Simplified Planning aims to help businesses
Wyre Forest District Council has unveiled proposals to create a
simplified planning regime in efforts to boost the local economy
and provide an incentive for businesses to locate in the area.
The plan to implement a Local Development Order (LDO) is in
direct response to the Government's agenda to promote economic
growth through the planning system. The announcement comes hot on
the heels of a meeting between Council officials, the
Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership and Government
Ministers in London last month.
The LDO will apply to the South Kidderminster
Enterprise Park which covers both the Stourport Road and
Worcester Road corridors, two of the most important employment
areas within the District. It is designed to simplify the planning
process by automatically granting planning permission for
specific types of development, which removes the need
for planning applications to be made by the developer or
landowner, reducing time and cost implications. A set of basic
criteria will still be in place to ensure that development will not
have a detrimental impact on nearby residential and wildlife
areas.
It is hoped that the LDO will provide an incentive to
businesses to locate within the District and provide a much needed
boost to the local economy, whilst providing new employment
opportunities in the Oldington and Foley Park Ward, which has one
of the highest levels of worklessness in Worcestershire.
Councillor John Campion said,
"The Council is committed to doing whatever it can to
create the right conditions for investment and growth in the
District. The LDO is one example of this, which will enable
new employment related development to come forward more quickly and
give greater flexibility to existing businesses looking to
expand or develop their sites. This is a positive step by the
Council to assist businesses and encourage investment".
The Council aims to be in a position to have the LDO signed off
by Government in Summer 2012, subject to formal public
consultation, anticipated to take place in Spring next year.
Date of issue - 10th November 2011