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To facilitate the development of small office and
business uses in appropriate locations.
There is often a need for small offices within urban
areas but outside town centres. Examples include, estate agents,
insurance brokers, building societies, solicitor banks and local
offices of essential public services. These offices which provide
essential local services will normally only be permitted in or
adjacent to existing or proposed
commercial areas and neighbourhood centres. Office development will
only be permitted in local shopping centres where the scale does not
detract from the retailing function of the centre. An appropriate
level of office development which provides local services may be
permitted in villages and other smaller rural settlements.
Proposals for such uses will normally only be acceptable where:
- the use is clearly designed to serve a local
need;
- the floorspace is limited to a maximum of 200 sq
metres;
- there is no loss of good housing stock;
- the
proposal is not located in a predominantly residential area; and
- the development meets parking standards and
environmental considerations.
Many small businesses begin with people working
from their own homes. Advances in technology now allow a wider range
of business activity to be carried out from individual residences.
In many cases the level of activity is of such a limited scale that
planning permission would not be required. Favourable consideration
may be given to applications for home working, where deemed
necessary, in residential areas or rural dwellings provided:
- work is carried out primarily by persons
living in the residential unit;
- the business use is clearly secondary to the
main use of the property as a dwelling house;
- the use is carried out totally within the
existing building;
- there will be no loss of amenity for
neighbouring residents - for example from noise, vibration,
advertising, visual amenity or traffic generation; and
- the use is not one which by its nature would
attract more than occasional visitors.
Where approval is granted the permission will be
strictly controlled by conditions. This policy will not apply to
industrial uses such as car vehicle repairs at residential
properties see instead policies
IC1 and
IC2.
Telecottages - small scale centres designed to provide a centralised
information and communication service using modern technology - may
be approved in villages or smaller settlements where the objective
is to reduce remoteness and stimulate local rural development.
Approval will however be subject to the normal environmental and
other policy considerations. |
