Economy

Developing and stimulating local economic growth is a key component of sustainability, providing local employment opportunities and services and reducing the need to travel.

Planning can assist in achieving this through ensuring that businesses and industry are located where they can be effectively reached by a range of transport modes; and where they can help consolidate or revitalise existing centres or neighbourhoods.

Local employment

Major employment-generating schemes will be encouraged to provide local job opportunities, particularly in areas of relatively high unemployment.

A sustainable economy means providing opportunities for local work. This provides choice for the local community and offers options for part time or flexible working.

Local employment also reduces the average journey time to work, thereby helping to reduce pollution and emissions.

Emerging SDF Policies require developers or occupiers of major employment-generating schemes (50 or more jobs), particularly in areas of relatively high unemployment, to ensure that as many jobs as possible are taken up by local people.

Design considerations

If creating 50 or more jobs, developers will be expected to ensure that local employment opportunities are provided.

Where a Sustainability Statement is required, this can include a statement outlining the regeneration and local employment benefits of the proposals.

District & Neighbourhood Centres

Reinforcing the role of District & Neighbourhood Centres is a key component in achieving one of the big ambitions of the Council for "Every neighbourhood being a successful neighbourhood".

Providing a basic range of services, leisure and community facilities locally is critical in terms of helping to make the Centres the hub of every day community life, reducing the need to travel, enabling all sectors of the community to access shops and services.