1. Job Growth Strategy

The Local Plan's job growth strategy sets out how the Thanet's economy should grow, develop and create new jobs and prosperity over the Plan period. The strategy is based upon a positive and optimistic level of growth. The strategy explains where the growth is expected to take place, and what the Local Plan is doing to support this, alongside the Economic Growth Strategy for Thanet November 2016.

One of the core principles of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is to proactively drive and support sustainable economic development to deliver the homes, business and industrial units, infrastructure and thriving local places that the country needs. It states that planning authorities should set out a clear economic vision and strategy for their areas which positively and proactively encourage sustainable growth, identify strategic sites to meet anticipated needs over the plan period, support existing business sectors and plan for new and emerging sectors. Policies should be flexible to accommodate needs not anticipated and to allow rapid responses to changes in the economy. It also states that clusters or networks of knowledge-driven, creative high-technology industries should be planned for, priority areas for economic regeneration and infrastructure provision, and environmental enhancement should be identified, and flexible working practices such as the integration of residential and commercial uses within the same unit should be facilitated.

It further states that plans should avoid the long term protection of sites allocated for employment use where there is no reasonable prospect of the site being used for that purpose. The Council has reviewed all allocated employment sites and has retained only those which are in accordance with the NPPF.

The NPPF states that plans should recognise town centres as the heart of their communities and support their vitality and viability, promote competitive town centres that provide customer choice and a diverse retail offer, retain and enhance existing markets and introduce new ones, and allocate a range of suitable sites to meet the scale and type of retail, leisure, commercial, office, tourism, cultural, community and residential development needed.

The NPPF also states that Local Plans should support the sustainable growth and expansion of all types of business and enterprise in the rural areas, promote the development and diversification of agricultural and other land based rural businesses, support sustainable rural tourism and leisure developments that benefits businesses in the rural area and promote the retention and development of local services and community facilities. The Plan's evidence base should assess the needs of the food production industry and any barriers to investment that planning can resolve.

Thanet has a diverse economy which is currently strong in the education and health sectors and traditionally has seen above average representation of retail and public administration. Evidence shows that the tourism is doing very well and is gaining momentum year on year. Green technology is currently doing well and advanced manufacturing technologies are expected to increase in the district.

Thanet's business parks have been slow to develop leaving a significant amount of land available which in itself is an opportunity. This land is beginning to be delivered which is  positive but as evidence suggests that only 30% of future jobs will be in traditional office, industrial and warehouse (Class B) type uses that are often located on business parks and a more flexible approach to Thanet's employment land is required. A range of employment sites is needed to cater for all types of employment generating development.

Thanet also benefits from an international port which offers significant potential to deliver job growth and connections to Europe. Ramsgate Port is a major infrastructure asset and potential catalyst for growth. It is important for the manufacturing and green sectors and as a wharf for the movement of minerals. The Council supports the growth of port related uses and would wish ultimately to see the reintroduction of a roll-on/roll-off passenger ferry service.

Tourism has historically been at the heart of Thanet's economy and continues to be a vitally important component of Thanet's economy along with retail and leisure which have been particularly strong. Thanet's strength in the visitor economy stems from the attractive sandy beaches in close proximity to London, the established successful tourist destination of Broadstairs, the development of the Turner Contemporary Gallery and the strong character of Thanet as a traditional tourist destination. Thanet also contains a wealth of heritage assets which are attractive to visitors with around 2,000 listed buildings.

The most recent tourism research commissioned by Visit Kent shows the total economic impact of tourism in Thanet was £293 million in 2015. A good visitor economy can also provide benefits for Thanet residents in terms of leisure facilities, attractive public realm and quality of life which in turn attract business to the area. It is therefore of primary importance to support the tourism economy.

In delivering growth in tourism, the main challenge is to increase visitor spend in Thanet, which can be achieved by encouraging the overnight visitor and developing more of a year-round offer. The Council is committed to addressing this and has adopted a Destination Management Plan (DMP) which focuses on individual projects bringing together a variety of stakeholders to improve beach management, facilitate coastal regeneration and develop a shared story to improve marketing for visitors.

In Thanet's town centres there is opportunity to capitalise on heritage assets and cultural and creative industries, creating vibrant hubs of innovation and entrepreneurship. This is increasingly the trend in Margate, particularly the Old Town which has a number of cultural and creative industries. The Heritage Action Zone in Ramsgate also looks to achieve economic growth by using the historic environment as a catalyst. Research from 2016 has found that creative businesses in Thanet have grown by 84% in four years. It is recognised that Thanet’s developing cultural and creative industry is an important component of the district’s economic and social profile. It is, therefore, also important that it is both supported and encouraged to grow.

