Employment land shortage in Coventry highlighted to Government

The acute shortage of employment and industrial development land in Coventry and Warwickshire has been highlighted to the  Government.

The shortage was highlighted in a letter to Housing and Planning Minister Gavin Barwell in a letter sent by Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce.

The chamber is actively raising the issue of a lack of sites being set aside for new employment in the various Local Plans and the damage this will have on future growth for the area.

The chamber said the housing targets in Local Plans for councils across the area were roughly correct but the shortage of space set aside for commercial property would unemployment concerns in the future.

Mr Barwell acknowledged the issue i his response.

He wrote: “I am pleased to hear that the chamber of commerce is actively engaged and influencing the preparation of the Local Plan in the sub-region, supporting planning that can bring sustainable growth to the area.

“Local Plans are key to ensuring that land is available to meet the objectively assessed needs of a local area and we wish to ensure everywhere has a Plan, and that these are in place at the earliest opportunity.

“Local Plans are required to be supported by robust evidence that can justify plan proposals. The policies and proposals set out within a Plan, including scale of growth, will be tested at examination.”

He assured the chamber that its representations would be considered by the Local Planning Inspector as part of the examination process.

“The Neighbourhood Planning Bill currently progressing through Parliament is seeking to bring forward greater flexibility in plan-making. My officials will be willing to discuss this further with the authorities concerned and have already met with the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership and wish to maintain constructive dialogue with them. I would encourage the chamber of commerce to actively engage in this work,” wrote Mr Barwell.

Louise Bennett, chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said:  “This is a matter of huge importance for the region and that is why we are taking such a strong stance.

“We are grateful to the minister for writing back and, while we appreciate he cannot go into detail, we believe his comments suggest that the authorities can set aside more employment land because there is evidence to show it is required.

“We are hearing from businesses across Coventry and Warwickshire that they want to expand but can’t find the space and we know that if a major inward investor came calling we would struggle to find suitable land set aside to house them.”

She said if the issue was not addressed now while the 2011-2031 Local Plans were being finalised, then the area could face a severe shortage of employment sites and struggle to provide jobs for the growing number of people who live in the area.

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