Policy information sourced from the Chelmsford Local Plan 2013-2036 PDF.
S8: Delivering Economic Growth.
The Council will make provision for flexible and market-responsive allocations of employment land which will allow further diversification of Chelmsford’s economy, in particular nurturing the growing advanced manufacturing, life sciences and healthcare, financial services, creative industries, and research and development sectors. The Council will encourage links between business and the significant education sector in Chelmsford, in particular the roles of the two Universities as major economic catalysts for economic growth.
In determining planning applications for delivering economic growth the Council will assess development proposals against the following principles:
- Priority will be given to the use of previously developed land in sustainable locations and also focusing new employment at locations well-served by existing or planned public transport provision;
- Existing Employment Areas and Rural Employment Areas identified on the Policies Map will be safeguarded for employment uses, unless it can be demonstrated that there is no reasonable prospect of the allocated employment area being used for that purpose;
- Support will be given to the sustainable growth and expansion of rural businesses;
- Chelmsford City Centre and sites allocated for employment are the appropriate locations for large new office development, and
- New employment development will be a key component of growth within specific proposed new Strategic Growth Locations particularly the new Garden Community in North East Chelmsford.
For more information, please visit Chelmsford’s Local Plan here.