Object

Harborough Local Plan 2011-2031, Proposed Submission

Representation ID: 7029

Received: 17/11/2017

Respondent: Ullesthorpe Parish Council

Legally compliant? No

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? No

Representation Summary:

* unemployment in the area is low
* workforce to meet allocation in Policy BE2 would commute-in from outside the District
* out-commuting of skilled workers will not be reduced
* 81% if the current Magna Park workforce commute from outside Harborough District postcodes
* unemployment lower than regional and national averages
* public transport is inadequate

Full text:

Policy BE2 conflicts with Objective 2. Unemployment in the area is very low, the majority of the workforce required for an allocation of this size in Policy BE2 would have to be recruited from outside the district. Out-commuting of people within the district holding skilled jobs would not be significantly reduced as, previously highlighted, 74% of the opportunities are for essential/basic jobs, the people filling these roles will commute from areas where unemployment is higher and house prices are lower. 81% of the existing Magna Park workforce commute from outside Harborough District postcodes. The Magna Park Growth Sensitivity Survey concludes the allocation of 700,00 sq. m. of extra warehousing would generate 9689 extra jobs. In the whole of the Harborough District there were only 1400 people registered as unemployed from July 2016 - June 2017 (Nomis Official Labour Market Statistics). Unemployment in the Harborough District for this period was 3% well below 4.3% for the East Midlands and 4.6% nationally. The majority of the workforce required would have to commute from outside the district. Public transport in the area is inadequate and anyone commuting into the area would most likely have to use a private vehicle. This will impact on congestion and pollution, particularly in the surrounding villages who are already used as 'rat-runs' around the clock due to shift patterns.