Thanet's manufacturing base has traditionally been characterised by small scale business which are fundamentally important to Thanet's economy and it is imperative that existing and new micro businesses are supported. These smaller manufacturing firms require smaller industrial units and it is, therefore, important within the strategy to protect our existing fit for purpose sites. There also has to be consideration of grow on space as local businesses grow and require larger premises. This will keep successful businesses local to the area and provide economic sustainability.

30% of overall job growth is still likely to be from the development in B use classes found on business parks. Many existing businesses in Thanet need space for growth and the availability of suitable premises is a challenge to be overcome, particularly the availability of spec units which individual companies do not have the capacity to build.

There has been growth in low carbon goods and services, renewable energy, advanced manufacturing and service businesses. These sectors are likely to deliver some job growth over the Plan period. Thanet has already seen above average development of offshore wind farms, solar farms, anaerobic digesters and other renewable sources of energy production particularly located around the former Richborough Power Station site. Thanet Earth is a prime example of cutting edge "agritech" technology. It is important that sufficient employment land is available to facilitate any future growth.

Improving education and skills in Thanet in partnership with the private sector is an important part of growing the economy. The Plan seeks to support the provision of these facilities particularly the expansion and diversification of further and higher education.

Canterbury Christ Church University is pioneering the STEM agenda by operating as Kent & Medway STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) providing information and links to STEM Enhancement & Enrichment (E&E) activities. This enables young people to make informed decisions about future career paths in and from STEM, provides teachers with impartial information and support to enable them to deliver STEM curriculum, support industry in reducing the STEM skills gap and raises the profile of science and engineering in the region. This is a significant opportunity for the area.

Thanet's current employment offer and relatively peripheral location combined with improving transport and communications infrastructure means that a certain level of commuting is expected. Currently the majority of working age people that live in Thanet work in Thanet but a significant number commute to the neighbouring districts of Dover and Canterbury, as well as further afield. Improved rail linkages in the future could expand this. This is not necessarily a harmful trend as it brings wealth to the area and better access to jobs which increases local consumer spend, further strengthening the retail and leisure professions. It is envisaged particularly that the Discovery Park Enterprise Zone established in Sandwich following the closure of the Pfizer pharmaceutical plant, will impact upon out commuting levels, but its close proximity to Thanet is beneficial in terms of retention of wealth in the area as well as potential relocation of firms to Thanet's nearby employment sites. The proximity of the Enterprise Zone to Thanet is positive for employment and Thanet's economic strategy takes account of this in order to complement Discovery Park and benefit from it.

Thanet has 7 rural settlements with a population of around 6,000 residents which make up just 4% of the population. The employment land review concludes that Thanet has quite a low representation of rural employment enterprises when compared to the rest of the south east with less than 10% of VAT registered premises being located in the rural areas. Nonetheless the Council wishes to support rural economic development of an appropriate scale.

Thanet currently has a high proportion of people who work from home. With anticipated growth in housing it is considered that with appropriate digital infrastructure and business support those sustainable enterprising communities can be created.

Given that Thanet has a diverse economy a flexible economic strategy is needed in order to accommodate all employment generating uses. Future job growth in Thanet is expected to remain strong in town centre uses, as well as in public administration and education. Thanet is a popular retirement area and this brings with it benefits to the economy particularly in terms of the health and caring professions which are expected to grow.

The Economic Growth Strategy for Thanet identified transformational initiatives to focus on to deliver employment growth. These are:

• Developing the Port at Ramsgate
• Investing in high value manufacturing and engineering across Thanet and east Kent
• Position Thanet as a global agritech hub
• Promoting Thanet's broader cultural/leisure offer
• Cultivating the creative industries across Thanet
• Designing enterprise into new communities
• Long term feasibility modelling for Margate and Ramsgate

The overall target is to deliver a minimum of 5,000 jobs across the district during the Plan period to 2031 concentrating on the transformational initiatives coupled with improved transport and communications infrastructure.

Job growth in the district will be supported, promoted and delivered by;

• supporting the growth of port related uses at Ramsgate Port.
• allocation and retention of employment land and premises that are fit for purpose across the district;
• flexibility of uses on some employment land;
• allocation of vibrant town centres able to accommodate a wide range of compatible uses reflecting their individual characters and economies;
• recognising the important role of cultural and creative industries in the regeneration and reinvigoration of Thanet's towns;
• being flexible with regard to holiday accommodation reflected and supported by the Council's Destination Management Plan;
• providing for cultural and creative industries within the town centres
• providing suitable and sufficient employment land to support growth in advanced manufacturing; and
• nurturing workforce skills by supporting education and skills facilities.

