5.6 This policy is seeking to achieve sustainable economic growth for Horsham District to 2036.  For the purposes of this policy ‘employment’ means office, industrial, storage and distribution uses which fall within B1, B2 and B8 Use Classes.  Other uses that provide jobs are termed ‘employment generating uses’ and also form an important part of economic growth, but are covered in greater detail in other policies in this document.

5.7 Horsham District falls within the North West Sussex Functional Economic Market Area, which comprises the districts of Horsham and Mid Sussex and the borough of Crawley.  The commercial property market in the North West Sussex area is relatively self-contained, boosted by its position within the Gatwick Diamond and the wider South East, and access to a range of transport links.  Alongside existing businesses, the area does attract some additional demand from a range of business and investors.  Overall, it is perceived as a strong industrial location, although several recent proposals for new space within Horsham District have sought flexibility between industrial and distribution uses (flexible B1c/B2/B8 use).  Within the district of Horsham, the office market is strongest in Horsham Town and near Crawley.  However, like elsewhere, it has been affected by structural changes in the way that businesses operate, such as increasingly flexible working practices and consolidation of formal space.  The office market has also been affected by national policy interventions, such as the introduction in 2013 of office to residential permitted development rights.  The provision of high quality office floorspace at the former Novartis site and in North Horsham, which this policy seeks to secure, will therefore be important to help satisfy this demand. 

5.8 The Economic Growth Assessment 2019 indicates current employment commitments (such as existing allocations and planning permissions) broadly match the employment needs generated by a population growth derived from the housing requirements based on the Government’s Standard Method (965 dwellings per annum).  However, should the District seek to meet some of the unmet housing needs of neighbouring local planning authorities, then intensification of existing sites and / or additional employment land will be required to meet the future needs in the District over the plan period.  In addition, it is recognised that current business sites are not always fit for purpose and that relocation or redevelopment may be required to ensure that existing businesses in the District can continue to thrive.  In order to address this and to enable sustainable economic growth, it is important to ensure sufficient supply and choice in employment floorspace across the District, both within the urban areas and rural areas.

5.9 This policy seeks to address the office floorspace requirement by providing additional, high quality employment floorspace within the District, to help support local employment opportunities close to where people live. It also seeks to ensure that existing Key Employment Areas as shown on the policies map are retained for employment uses and enable the redevelopment, regeneration, intensification and smart-growth of existing sites.

5.10 The policy also recognises the important role and contribution that the smaller businesses, including home-based businesses, home working, and also employment-generating uses such as tourism, retail and leisure, make towards the District’s economy.  It seeks to support them by providing suitable accommodation and encouraging appropriate infrastructure to be provided through development.  The policy recognises that the majority of the settlements in the District are villages where the majority of the premises within defined centres are under 200sqm.  There is a need to ensure future economic development within rural areas, such as proposals relating to garden centres or ancillary retail uses, do not undermine the vitality, vibrancy and / or viability of these centres.

5.11 This policy seeks to balance the need to ensure protection of valued employment and commercial sites and to ensure there are sufficient local employment opportunities to meet the needs of the District, whilst enabling sites that are no longer economically viable to be considered for other appropriate uses.  For the purposes of this policy, ‘employment’ means office, industrial, storage and distribution uses that fall within B1, B2 and B8 Use Classes.  Other uses that provide jobs are termed ‘employment generating uses’ and are similar to 'employment' uses and are also considered under this policy. 

5.12 It is important that existing employment sites in the District be retained, to ensure that there continue to be opportunities for people to live and work locally.  This policy protects identified Key Employment Areas, which are identified on the Policies Map, for employment and follows a review of existing employment locations to ensure that a range of employment sites remain available across the District.  It is also recognised that trade counters can play an important role in employment areas.  However, this policy seeks to ensure that that trade counters do not undermine the employment uses.  

