The Chairman welcomed the Senior Planner and Mr Richard Pestell from Peter Brett Associates to the meeting.

The Senior Planner advised that the Employment Land Review (ELR) provided the evidence for the employment policies and site allocations that would support future economic development in the Borough.

Mr Richard Pestell then gave a presentation covering the main findings of the ELR, full details of which were set out in the report.  A question and answer session followed, a summary of which is set out below. 

·        It was unlikely that there was a statistic available to show the difference in unemployment percentages for people who moved to the borough and people who lived in the borough for more than 15 years.

·        Need to consider whether allocating 40 hectares of land for warehouse land was a good option, in terms of the number of employment opportunities that type of business generated and the skill level; and whether there was a supply for this as there had been in the past.

·        Whether more support should be given to the Eurolink rather than the Kent Science Park; and the relationship between the two sites; it was acknowledged that there were access issues to the Eurolink and the impact of Junction 5A to consider.

·        That land designated for one type of industry could be considered for other types of industry.

·        The impact of junction 5a on employment opportunities for residents of Sittingbourne.

·        That the review was to provide an evidence base, and this was not about setting policy which would be determined in the future.

·        The need to generate employment with better wages for residents, and to be aspirational, and the need to develop skills and training opportunities.

·        That policies would be considered in the future at the Issues and Options stage.

·        That the Economic Development team had been involved in the review and were content with the results.

·        That the review had also taken the agricultural economy, waste to energy and the visitor and tourism economy into consideration.

·        Clarified the jobs per hectare for industrial and warehouse land, the density given in the HCA guidance and standard national assumptions.

·        The need to consider the impact of homeworking and employment densities, referring to the guidance, and the impact of automation.

·        The opportunity to redevelop low density sites with higher density options.

·        Clarification that the Lower Thames Crossing would be included in transport modelling.

·        Clarification that the diagram on page 25 recorded the facts and there were other factors which could make Swale more attractive for certain types of employment use.

·        Acknowledgement that the office market in Faversham had done well but data was not specific enough to record the growth in small industrial units in Faversham.

The Chairman thanked Mr Richard Pestell and the Senior Planner for attending the meeting.

The Chairman proposed the recommendation in the report, which was seconded by the Vice-Chairman.

Two Members did not agree with the recommendation or the process to be followed, and considered that the agreement to the recommendation committed the Council.  The Chairman reiterated that the review was an evidence base which would be used for future decision making.

Councillors Mike Baldock and Monique Bonney asked that their vote against the recommendation be recorded in the Minutes.

Recommended:

(1) That Cabinet be asked to agree the Employment Land Review as part of the Local Plan evidence base.