Tameside Industrial and Commercial Land Supply

Situation Report 2009/10

For the purposes of this report, employment uses are B1 (business), B2 (general industry) and B8 (storage and distribution) plus sui generis commercial uses which have similar characteristics to industry or storage.

The total supply of land available for development for employment purposes in Tameside on 31 March 2010 was 70.41 ha. This is a slight reduction on last year's supply figure (71.22 ha). These figures consist of:

• Vacant sites that are allocated for employment use, or have permission for employment generating development; and
• Non-vacant sites that have permission for redevelopment for employment purposes.
• Sites are removed from the supply when development is completed.

The inclusion of a site in the available supply does not indicate any intentions of the owner(s) to sell the site or otherwise offer it for development. Much of the supply consists of (a) sites which are unlikely to be brought forward in the short to medium term, or (b) sites whose owners intend to develop for their own purposes.

Of the total supply, 27.7 ha was classed as ‘immediately available'. This marks a decrease on the previous years supply of 31.34 ha. The sites in the immediately available supply were listed in the MIDAS database and were for sale on the open market.

The reduction in available land supply can be explained by the removal of sites following an assessment of the employment land availability schedule. In particular the 4.86 ha site identified at ABC Wax, Hyde has been removed as the site is no longer listed on the MIDAS website and is not available on the open market.

During the year up to 31st March 2010, 1.14 ha of land were completed for employment purposes, creating over 6552 sq m gross of new employment floorspace. Completions include:

• New office development for Findel Education, Ashton Road, Hyde: and
• Office development for Premier Waste, Hyde

There was also around 4,078 sq m of employment generating floorspace under construction on 31st March 2010 on sites which totalled 1.38 ha of the overall supply.

Planning permission was granted during 2009/10 for schemes totalling over 6,610 sq m of floorspace on around 1.88 ha of land. This is a serious drop from application levels in previous years and an indication of the impact of the recession and continued low levels in the availability of finance for projects. The most significant permissions granted include:

• Industrial Development on land to the north side of Park Road, Dukinfield; and
• Extension to Acorn Works, Manchester Road, Mossley.

In addition other permissions have been granted for smaller developments, infill sites and changes of use.

The 13 ha plot 3000 on the Regional Strategic Employment Development Site at Ashton Moss remains available. This greenfield site is suitable for a variety of industrial uses, and is the main employment site in the supply.

Take-up was very low compared to previous years (1.14ha) and it is now at the lowest level recorded. It is clear that demand for employment land in Tameside was strong up to the end of the 2008/09 reporting year but that the true impact of the recession has come through in the 2009/10 reporting year.

The supply has steadily decreased from 190 ha in 1995/6 to 70.41 ha on 31st March 2010. There is a much smaller amount of employment generating development currently under construction compared to previous years and permissions granted are also considerably down, yet another indicator of the lagging impact of the recession.

Although some high quality sites are available supply is considered to be limited in the long term. However, it is interesting to note that the immediately available supply (27.7 ha or approximately 40% of the overall supply figure) remains at a high level.

The Council is working on an employment land study to assess the quality of employment land stock in the Borough. The final employment land study will be produced during 2010 as part of the LDF Core Strategy evidence base.

The Employment Land Supplementary Planning Document is available on the Council's website and provides detailed guidance on the development of employment land.

• Employment developments completed 1 April 2009 - 31 March 2010
• List of sites in the employment land supply on 31 March 2010
• Download the Employment Land Supplementary Planning Document
• Download the 2008/2009 Annual Monitoring Report for more detailed information 944.1 KB

Contact Information
Send us a Message	Housing, Planning and Economic Development Tameside MBC Council Offices Wellington Road Ashton under Lyne OL6 6DL  View local map
0161 342 3346