. However, because of the adverse environmental impacts of such uses, the Council does not wish them to be scattered throughout the Employment Areas or located on inappropriate sites. The Mater Dei site, Chequersfield, Welwyn Garden City, is located within a designated Employment Area. The Council considers that the Mater Dei site is a suitable site for bad neighbour industries, and will therefore require provision to be made for such industries on the site, when it is developed.

Policy EMP7 - Provision for 'Dirty User' Industries

The Council considers that the Mater Dei Site, Chequersfield, Welwyn Garden City, is a suitable site for the location of bad neighbour/dirty user industries. The Council will expect the site to be developed in accordance with a development brief, to be agreed by the Council. The development brief for the site will require part of the site to be allocated for bad neighbour/dirty users.

Employment Development Outside of Employment Areas

12.36 There is adequate capacity to meet the district's current and future job requirements without the need to allocate any new land for employment use. However, whilst new employment uses outside of the designated Employment Areas are generally inappropriate, the Council recognises that there are other existing employment sites scattered throughout the district, many of which are occupied by small businesses who provide valuable local services. These sites provide employment and services for local residents, which reduces their need to travel and thereby contributes to the aims of sustainable development. In addition, these sites provide a variety of affordable units. It is therefore important that these sites remain in employment use, unless they are causing particular environmental problems.

12.37 Careful control will need to be exercised over the extent of new development to be permitted on these sites, to safeguard environmental interests, such as residential amenity and traffic generation.

12.38 It is also recognised that some employment sites are inappropriately located because their scale or use has an adverse impact on the local environment or residential amenity or on highway safety through traffic generation, noise and general disturbance.

12.39 On employment sites that are inappropriately located, planning permission will be granted for live-work development schemes, in accordance with Policy EMP14. Only where it can be shown that the redevelopment of the site for live-work units would not be viable, will planning permission be granted for residential development.

Policy EMP8 - Employment Sites Outside of Employment Areas

On existing employment sites outside the designated employment areas, as shown on the Proposals Map, proposals for new employment development or redevelopment will only be permitted where all of the following criteria are met:

  1. The development would be of a similar scale to the existing activities on the site;

  2. The development would not have any adverse effects on the residential amenities of any nearby properties;

  3. The development would provide adequate parking, servicing and access arrangements and would not have an adverse impact on the highway network, including highway safety.

Only grant planning permission for residential development on employment sites where it can be shown that the development of the site for a 'live-work' mixed use scheme would not be viable.

On sites that are not currently used for employment purposes and outside the designated Employment Areas and town centres, as defined on the Proposals Map, planning permission will not be granted for development for Class B uses, unless the development would form part of a 'live-work' mixed use scheme.

Training

12.40 One of the overall objectives of the Plan is the need to achieve a better balance between housing and jobs in the district, in order to reduce the need for people to commute out of the district to work. An important factor in encouraging more people to live and work in the district is to seek to match the jobs available with the skills of the local workforce. There are signs of possible skill mismatches in the district evidenced by local employers experiencing recruitment difficulties and the high level of commuting into the district. The Council will actively encourage developments which would provide training to help to alleviate this mismatch between jobs and skills.

12.41 The relatively low female economic activity rate in the district suggests that there is some scope for generating higher levels of participation in the labour market by encouraging women returners, for example, re-training for potential women returners to update their skills and the provision of childcare facilities.

12.42 Training falls within Class D1 of the Use Classes Order 1987; however, it is recognised that in certain circumstances it may be appropriate for the support and development of certain types of high-tech or knowledge based industries that require a suitably trained workforce, to allow the development of education/training facilities within the designated Employment Areas.

12.43 The Council will work with the Hertfordshire Learning and Skills Council, the local College of Further Education and the University of Hertfordshire, to provide training initiatives within the district to address identified local skill shortages in the labour market.

Policy EMP9 - Training

The Council will actively encourage the provision of employment training. Within the designated Employment Areas the Council will permit development or change of use that would provide employment training within Class D1(c) use, only where it is to address a specific skill requirement of the local workforce.

