Policy information sourced from the Guildford Local Plan: Strategy and Sites

E3: Maintaining employment capacity and improving employment floorspace

Strategic Employment Sites

The designated Strategic Employment Sites together make up the borough’s current core supply of employment land.

The Office (B1a) and Research & Development (B1b) Strategic Employment Sites are:

  • Surrey Research Park (extended)
  • Guildford Business Park
  • 1000, 2000 and 3000 Cathedral Hill
  • London Square, Cross Lane
  • 57 and Liongate Ladymead
  • The Guildway, Portsmouth Road
  • The Pirbright Institute
  • Send Business Centre/Tannery Studios Tannery Lane, Send

When developed, the new employment site at the north side of Gosden Hill Farm (site allocation A25) will be treated as an Office and Research & Development Strategic Employment Site.

The Industrial (B1c, B2 and B8) Strategic Employment Sites are:

  • Slyfield Industrial Estate
  • North and south of Lysons Avenue, Ash Vale
  • Riverway Industrial Estate, Astolat Business Park and Weyvern Park at Peasmarsh
  • Cathedral Hill Industrial Estate
  • Guildford Industrial Estate, Deacon Field
  • Woodbridge Meadows
  • Midleton Road Industrial Estate
  • Merrow Lane (incl Perram Works, Bridge Park, Merrow Business Centre, SCC depot)
  • Quadrum Park, Peasmarsh
  • Woodbridge Park, Woodbridge Road
  • Henley Business Park, Normandy

When developed, the new employment land at Burnt Common (site allocation A45), together with the existing employment floorspace, will be treated as an Industrial Strategic Employment Site.

Locally Significant Employment Sites

The Locally Significant Employment Sites include all sites which meet the definition set out below and include:

  • 31 Chertsey Street and 1-7 Stoke Road, Guildford
  • Andrew House, College Road, College House (89 and 91), Stoke House, Leapale House and Bell Court, Guildford
  • 65 Woodbridge Road, Guildford
  • Broadford Business Park, Shalford
  • The Pines Trading Estate, Broad Street
  • Grange Court, Tongham
  • The Courtyard, Wisley
  • Abbey Business Park, Eashing
  • Home Farm, Loseley Park

When developed, the new industrial employment land on the west side of the Former Wisley Airfield (site allocation A35), will be treated as a Locally Significant Employment Site.

The Strategic Employment Sites and the Locally Significant Employment Sites are shown on the borough Policies Map.

Strategic and Locally Significant Employment Sites will be protected for either B1a and B1b use or B1c, B2 and B8 use in line with their designation above.

On Strategic and Locally Significant Employment Sites, employment floorspace will be protected and the loss strongly resisted. Redevelopment or change of use to a nonemployment use will only be acceptable if evidence is provided of active and comprehensive marketing of the site for its current use for a continuous period of at least:

  • two years for a Strategic Employment Site; or
  • 18 months for a Locally Significant Employment Site, prior to submission of a planning application.

On Strategic and Locally Significant Employment Sites, the comprehensive and active marketing should also include consideration of alternative suitable B class employment use and other employment generating use, before change of use to residential or other use with no on-going employment use will be permitted.

Outside the designated employment sites, employment floorspace will be protected in line with the latest needs assessment and the loss will be resisted unless the site is allocated for an alternative use within the Local Plan. Redevelopment or change of use to housing use will be acceptable if evidence is provided of active and comprehensive marketing of the site for its current use for a continuous period of at least 12 months prior to submission of a planning application. If the site is allocated for an alternative use within the Local Plan, the marketing period will not be required.

The redevelopment of outmoded employment floorspace will be permitted to cater for modern business needs. The provision of improved ICT infrastructure will be encouraged in refurbished and redeveloped sites.

Redevelopment or change of use to a non-employment use will only be acceptable where the land or premises are unsuitably located in terms of its impact on the environment, levels of traffic movement, its accessibility to public transport and its link with the infrastructure, and its impact on the amenity of the area or adjoining occupiers.

The provision of ancillary uses on a Strategic or Locally Significant Employment Site that complement and positively enhance the functioning of the employment area will be supported.

For more information please see the Local Plan