4 Employment

4 Employment 4.1 In order to maintain and improve the economic performance of the district, it is important to make provision for future employment and economic development alongside housing growth and protection of the environment. Economic development includes office space, industry and warehousing uses, public and community uses, leisure and tourism uses and main town centre uses. It also includes any other development which provides employment opportunities, generates wealth or produces or generates an economic output or product. 4.2 Three Rivers has a predominantly office -based economy with different market conditions in comparison to the rest of the South West Hertfordshire region. This has meant that while office space vacancies have risen from 2019 to 2023, availability has fallen and remains much lower than other areas. The South West Herts Economic Study (2024) found that a s of July 2023, there was 162,000 sqm of available office space in South West Hertfordshire, of which 124,000 sqm was identified as vacant. There was also a fur ther 36,000 sqm of office space with planning permission in the form of commitments. As such, the Economic Study concluded that there is not a need to identify additional sites for office development. In terms of office space need, the Economic Study recommends that in Three Rivers any loss of office space be resisted due to low vacancy rates and increasing labour supply. 4.3 The main employment locations in Three Rivers offer very high -quality office space in large floorplates. This, together with the highly skilled workforce in Three Rivers, has attracted a number of headquarters to the district. The majority of this office floorspace is spread across the existing allocated employment sites which should be retained to ensure that Three Rivers remains an attractive destination for businesses and to keep a check on the existing high levels of out -commuting by Three Rivers’ residents. While there is not a need to identify additional sites for office development, there may still be demand for office space, particularly from smaller sized businesses which should be supported. 4.4 The South West Herts Economic Study (2024) sets out that demand for industrial and storage & distribution space in South West Hertfordshire is strong, driven mainly by demand for large scale storage & distribution space which increased during the pandemic. The study identifies a need for 413,400 sqm of storage & distribution space between 2021 and 2041. After taking account of the existing employment land supply, the study considered two employment land scenarios. In Scenario 1, there is no need to identify additional employment sites over the 2021-41 period. In Scenario 2 (which is the preferred option), there is a shortfall of 9.5 hectares across South West Hertfordshire. There are no local need figures identified for individual authorities and the study found that there are no suitable sites identified in Three Rivers to address that shortfall. 4.5 There are several employment allocations in the district which were allocated in the pre-existing Site Allocations LDD (2014) and remain key employment areas for the disrict and should be safeguarded. These sites E1, E2, E3, E4 (formerly E(a) E(b), E(d) & E(e) respectively) have been brought forward into this Local Plan. 4.6 As set out above, the Local Plan seeks to safeguard allocated employment sites for business, industrial and storage or distribution uses whilst also focusing new employment provision on allocated employment sites through intensification and expansion where appropriate. Employment site E1 will be expanded via site allocations E5 and E6 respectively. 4.7 Additionally, following a non -immediate Article 4 Direction which was confirmed in March 2024 to remove permitted development rights regarding the change of use from class E use (commercial, business and service uses) to C3 use (dwellinghouses) and the proliferation of office and commercial buildings, Leavesden Employment Area (E7) has been allocated as an employment site. 4.8 The South West Herts Economic Study (2024) did not estimate forecast need for data centres within the district or South West Hertfordshire more generally , as they are more of a strategic consideration and applications for them will be considered on a case-by-case basis. 4.9 The specific site allocations for employment sites can be found below. Site Ref. E1 Site Croxley Business Park Size (ha) 15.2 Allocation Use Employment (including a mix of office space and industrial/warehousing) Site Ref. E2 Site Tolpits Lane Size (ha) 22.2 Allocation Use Employment Site Ref. E3 Site Maple Cross / Maple Lodge Size (ha) 9 Allocation Use Employment Site Ref. E4 Site Kings Langley Employment Area Size (ha) 15.5 Allocation Use Mixed use – Individual employment sites within the broad area have not been specifically identified. Site Ref. E5 Site Croxley Business Park, Hatters Lane, Croxley Green Size (ha): 0.4 Current Use Overflow car park (serving employment area) Proposed Use Storage & distribution and office uses Green Belt The site was located in the Green Belt, but was removed from the Green Belt as part of the allocation process Comments The allocated site is an extension to the existing employment site allocation (Croxley Business Park, Site E1. The site has an existing outline permission for the construction of a storage and distribution building (18/0820/OUT), although this has not yet been implemented. A 10 metre buffer distance between the main river (adjacent to the western boundary) and any development would be required and no development will be permitted on the area of the site in Flood Zone 3. Development would need to provide sui table mitigation to address surface water flood risk and groundwater flood risk on areas of the site as well as taking account of protected trees on/adjacent to the site. The site is in Groundwater Source Protection Zone 1; a preliminary risk assessment to determine whether there is contamination of the site, and whether remediation works would be needed, would be required to support any proposals on the site. Site Ref. E6 Site Croxley Business Park, Hatters Lane, Croxley Green Size (ha): 0.4 Current Use Grassland, compost area, hardstanding Proposed Use Ancillary space to Croxley Green Business Park Green Belt The site is located within the Green Belt Comments The site is an extension to the existing employment site allocation (Croxley Business Park, Site E1), for ancillary amenity space. The site has an existing permission for leisure use to support Croxley Business Park (18/1415/FUL) Site Ref. E7 Site Leavesden Park Size (ha): 5.3 Current Use Offices Proposed Use Offices Green Belt Not located within the Green Belt Comments An Article 4 Direction has been made by the Secretary of State to remove permitted development rights regarding the change of use from class E use (Commercial, Business and Service uses) to C3 use (dwellinghouses). Leavesden Park is an employment hub created as part of the Leavesden aerodrome redevelopment. The site comprises Leavesden Studios, now owned by Warner Brothers, together with MEPC’s Leavesden Park office development. The site supports strategic activities relating to the creative industries sector and future investment will enable an enhanced role. The area is protected through Article 4 Direction that came into effect in March 2024. The site is connected to the strategic road network, with access fro