Policy information sourced from The Woking Local Development Document - Core Strategy

CS15: Sustainable economic development

To accommodate the predicted future growth in economic development required for Woking’s economy to grow, ensure sustainable employment development patterns, promote smart growth and business competitiveness, and allow for flexibility to cater for the changing needs of the economy the Council will:

  • permit redevelopment of outmoded employment floorspace to cater for modern business needs
  • support small and medium sized enterprise (SME) formation and development by encouraging a range of types and sizes of premises including provision for incubator units, managed workspace and serviced office accommodation
  • encourage improved ICT infrastructure in refurbished and redeveloped sites
  • encourage workspace and ICT infrastructure as an integral part of residential development, where appropriate to support home working
  • support childcare facilities close to places of employmen

The Council’s policy with respect to specific types of employment use is as follows:

B Class Uses

  • Safeguard land within the employment areas for B uses, except in:
    • The Butts Road/Poole Road employment area where redevelopment for mixed office and residential use will be supported if it does not result in an overall loss of employment floorspace.
    • The Forsyth Road employment area where redevelopment of vacant sites will be encouraged for B uses, unless redevelopment is for an alternative employment generating use which contributes to the aims of policy CS5 (priority places) and would not jeopardise the B use led nature of the employment area.
  • Retain the Broadoaks site in West Byfleet as a high quality business park. This site is designated as a Major Developed Site in the Green Belt.
  • Permit the redevelopment of B use sites elsewhere in the Borough for alternative uses that accord with other policies in the Core Strategy where (i) the existing use of the site causes harm to amenity and/or (ii) it can be demonstrated that the location is unsuitable for the needs of modern business.

Town Centre Uses

The nature, scope and scale of town centre uses being promoted is set out in the relevant place policies CS2, CS3 and CS4.

Public and Community Uses

Public and community uses will be considered as set out in policy CS19.

For more information please see the Core Strategy