COMMENT: Don’t let Green Belt guidelines stall the Engine for Growth

JAGUAR Land Rover has issued the Government and local planning authorities with what amounts to an ultimatum over the latest phase of its ambitious growth strategy.

The company has lodged plans for a massive expansion of its Whitley headquarters, near Coventry. The plans could support more than 4,000 new jobs, while supporting a further 3,000 in the local area alone.

However, there is a stumbling block because the plans fall into the Green Belt and part of the application site is within the Coventry and Warwickshire Gateway zone which was refused by the Government a year ago.

Some of the rhetoric used in the supporting planning statement is untypical of JLR in so much as it is effectively a veiled threat that unless it receives planning permission for the scheme it will be forced to look elsewhere for expansion, most probably abroad.

The language is strong for a company that has thus far placed great value in working with the Government to achieve its goals.

It places the local planning authorities in a very uncomfortable position and they may be happy to approve the plans knowing that the buck with undoubtedly rest with the Local Government Secretary, a position currently occupied by the highly regarded Greg Clark.

He has the power to approve the plans provided there is a valid reason for over-riding Green Belt policy. However, with a precedent already having been set because of last year’s decision then the future of the development is likely to be surrounded by controversy.

At the heart of its lies the Government’s stated intention to see the West Midlands become the manufacturing powerhouse for the UK economy, the so-called Engine for Growth.

In the past, the Government has bent over backwards to accommodate JLR’s expansion plans because of the massive investment and job creation opportunities that have followed.

Take for example the development of the company’s £0.5bn engine plant outside Wolverhampton.

The i54 business park where the plant is based was designated as an official Enterprise Zone with the specific intention of attracting the massive project to the West Midlands.

JLR has repaid the Government’s faith and is now doubling the size of the plant, despite it being only two years old.

If the Government is serious about the Engine for Growth then it may have to be prepared to do a U-turn and face the wrath of the environmentalists.

The undoubted economic benefits which will be derived from the company’s further expansion may be too big a factor to overlook.

Salvation may lie here.

The planning statement says: “The location of the application site in the Green Belt means that very special circumstances must exist for the proposals to outweigh the harm to the Green Belt and any other harm, and for the application to be approved.

“The Secretary of State concluded that such circumstances did not exist when he considered the Coventry and Warwickshire Gateway application a year or so ago.

“However this application differs from the CWG scheme presented previously because of the specific and special circumstances of the applicant.”

It points to a comprehensive Employment Land Study undertaken by CBRE on behalf of the Coventry and Warwickshire LEP. The study addresses deficiencies in evidence highlighted by the Inspector and Secretary of State at last year’s inquiry.

It identifies serious shortages in land supply, extremely strong demand and the need for the identification of significant land, in addition to the Coventry and Warwickshire Gateway site, for employment requirements over the next 15 years.

It concludes that the growth in the area would be constrained unless land is brought forward quickly to meet demands.

The brief concludes: “(These) amount to very special circumstances which outweigh the harm to the Green Belt and a compelling case for permission to be granted without delay.

“Jaguar Land Rover is a unique asset for Coventry and Warwickshire. Its growth is unique, as is its commitment to investment in high quality research and development. The planning system has, for a variety of reasons, not kept up with land use requirements and the delay to the adoption of the Local Plan is damaging to investment.

“JLR’s requirement is stimulated by unprecedented growth, a commitment to investment in the UK and ambitions to further grow the company. More high quality accommodation is urgently needed and their expansion plans must be addressed now. Key investment decisions for Jaguar Land Rover cannot now be delayed; they need to be made now and cannot await the adoption of the Local Plan.

“For all these reasons planning permission should be granted without delay.”

For the sake of the region and its economy the matter has to be dealt with quickly and effectively.

Long, drawn-out planning inquiries will do little to encourage other companies to invest in the region or see it as an economic powerhouse and the Engine for Growth will have stalled before it has even got out of first gear.