The Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR) has today, 30 August, published its latest Practice Note – PN04 -‘Planning for Employment Growth – The Development Plan and Employment Lands’. The practice note is published in accordance with the OPR’s Strategic Planning Research Programme 2023 – 2025.
Effective land use planning to support business and economic activity is central to each local authority’s development plan. This OPR practice note provides an evidence-based, step-by-step approach on the process of assessing enterprise and employment lands.
The practice note acknowledges the importance of a collaborative, multi-disciplinary approach between national, regional and local government and agencies, as well as a range of skills and expertise, in delivering a strong and reliable evidence base for the zoning of land for enterprise and employment purposes.
While no ‘one-size-fits-all approach’ can be applied, as each local authority has a distinctive set of resources, administrative area and context, the practice note advocates for greater consistency in estimating the differing zoning requirements for enterprise and employment uses.
With input from a wide variety of stakeholders, the practice note demonstrates how the economic development strategy must work hand in hand with climate action, housing delivery, sustainable transport, heritage and quality place-making.
Key elements of the practice note include:
- an overview of the relevant legislative and policy framework;
- considerations in the development of a sustainable enterprise and employment portfolio;
- an outline of methodologies for the implementation of national and regional economic policy at the local development plan level;
- a step-by-step approach to the process of assessing enterprise and employment land (the Assessment);
- an adaptable framework which planning authorities can tailor to create their own methodologies to fit within a local context; and
- a template site appraisal form.
OPR practice notes seek to bridge the gap between high-level legislation, policy and the practicalities of implementation on the ground, with the aim of providing support and reassurance for practitioners while promoting professional and public confidence in the planning system. This practice note is the fifth publication in this series. See all practice notes here.