It is not possible to predict or plan specifically for the needs of all significant job creating development proposals that may arise over the lifetime of the Plan and only 30% or employment growth is expected to be in the B use classes that are traditionally located on business parks. The Council wishes to plan positively for all kinds of employment generating development taking account of relevant environmental and countryside policies and the aspirations of the strategic priorities. Account will also be taken of prospective benefits arising from additional and better paid local employment.

The following policy sets out the Job Growth Strategy for this Plan.

The employment land strategy sets out how the Council proposes to support job growth through the allocation of employment land for development, the safeguarding of existing premises and flexibility regarding the types of development considered appropriate. The supply of employment land is supported by the town centre strategy which also provides land for economic development and job growth.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) requires that local planning authorities set out a clear economic vision and strategy for their area which positively and proactively encourages sustainable growth, identify strategic sites to meet anticipated needs over the plan period, support existing business sectors and plan for new and emerging sectors. It also requires flexibility and states that the long term protection of sites with little chance of being used for employment purposes should be avoided.

In accordance with the NPPF an assessment of current and future growth sectors has been carried out along with an assessment of Thanet's employment sites and land available.

Forecasts show that Thanet will need in the region of 15 ha of employment land (B1, B2 and B8 uses) over the plan period. Methodology and discussion of this is contained in the employment growth topic paper and the Economic and Employment Assessment 2012.

There is a need to provide land for potential inward investment and for growing existing businesses to relocate to. There is also a need for affordable premises for the indigenous market and start up space also fulfills an important role.

Thanet needs to cater mainly for small to medium sized businesses and tourism related trade. Some land needs to be made available for larger businesses but some of these types of businesses may be drawn towards Discovery Park Enterprise Zone and Thanet's employment allocations will complement this trend. Some larger established sites such as Pysons Road, Haine Road and Westwood Industrial Estate are in need of some investment to secure their renewal and/or upgrade. Good quality, popular sites that are within the urban and rural confines are retained and protected. Of particular importance are quality sites that support Thanet's small and medium enterprises such as Manston Green. As far as possible there is a balanced distribution of sites across the district.

There is a need to keep a range of sites for cheap premises and business start ups. Thanet also needs to retain some sites that can accommodate uses such as paint spraying and tyre recycling. The range of sites includes some in the rural area to support the rural economy. A "flagship" site for inward investment that can also accommodate growing indigenous businesses is provided for at Manston Business Park. There is also a need for "flexible" sites where alternative non Class B uses will be allowed. This reflects the current trend and ensures land is provided to meet all types of economic development. For the purposes of applying Policy SP05, flexible uses include leisure, tourism and other town centre uses which, due to scale and format cannot be accommodated within town centres. They also include uses known as sui generis which do not fall into a category in the Use Classes Order. These include uses such as car showrooms and crèches.

Thanet's portfolio of employment sites caters for all of these uses both in terms of new sites and existing sites protected for future employment purposes. The following policy identifies Thanet's employment allocations, where new employment generating development will be promoted and supported. These sites are shown on the Policies Map.

Manston Business Park is a prime business investment location, being strategically located at the centre of Thanet and adjacent to the former Manston Airport. It also has easy accessibility from the centres of population, the port at Ramsgate and excellent road links to the rest of Kent and the UK via the A299 and M2.

Approximately half of the site is owned by East Kent Opportunities which is a joint venture between Kent County Council and Thanet District Council. The aim for the joint venture is to bring forward economic growth and regeneration in Thanet. Manston Business Park is approximately half developed, and there is some infrastructure in place ready for the rest of the site to be developed. Whilst development on the site has been slow to come forward in the past, more recent developments have included speculative business units, and purpose built accommodation. The site provides a good opportunity for the relocation of existing growing business.

The focus for development of the site should be office, industrial and warehousing, whilst some mixed use including additional business support services and training facilities which demand a location outside of Westwood and of the coastal urban belt will be considered appropriate, where this would serve to attract new or support existing job creating development.

Development on this site will be expected to contribute to the delivery of the transport strategy particularly the extension of Columbus Avenue and improvements to Spitfire junction.

The Council recognises that proposals are being put forward by River Oak Strategic Partners for an airport operation at the site, through a proposed development consent order (DCO), pursuant to the Planning Act 2008. The application is before the Secretary of State for consideration and the proposals are subject to thorough scrutiny as part of this process. A DCO, if granted, would give consent for the project in recognition of its national importance and may also include authorisation for the compulsory acquisition of land to assist in the achievement of its objectives.

If a DCO for Airport use is granted, the early review of the Plan will need to take this into account as well as its implications for other policies in the Plan and consequential land use considerations. In the event that the DCO is not granted or does not proceed, the Council will similarly need to consider the most appropriate use for the site as part of the early review.