Amid the flurry of pre-summer recess updates to the Planning Practice Guidance were two new additions on
planning for economic needs. The first relates to specific guidance on,
“how can authorities assess need and allocate space for logistics?” (new para 31), and second, guidance on the wider question of,
“how can the specific locational requirements of specialist or new sectors be addressed?” (new para 32).
The addition of logistics within the PPG is perhaps not surprising given it was one of the notable updates made to the revised NPPF published earlier this year. As we have
summarised previously, it is welcome to see this critically-important sector being given specific recognition (particularly as the sector is not always universally welcomed at a local level) and this is now reflected in the guidance. Importantly, the PPG emphasises that policies for logistics should be formulated
“separately from those relating to general employment land”.
However, this has typically not been the case in all local plans. Part of the issue is that logistics space markets and networks often cut across local authority boundaries, with wide functional economic market areas and specific needs in terms of access to the strategic transport network, power capacity and labour supply. This emphasises the need for collaboration between local authorities and also engagement with logistics operators and developers – the sector should embrace this invitation to help plan-makers better understand their current and future needs.
Further, research by Lichfields on the ‘last mile’ segment of logistics highlighted that planning is to some extent still catching up with this fast-moving sector, and needs to better understand industry trends. Some 58% of authorities surveyed viewed the lack of an up-to-date local plan as a key barrier to meeting last mile needs. The PPG now points to a broad range of evidence being considered to help determine local logistics needs, including “changes in the local population and the housing stock as well as the local business base and infrastructure availability”.
The second addition to the PPG on understanding the locational requirements of specialist or new sectors appears, at face value, to be a recognition that traditional ‘predict and provide’ approaches to employment land forecasting are not without their limitations. The PPG cites high tech, engineering, digital, creative and logistics as examples of such industries, where clustering can drive innovation, productivity and economic growth. These and other fast-growing sectors don’t always fit neatly into traditional B use class definitions, so it’s arguably a rallying call for a more nuanced understanding of the inter-relationships between sectors and space and the factors that drive competitive advantage. More qualitative evidence and engagement with businesses and occupiers in this regard will contribute to better plan-making.
Echoing the revised NPPF (see para 81a), there’s also now specific reference in the PPG to the need to take account of policy and evidence contained in Local Industrial Strategies. There are currently 6 Local Industrial Strategies in place nationally, and with more on their way, they will have an increasingly important role to play in setting the direction of policy as well as future public funding to support delivery. Lichfields’ work on a number of Local Industrial Strategies nationally has reinforced how getting land use planning policies right is critical to facilitating local economic ambitions. The challenge now is how to translate broad strategies to enhance regional economic productivity into clear and focused policies in future local plans, and having the evidence in place to back these up.
Image credit: DNPBFN SWNS Alamy Stock Photo
