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Yes

ID sylw: 107040

Derbyniwyd: 21/02/2025

Ymatebydd: Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce

The CWCC strongly welcomes this Policy Direction 19 and the recognition of the need to maintain a balanced supply of employment premises throughout the plan area. Moreover, it also supports the idea of undertaking further work to encourage the provision of “affordable” business space. The operation of the property market currently means that most new employment allocations are targeted at the upper end of the rental and sales property markets. While this provides additional space and assists the overall market operations it often leaves local shortages at the lower end of the market. This, as is recognised may hamper the growth and expansion of existing
businesses.

The CWCC welcomes the policy initiative here to encourage an element of smaller units
and “affordable” commercial space as part of much larger employment allocations. At the same time, it recognises that such units cannot be provided in all instances on the
larger employment schemes. The proposed research and additional work could look in more detail at the viability issues that underpin the provision of larger schemes.
There may be merit in further consideration of the potential “repurposing” of surplus and empty retail units in town and village centres. The plan makers might, for example, consider the inclusion of a specific provision to encourage the diversification and repurposing of former retail units which because of their location or because of
changing retail trends mean that the buildings become redundant as retail space. This could in some circumstances provide relatively low cost accommodation for small businesses . In the right locations this would not undermine the overall retail function of an area.