Replacement Calderdale UDP : Adopted 25 August 2006 (as amended August 2009)

Replacement Calderdale UDP : Adopted 25 August 2006

• Foreword
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Calderdale in Context
• Strategic and Core Part One Policies
• 3 Guiding Principles and Key Themes
• 4 Employment, The Economy, Tourism and Regeneration
  • Background to Economic Policy
  • Primary Employment Areas
  • Employment Development Outside the Primary Employment Areas
  • The Need for New Employment Land
  • The Allocation of New Employment Sites
  • Mixed Use Allocations
  • Safeguarding Employment Land and Buildings
  • Office Development
  • Warehouse Development
  • Tourism Attractions and Facilities
  • Rural Diversification
  • Agricultural, Equestrian and Other Animal Based Uses
  • Regeneration of Derelict and Degraded Land and Buildings
  • The Piece Hall
• 5 Housing
• 6 Retailing and Town Centres
• 7 Open Space, Sport and Recreation Facilities
• 8 The Built and Historic Environment
• 9 Transport
• 10 Infrastructure, Education and Community Facilities
• 11 Natural Environment and the Countryside
• 12 Environmental Protection
• 13 Minerals
• 14 Waste Management
• 15 Monitoring and Review of the Plan
• Annex A Privacy, Daylighting and Amenity Space
• Annex B Trees On or Adjacent to Development Sites
• Appendix 1 National Planning Policy
• Appendix 2 National Minerals Policy
• Appendix 3 Supporting Published Documents
• Appendix 4 Glossary of Terms
• Appendix 5 Acronyms and Abbreviations
• Appendix 6 Policy Topic Index
• Appendix 7 Policy Number Comparison
• Appendix 8 Supplementary Maps

4 Employment, The Economy, Tourism and Regeneration

Background to Economic Policy

4.1 One of the corporate priorities of the Council is to promote sustainable economic growth. The principle objective is to ensure the retention and further expansion of the local mixed economy in order to provide jobs and income for those who seek and need work. In addition, a sound local economy is a linchpin in the achievement of sustainable objectives and without a firm employment base, these objectives will be undermined and will not be fully realised. Job-creation, economic development and regeneration merit prioritisation in the UDP in order to ensure a range of employment opportunities are provided and to establish a base on which the aspirations of sustainability can be realised.

4.2 The performance of the local economy will largely reflect the economic fortunes of the national and regional economies and their influence upon local levels of output, employment, investment, growth or decline. These influences are largely external but have direct social and economic consequences for the workforce of Calderdale. The Council recognises the limitations of the wider role that it can play in influencing the local economy but nevertheless it wishes to maximize all the positive effects it can. The UDP will assist in bringing land and buildings forward for development in order to aid enterprise and limit any adverse effects associated with economic cycles.

4.3 The structure of industry is progressively shifting away from the traditional large scale manufacturing and industrial base, around which the major urban areas grew, towards more specialised companies and, in particular, a service sector base. Despite this, manufacturing continues to be a significant feature of Calderdale’s economy. In many sectors of the ‘new’ economy, companies have an increasingly wide choice of where to locate. A key strategic aim of economic policy in Calderdale is to utilise and promote the positive aspects of the area, such as the quality of the natural and built environment, social fabric, wider quality of life and transport linkages. This is in order to continue to attract inward investment, as well as securing the retention of existing local employers, particularly by allowing existing companies to relocate and expand within the District. The provision of a good range of quality employment sites will assist in the realisation of this task. Skilled people are also an increasingly important competitive success factor for business. The Council and its partners will endeavour to continually improve and widen the District’s skill base in order to continue to attract and retain a skilled workforce.

4.4 It is important that the District does not become insular in its provision of investment opportunities. To maintain dynamism within its economy, Calderdale needs to continue to attract new investment and business from outside its boundaries as well as providing the encouragement and capacity for growth for its indigenous companies. However, the Council is mindful that the need to create jobs during the Plan period will not be met wholly within the District, despite the allocations of new employment land. Other areas within the sub-region and further afield will continue to provide employment opportunities for the residents of Calderdale. However, the prospect of further reliance on long-distance commuting to workplaces is not seen as a sustainable future.

4.5 The UDP Policies have the objective of job-creation and retention by protecting and reserving land and premises to best meet the needs of employers and employees and enabling a range of employment opportunities to occur in appropriate locations. These objectives are reflected in the following Part One Policy:-

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