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The government has published its Draft Planning Policy Statement on Sustainable Economic Development and is seeking comments by 18th March 2008.

It wants planning policies to support economic growth and be flexible enough to respond to the economic challenges and opportunities that globalisation and technological advances bring.

The government is looking for planning authorities to provide:

• A good range of sites for economic and mixed-use development, without designating sites for single uses or specific use classes;
• A good supply of land and buildings suitable for large and small businesses as well as start-up firms and which are responsive to changing needs and demands;
• High quality development and inclusive design;
• Development which avoids adverse impacts on the environment, and promotes sustainable travel choices.

Existing employment allocations are to be reviewed. This is happening across the Region. Some sites will be de-allocated or allocated for other uses in emerging Local Development Frameworks.

If you are going to submit a planning application, you will be interested to learn that the statement calls on local planning authorities to adopt a positive and constructive approach towards proposals for economic development.

Proposals should be considered favourably unless there is good reason to believe that the economic, social and/or environmental costs of development are likely to outweigh the benefits.

It recognizes that changes in the local economy, or technological innovations which lead to new ways of working, may result in proposals coming forward which were not anticipated when the development plan was drawn up. In these circumstances, the best available evidence should be used to determine whether it should go ahead.

In rural areas, local planning authorities should:

• Support farm diversification schemes that help to sustain agricultural enterprise and are consistent in their scale with their rural location and environmental impact;
• Recognise that a site may be an acceptable location for development even though it may not be readily accessible by public transport;
• Support sustainable rural tourism and leisure developments that benefit rural businesses, communities and visitors; and
• Support small-scale economic development where it provides the most sustainable option in villages that are remote from, and have poor transport links with, local service centres.