Childcare Facilities

12.44 The provision of childcare facilities is considered important in order to ensure that those with childcare responsibilities who wish to or need to find employment are not prevented from doing so. A major theme in Government policy is the encouragement of practices that facilitate the combination of employment with family responsibilities. The provision of childcare can also be beneficial to employers themselves by helping them to attract and retain staff, to reduce absenteeism, to overcome staff/skill shortages and to promote the public image of the company as a good employer. The Council will therefore seek the provision of childcare facilities as part of any large-scale employment development, through the use of Section 106 Planning Obligations, where appropriate. In addition, the Council will permit the provision of childcare facilities within the designated Employment Areas, if a local need for such facilities can be demonstrated. Proposals for new childcare facilities must comply with Policy CLT10 in the Community, Leisure and Tourism chapter of the Plan.

Policy EMP10 - Childcare Facilities

The Council will seek to ensure that any large-scale employment generating development provides childcare facilities for its employees, either within the development, or in the form of the support for the provision of childcare provision elsewhere. The Council will require developers to enter into Section 106 Planning Obligations to secure this aim, where necessary.

Within the designated Employment Areas, the Council will permit development or change of use to provide childcare facilities, only where it can be shown that these facilities would support the local workforce.

Local Recruitment

12.45 Nearly half of the district's population of working age and in employment work outside the Welwyn Hatfield District. There may be opportunities to encourage a proportion of those who currently commute out of the district to seek local employment, for example, the Council will encourage major employers moving into the district or existing employers that are expanding to run local recruitment campaigns, targeted at commuters.

Policy EMP11 - Local Recruitment

The Council will seek to ensure that any large-scale employment generating development runs effective programmes to recruit local people. This should include the provision of:

  1. On-site recruitment and/or training facilities;

  2. Targeting recruitment on the local unemployed;

  3. Targeting recruitment on local commuters.

The Council will enter into Section 106 Planning Obligations to secure programmes of local recruitment, where appropriate.

University of Hertfordshire

12.46 The University of Hertfordshire represents a major employer within the district and is a major asset. The Council wishes to encourage the continued success of the university, which is seen as being a critical resource for the development of a 'knowledge based' economy and is already a major direct contributor to the local economy.

12.47 The university plans to eventually relocate nearly all of its facilities across the county within Hatfield by 2003. The site allocated for the university will contain two new academic facilities and a Learning Resource Centre. There is the potential for a further faculty and the university's administration block to be accommodated on the site. This development will increase the number of university employees in the district from 1,500 to 1,800 and the number of students will increase from 9,000 to 13,000.

12.48 Students are increasingly becoming a component of local labour markets as they seek part-time employment to fund their studies. The increasing number of students may be a means of addressing some of the recruitment difficulties arising from the low unemployment levels within the district.

12.49 The Council recognises that the university needs to rationalise and update its existing facilities and buildings on the College Lane site. The Council also recognises the university's aspirations to utilise part of Angerland Common for car parking. However any further development will need to be treated with sensitivity to the amenities of nearby residential properties and the issue of parking and reflect the location of Angerland Common in the Green Belt. It is therefore proposed that a Masterplan be prepared, in partnership with the university, to guide future development.

Policy EMP12 - University of Hertfordshire

The university is developing a new campus facility on a 12 hectare site at Hatfield Aerodrome. Any development by the university must accord with the approved supplementary planning guidance for the aerodrome site.

Any further proposals for development on the university's sites in College Lane and Angerland Common shall accord with a Masterplan to be approved by the Council for those sites.

Design Criteria for Employment Development

12.50 Good design is an integral part of sustainable development. The Council's aim is to raise the quality of design for all new development and therefore all employment generating proposals will be expected to be built to a high standard of design, including landscaping, to have adequate servicing and manoeuvring space and appropriate levels of car parking provision. Employment development has a potential to cause greater harm to the environment than residential development, if poorly designed, due to the larger building masses usually involved and the inherent problems of nuisance caused by heavy traffic movements and the processes carried out, e.g. noise, fumes and vibration. The Council will therefore carefully consider the environmental impact of any proposals, and will seek to ensure that proposals do not harm the environment or local infrastructure.

