Policy information sourced from the Kensington and Chelsea Local Plan

CF5 Business Uses

The Council will ensure that there is a range of business premises within the borough to allow businesses to grow and thrive.

To deliver this the Council will, with regard to:

Offices

  • protect offices and office floorspace throughout the borough, except where:
    • the office is within an Employment Zone and is being replaced by a light industrial use, workshop or other use which supports the character and function of the zone;
    • the office is within a town centre and is being replaced by a shop or shop floorspace, by a social and community use which predominantly serves, or which provides significant benefits to, borough residents; or by another (not residential) town centre use where this allows the expansion of an adjoining premises;
  • permit very small, small and medium-sized offices anywhere in the borough save for ground floor level of town centres;
  • require new large scale office development to be located within a town centre, other accessible areas or within an Employment Zone unless the development would meet the requirements of the sequential test and not have a detrimental impact on traffic generation in the area;
  • require all new business floorspace over 100sq.m to be flexible, capable of accommodating a range of unit sizes;

Industrial and Warehouse Uses

  • protect all general and light industrial uses and warehousing throughout the borough unless where the loss is to an alternative B Class business use;
  • protect vehicle repair garages and MOT centres throughout the borough;
  • require new light industrial uses to be located within Employment Zones, predominantly commercial mews and other areas where amenity is not harmed;
  • require the provision of a mix of unit sizes suitable for the creative and cultural businesses, as appropriate;

Employment Zones

  • require there be no net loss of business floorspace unless to uses which support the function of the zone;
  • support A class and other town centres uses where they help support the business function of the Employment Zones;
  • resist residential uses including for student housing or any form of living accommodation, unless the use can be shown to be necessary to support a significant uplift in both the quantity and the quality of the business use on the site;
  • promote employment zones as centres for innovation, locations for large and small businesses and for workshops (whether stand alone or part of large business centres).

For more information please see the Kensington and Chelsea Local Plan