Policy information sourced from the Elmbridge Development Management Plan

DM11 - Employment

Encouragement will be given to employment development that has a positive impact on the local area and supports:

  • Sustainable economic growth,
  • Existing business sectors, whether expanding or contracting,
  • Knowledge driven, creative or high technology industries, and
  • The vitality and viability of town, district and local centres.

When considering the loss of non-strategic employment sites, the Council will take into account the wider benefits to the community, as well as the current and future demand for the existing use and the local need for the proposed use, based on an individual assessment. Applicants will be expected to demonstrate that the site has been marketed unsuccessfully for employment purposes for an appropriate period of time at a reasonable market rate. The benefit to the community should be proportionate to the loss of the use and the contribution it would make to achieving Core Strategy objectives.

Flexible working will be encouraged through the provision of purpose-built live/work units where they achieve a high standard of internal and external design and are compatible with the character of the surrounding area. Such units must ensure that an appropriate residential environment is provided and that each use does not compromise the other.

Proposals for working from a dwelling, which require planning permission as a material change of use, will be supported provided that the use:

  • Remains linked to the residential use and does not operate as a separate commercial unit,
  • Will not have a significant adverse effect on residential amenity, and
  • Has an acceptable impact on the highway, taking account of whether the site can accommodate associated parking and vehicle movements without unreasonable disturbance to neighbouring dwellings.

In order to facilitate economic growth, conditions will be used where necessary to provide solutions to individual circumstances, such as to manage the size, times and frequency of deliveries, limit the approval to a temporary permission and/or grant a permission personal to the occupier of the dwelling and the operator of the business.

For more information please see the Elmbridge Development Management Plan