wembley-plan-app (small) , item 9. PDF 8 MB - Meetings, agendas ...

52Wembley Area Action Plan - Proposed Submission Version5 Business, industry and wasteStrategic Policy5.1 The Wembley area includes a significantproportion of the Borough's industrial land in twoindustrial areas at Wembley and Neasden. Theyare separately identified as Strategic IndustrialLocations (SIL). This means that under policy 2.17of the London Plan they should be promoted andprotected as main reservoirs of industrial capacityand related activities such as logistics, wastemanagement and utilities. London Plan policy isreflected by policy CP20 of Brent's Core Strategywhich promotes protects SILs for industrialemployment and closely related uses characterisedby use classes B1, B2 and B8, or Sui Generic usesthat are closely related. However, the boundariesof such areas are not sacrosanct and the level ofemployment land protected should reflect changedcircumstances, especially changing levels ofdemand for industrial land. London Plan policy2.17 recognises that flexibility over the designationof such land may be required and suggests thatthis may be achieved through "a strategicallyco-ordinated process of SIL consolidation throughan opportunity area planning framework or boroughdevelopment plan document".5.2 Strategic planning policies for wastemanagement are also important for industriallocations. London Plan policy recognises thatLondon needs to increase its waste processingcapacity and SILs are seen as a major source ofnew sites. The London Plan safeguards existingwaste management sites by allowing their loss onlywhere additional compensatory provision is made(policy 5.17). Brent, together with other westLondon boroughs, has prepared a Joint Waste Planwhich identifies new sites across the sub-region forprocessing waste. One new site in Brent, at HannahClose within the Wembley SIL, has been identifiedand this is now operational.5.3 London Plan and Brent Core Strategy policyseeks to promote office development andredevelopment in strategic locations such asWembley, so that it can be ensured that, inaccordance with the London Plan, there is "enoughoffice space of the right kind in the right places tomeet demand from an increasingly service basedeconomy". However, demand in Wembley currentlycontinues to be constrained and is unlikely to pickup in any significant way in the short to mediumterm. Boroughs are urged by the Mayor to renewand modernise office stock in viable locations butalso to manage changes of surplus office floorspaceto other uses (London Plan para. 4.12). In thiscontext it should be noted that the London Planidentifies Wembley as a Strategic Outer LondonDevelopment Centre where, if justified by demand,the renewal and modernisation of office stock isappropriate.Policy Context5.4 There have been substantial changes in thenature of businesses operating in Wembley overthe last 20 or more years, with a significant declinein the amount of office space available as officebuildings have been converted to other uses,together with a decline in manufacturing and otherindustrial activity. There has been a consequentreduction in office and industrial employment. Theretail sector and other services have notexperienced the jobs growth that many other partsof London have so, overall, employment levels havefallen. Brent's Employment Land Demand Study2009 estimated the likely demand for employmentland across Brent up to 2026. It concluded that 13hectares of land could be released from the existingstock of 266 hectares across the borough.5.5 The opening of the new Stadium in 2007 gavea major boost to the local economy, although mostnew jobs will be delivered by the regeneration ofthe area around the Stadium. Quintain Estate andDevelopment’s stage 1 scheme is well underwayand is expected to provide over 6,000 jobs. Morerecently, permission for major, mixed use residentialand commercial development on the north westlands at Wembley will provide a further 2,300 jobs.5.6 It is not possible to separately estimate thechanges in employment across the industrial area(SIL). However, this is likely to have declined overthe past 20 years or so as industrial activity hasreduced and sites have increasingly been givenover to open storage and similar uses. The level ofwaste management undertaken in the industrialarea has also increased and may be is reaching alevel where it is impacting upon Wembley’sregeneration prospects.5.7 Road access to the industrial area hasimproved now that the new estate access corridorlinking to Great Central Way is open so that