Policy information sourced from Lewisham Development Management Local Plan

DM Policy 11 Other employment locations

The Council will seek to retain employment uses (B Use Class) on sites and buildings in Town Centres, and Local Hubs where they are considered capable of continuing to contribute to and support clusters of business and retail uses, and where the use is compatible with the surrounding built context. A number of site characteristics and factors will be taken into account when reaching this assessment. This will include whether sites:

  • are well located in relation to the highway network
  • are well located in relation to town centres and public transport
  • offer the potential for the expansion of existing in-situ businesses
  • offer the potential for the provision of workshop/industrial units for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) serving local residential and commercial areas, particularly where there is little alternative provision in the local area or
  • provide lower cost accommodation suitable for small, start-up businesses.

Redevelopment of a site on a commercial street frontage will be supported when the site or building is redeveloped to a high standard of environmental and design quality in line with the other policies in this plan, where a business use is retained on the ground floor, and a business and/or residential development is provided on upper floors (where an appropriate standard of amenity can be achieved). Uses not within the B Use class, such as retail, leisure, or other uses appropriate to a town centre or local hub will be considered as part of a mix of uses where the number of jobs created by the proposal outweighs the loss of an employment site, and results in no net loss of jobs.

Where uses are proposed for a site or building in employment or retail use that do not involve any job creation or retention, the Council will require evidence that a suitable period of active marketing of the site for re-use/redevelopment for business uses through a commercial agent, that reflects the market value has been undertaken.

Sites in residential areas

Applications for redevelopment for change to other business uses suitable for a residential area will be approved where:

  • the site has become vacant for an appropriate length of time and evidence is provided that it is no longer suitable and viable for its existing or an alternative business use by reason of access difficulties or environmental incompatibility, and
  • that a suitable period of active marketing of the site for re-use/redevelopment for business uses through a commercial agent, that reflects the market value has been undertaken.

A mix of uses in a new scheme will be considered positively subject to the context of the site and meeting the requirements of other policies in this plan, including, in the case of any residential development proposed as part of a scheme an appropriate level of amenity and the suitability of the site for this use.

All sites

The Council will seek contributions to training and/or local employment schemes where there is loss of local employment as a result of redevelopment or change of use.

New build business and retail premises should be provided with an internal fit out to an appropriate standard to attract new occupiers and ensure long term sustainable development, and provide a proportion of lower cost accommodation suitable for start-up businesses.

For more information please see the Local Plan