Agenda item

The report sets out the commitments the Council has for the Somer Valley Enterprise Zone.

Cllr Paul Roper introduced the reports for all three items relating to the Somer Valley Enterprise Zone and moved the officer recommendation in respect of the LDO commitments.

Cllr Roper made the following points:

·  The Somer Valley Enterprise Zone is an important part of the delivery of the new Economic Strategy and is also a manifesto commitment for this administration.

·  The Somer Valley Enterprise Zone is intended create around 1,300 jobs of exactly the type we aspire to. Good quality, secure, well-paid, local jobs giving residents meaningful and fulfilling employment.

·  It will provide 1,300 local jobs for the towns and villages and hamlets around Paulton, Westfield, Radstock and Midsomer Norton, a population in the region of 30,000 people.

·  Back in the late 1990s and early 2000s nearly all of the employment in the Somer Valley was local.  Many local businesses have been lost including Great Mills DIY/Focus, Welton Bibby Bag Manufacturing and Purnells & Sons Printers which, at its height, provided 2,000 jobs.  Well over 1,000 jobs have been lost in comparatively recent times.

·  The consequence of this is that people now commute, census statistics from 2021 suggest that 30-50% of the economically active population in this area commute over six miles to work.

·  Out-commuting means that families need at least one car and that is a huge barrier to young people and the less affluent and this limits their opportunities.  More houses are also being built in the area.

·  The Council needs to create opportunities and aspiration for both current and future generations in these communities.

·  This authority recognised in 2007 that jobs lost needed to be replaced. This is when it originally allocated the land we are considering today as employment land. It was left to the free market to bring the development forward and it failed to do so. It is probable that delivery was seen as too complex and too expensive.

·  This administration has now stepped in and what we have before us today is the mechanism by which we can deliver this pioneering project – a green business park.

·  The LDO paper enables adoption of the LDO by cabinet and addresses the market failure in delivering SVEZ. It is a planning framework that, by way of compliance applications, prospective developers and businesses can seek planning permission on a de-risked basis. It gives them more certainty that an application will be approved, provided it meets with the strict criteria enshrined in the LDO. The LDO does not remove planning restrictions - it defines them in advance, giving businesses certainty as to what they need to do to make a successful application.

·  To enable the LDO to be brought forward to approval today, there has been a process that the planning authority has been through to ensure the scheme is compliant with all local and national policies.

·  These policies and statutory consultees include an environmental impact assessment, Ecology, Arboriculture, Air quality, Conservation, Archaeology, Highways, Drainage and Flood Risk and many more. The list of hurdles this scheme has had to pass is extensive and the Local Planning Authority report has confirmed policy compliance.

·  The administration believe that it has addressed the environmental issues to the best of our abilities and to a high standard whilst keeping the site commercially viable for occupiers and delivering the number of jobs that are needed.

·  Employment – the aim is to create 1,300 jobs and to recreate the local, stable, high-quality employment that used to be provided by the now-defunct employers in this area.  People will be able to walk, cycle or take the bus to work, reducing traffic volumes and reducing commuting hours.

·  Business - one of the key factors that businesses consider in deciding whether to locate to a particular area is the proximity to a substantial workforce. With over 30,000 people living within just a few miles of this site, one of the primary attractions will be the local workforce.

·  The LDO will provide certainty for businesses. Employees will also want to come because the facilities will be modern and up to date. There is significant evidence that demand for A1 Class accommodation is strong and there is a huge shortage of that in our authority.

·  The sort of businesses we want to attract to the site are those vital to the green economy, working in renewables, heat pumps, battery technology, power management systems and carbon reduction.

·  Midsomer Norton High Street – To regenerate our high streets we have to somehow stimulate demand for the goods and services provided there and creating 1,300 new jobs will be a good way to do this.

·  Transport - It is a commitment of this administration to promote active travel and public transport and reduce car travel. With so many employees living locally and with provision of suitable infrastructure, we expect a real modal shift in transport methods. People will be able to walk to work.

·  The enabling works of the scheme that include road improvements, active travel routes and infrastructure development of the entire site will come at a cost of circa £30m and this is being funded by grant funding from various sources.

Cllr Roper thanked officers for their work to enable the local authority to reach this point. It is probably going to take 3 - 4 years to deliver the first jobs on site and 7-10 years to get the site fully occupied. He stated that we need to create the environment to enable reductions in carbon emissions and improve sustainability. There are schoolchildren now who will be of employment age when the jobs are being created. They need something to aspire to, something to look forward to, somewhere to work – jobs like their grandparents had. Our community needs these 1,300 jobs.

Cllr Sarah Warren seconded the motion and made the following points:

·  The Council has set out an economic strategy that aims to support real choice in transport, support for greener businesses, as well as training opportunities in green industries for local people.

·  The development will give Somer Valley residents the opportunity to reduce their carbon emissions from commuting. We know that the vast majority of Somer Valley residents currently commute out by car, often to Bath and Bristol, and we know that there are likely to be further housing developments coming forward in the valley, but this development will provide for local jobs.

·  The LDO structure by which we are now progressing this green business park, along with the intention that the council should act as landowner and developer, mean that we retain control over the types of business who can occupy the site, the standard of energy efficiency to which buildings are constructed, and the biodiversity accommodated on site. The LDO ensures the development will be fully compliant with planning policy.

·  As the developer, the council has the power to insist upon greater ambition, and in the coming years, as our green business park takes shape, local residents can hold future B&NES administrations to account for the quality of the environment that is created on site, and the quality of local green jobs that it provides.

·  Funding was approved by the West of England Combined Authority last week to progress the active travel route between Farrington Gurney and Old Mills Lane along the north side of the A362. At that point the route will connect with infrastructure proposed through this scheme to provide a fully off-road route between Farrington Gurney and Midsomer Norton and on to connect with the Norton Radstock Greenway, giving local people a safe route to walk, wheel or cycle to work or school between the conurbations of the valley. We are committed to ensuring this infrastructure is in place before the site is occupied and have a plan to extend the cycle route on to Bristol. We are also committed to providing bus services along the route before occupation. 

·  We are also committed to ensuring the site is nature positive, not only through on-site measures, but additionally through off-site contributions to further enhance wild nature in Somer Valley.

·  We are currently planning 10 acres, about 7 football pitches, of green infrastructure on site, as well as 10,000 trees and creating sustainable drainage ponds on site that will generate new wetland habitats.

·  We are also committed to minimising the impact on air quality of the development, with modelling projecting nitrogen dioxide at well below legal limits over all locations in the vicinity.

·  We are committed to creating an exemplar, net zero, green business park for new business and employment, that will contribute to the development of a diverse, creative and sustainable local business base. It will provide a location to grow our green economy, seeking to attract established businesses as well as start-ups.

·  The energy efficient premises will provide businesses with a renewably powered, net zero home, of which they can feel proud, and from which they can maximise their contribution to tackling our environmental emergencies – and the council is committed to supporting them in this.

Cllr Tim Ball welcomed the proposed noting that it is a bold and ambitious plan to regenerate the Somer Valley area.  More housing will be built in the area and so additional jobs will be needed.

Cllr Matt McCabe stated that the proposal offers security for businesses and especially for start-ups.  This provides new opportunities for young people in the area so that they will not have to move away to seek employment.

RESOLVED (unanimously):

(1)  To adopt the eight aims defined within the report that set the Council’s commitments for the Somer Valley Enterprise Zone.

(2)  To review progress on the Enterprise Zone regularly and to agree any further interventions required to ensure that these ambitions are being met.