12.51 In many parts of the designated Employment Areas, there are a wide variety of architectural designs, with no overall defined character. These areas provide an opportunity for employment development of an innovative, modern, sustainable design that may be more difficult to readily assimilate in the street scene elsewhere.

12.52 The Council will seek to minimise the level of car traffic generated by employment development and will seek opportunities to promote alternative modes of transport other than private motor vehicles. Further guidance is contained in the Movement chapter of the Plan.

12.53 The Use Classes Order 1987 permits certain changes of use within the B Use Classes. B1 and B8 uses are interchangeable when no more than 235m� is involved. B2 uses are free to change to B1, or to B8 where no more than 235m� is involved. The Council considers that in order for companies to be able to take advantage of the flexibility offered by the B1 use class, and to be able to respond to changes in the local and national economy, buildings within the B1 use class should be designed with a flexible internal layout and external elevations that would allow the building to be readily adapted for differing purposes within the B1 use class.

Policy EMP13 - Design Criteria for Employment Development

The Council will expect all proposals for development within Classes B1, B2 and B8 to reach a high standard of design and site layout. The scale, massing and height of the proposed development should relate to that of adjoining buildings, the topography of the area, the general pattern of heights in the area and to public views, vistas and any landmarks.

Attention should be paid to the use of detailing and materials as part of the integral design of the building. Landscaping should be part of the fundamental design of the scheme. Buildings for proposed development within Class B1 should be designed with a flexible internal layout and external elevations that would allow the building to be readily adapted for differing purposes within Class B1, unless it can be demonstrated that such flexibility would be impracticable in the particular circumstances of the development proposed. All proposals for employment development should be designed to:

  1. Incorporate the principles of sustainable development, including energy efficiency and waste minimisation;

  2. Promote alternative modes of transport other than the private motor vehicle;

  3. Provide adequate servicing and access arrangements; and

  4. Not harm the amenities of any nearby residential properties.

Live-Work Schemes

12.54 The planned nature of the two new towns in the district has traditionally resulted in separate areas being 'zoned' for employment and residential use, on the basis that this was the best way to promote good conditions for living, working and recreation. Whilst this approach may have been justified in the past when business uses consisted largely of manufacturing and heavy industry, which were incompatible with residential uses, modern business uses are often compatible with residential use and can be permitted in mixed use 'live-work' schemes.

12.55 Such schemes can contribute towards the aims of sustainable development. They provide local employment and thus reduce the need to travel, provide increased activity and hence natural surveillance, thereby improving safety and security. They also provide a variety of different building types which can create visual interest in the street scene.

12.56 A live-work scheme can either be in the form of a mixed use development, incorporating residential development and employment development on the same site or it can take the form of the mixed use of buildings themselves, such as studio/office homes, which incorporate an office/studio/workshop on the ground floor and domestic accommodation on the floor/s above. These units can be built clustered in yards or mews style developments. The type of employment activity will require careful control in order to ensure that there is no harm to residential amenity caused by extra parking, noise, fumes, external storage or refuse. The Council will therefore remove permitted developments rights if necessary to ensure this.

12.57 The Council will encourage the development of live-work schemes on suitable sites. These sites are likely to be on existing employment sites outside of the designated Employment Areas or on sites which abut both residential areas and designated Employment Areas and which are readily accessible by means other than the private motor vehicle.

Policy EMP14 - Live-Work Schemes

The Council will grant planning permission for the development of live-work schemes on suitable sites. Live-work schemes would be most appropriately located on existing employment sites that are situated outside of the designated Employment Areas, or on sites which abut both residential and designated Employment Areas.

Live-work schemes should be developed in locations that are readily accessible by means other than the private motor vehicle.The Council will remove permitted development rights, as necessary, to control the uses on such developments.

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