Lidsing Garden Community SPD - Employment Key Principles/Guidance

Key Principles/Guidance:

Employment

a. A minimum of 2,000 jobs across the site should be created and 14 hectares of new dedicated employment land must be delivered within the site. This provision is to be provided within a single land parcel as per the LPR and a jobs analysis should be submitted as per the future planning application setting out a jobs density per hectare.

b. The employment land should be located to take advantage of key highway routes and linkages. It should also be easy to access from within the site by walking, cycling and public transport. Any future transport assessment should be cognisant of the impact of B8 parcel delivery and the impact on the strategic road network.

c. Employment land should be located and designed to ensure the protection of amenity of commercial uses, as well as neighbouring uses such as housing.

d. Provision should be made for a wide range of employment uses within defined employment area, including Use Class E (Commercial, Business and Service), B2 (General Industry) and B8 (Storage and Distribution). A range of building typologies should be provided in order to cater for a variety of types and sizes of businesses. This may include office space, industrial or warehouse units or hybrid workspaces. The exact uses should be defined through engagement with the LPA and the latest market data.

e. Workspaces should be designed to be flexibly specified, so that they can be adapted to a wide range of employment uses and end-users over their lifetime.

f. Sensitively integrated ancillary or complementary uses to support the viability of employment areas will be supported. This may include small scale units for business services, food and drink provision, gyms or fitness studios.

g. An integrated approach to parking, servicing and deliveries will be required in order to minimise conflict between difference land uses and to make the development safe for all users. Heavy Goods Vehicles should be kept separate from key walking and cycling routes and public spaces. The opportunity for delivery and commercial vehicles to be electronically charged on site should be provided.

h. Employment areas should be designed to respond positively to the Garden Community character of the site, including high-quality public realm. They should incorporate legible and attractive boundary treatments that optimise the use of green infrastructure (such as planting, trees and hedgerows).

i. Development should be designed to enable the provision of superfast broadband with Fibre to the Premises (FTTP).

j. Maximum employment plots footprint of 600m2 .

k. Ridge heights shall not exceed 9m in the employment zone.

l. A lighting strategy for the employment zone is to be created to minimise light spillage and sky glow affecting the Kent Downs National Landscape, minimise harm to biodiversity and enhance dark skies. Specifically, the following principles should be followed:

i. Minimal lighting on Kent Downs National Landscape facing façades;

ii. Minimal flood lighting;

iii. Intelligent street lighting utilising movement sensors;

iv. Use of lighting to best aid plant growth.

m. Structural planting to the south of the employment zone within the buffer area adjacent to the M2 motorway is to be designed in line with the Kent Downs National Landscape – ‘Landscape Design Handbook’ and be informed by potential natural vegetation principles.

n. Buildings in the employment area should be coloured to minimise their impact and the reference should be made to the Kent Downs National Landscape ‘Guidance on the selection and use of colour in development’.

o. Buildings should also be designed to minimise energy and water usage, while maximising renewable energy generation and maximise biodiversity through integration of bat and bird boxes where appropriate.

p. The design code to include a parking standard for the employment are.

q. As part of the future planning application a detailed phasing plan for employment site is to be submitted.