5.13 This policy also seeks to ensure that there is flexibility in accommodating business needs in terms of commercial floorspace and allows for the development of small businesses that are playing an increasingly important part in creating a sustainable local economy, including through the expansion of existing sites.  It is considered that this will assist businesses who cannot meet their current requirements within the existing stock, and will also help to support small and start-up units, as well as providing opportunities for businesses to move on to larger premises in the District as they grow.

5.14 Horsham District has a diverse urban and rural economy.  It is predominantly rural in character.  The main market town of Horsham is supported by a network of settlements and small villages in rural surroundings.

5.15 The rural character of the District means that the wider rural economy is important. This includes the economies of smaller villages and towns, agricultural and other land- based businesses, as well as tourism and leisure developments.

5.16 Over half of the Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the UK are home-based and in our District, many of these businesses are in rural areas, providing the only employment in villages and hamlets.  We need to retain this valued employment by affording these businesses the opportunity to expand near their home.

5.17 Maintaining the rural economy through appropriate development will be considered positively where it can be shown to support the meeting of rural community needs, and enabling the rural towns and villages in the District to remain self-sufficient and economically vibrant.

5.18 There is an ongoing need to maintain and enhance the rural economy. This includes diversification of rural employment space and maximising visitor spending through tourism across the District.  The diversification of the use of farm buildings for communities and rural businesses will play a role in allowing local economies to continue to grow, expand, and change to meet modern demands.  This diversification allows for the positive reuse of buildings, along with the sustainable use of resources, which has less impact on the rural landscape.

5.19 Neighbourhood Planning may also play an important role in identifying and promoting sustainable economic growth at the local level.

5.20 Horsham District has a rural character, with a large number of farmsteads and other rural activities such as equestrian businesses.  The stock of buildings which are suitable for conversion to other uses has fallen over time, but there will still be instances where proposals for the conversion of rural buildings come forward.

5.21 Given that the proposals for development will be in the rural areas of the District, it is expected that development may be 'isolated' to some extent, in that there will be a reliance on the private car to reach most services and facilities.  It is therefore considered that any such proposals should be easily accessible by road.  The local isolation of the development will also need to be considered.  Buildings within an existing complex are, for example, less likely to have an adverse impact on the character of the surrounding landscape.

5.22 Given the rural location of these sites, applicants would need to be mindful of the potential impact of any proposal on biodiversity.  Rural buildings may, for example, contain bat roosts or nest habitats for protected species such as barn owls.  Applicants should therefore be aware that it might be necessary to undertake an ecological investigation and implement suitable mitigation as well as biodiversity enhancements in accordance with the Council's biodiversity policies.

5.23 Equestrian-related development is important to the rural economy of the District. Development of this nature needs to be of high quality and appropriate to its location, particularly in designated areas such as the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

5.24 Tourism is an important source of local employment and promoting the tourism offer of the District is one of five priorities set out in the Horsham District Economic Strategy 2017-2027.  The Council's “Visitor Economy Strategy” (2018-2023) highlights that the visitor economy accounts for 6.1% of all jobs in the district and, if Horsham District follows national predictions, could be set to grow by 3.8% per annum by 2025.  In 2015 there were a total of 3.1 million day and overnight trips to the District, generating an estimated total spend of £178.4 million. Whilst this demonstrates the importance of the visitor economy to the District, the performance of this sector could be stronger, particularly when compared to regional and national growth.

5.25 The District has a rich and diverse offer of cultural and leisure activities.  We have invested in and residents benefit from good quality cultural assets.  Horsham town is the focus for cultural facilities such as the Capitol Theatre and Horsham Museum. There are also main town centre leisure activities such as a cinema, bowling, sports facilities and hotels.  The rural area has strategic scale facilities such as Southwater Country Park and the Downs Link, a recreation route that passes through the District linking Guildford and Shoreham-by-Sea.  The South Downs National Park adjoins many of the settlements in the south of the District that have the potential to benefit from the visitor economy in this area.

5.26 Tourism plays a big role in our economy and the District has some fantastic tourism businesses.  We are keen to maximise the potential of the visitor economy, most crucially by encouraging more overnight trips. The District needs more accommodation, but this needs to be linked to the distinctive offer of the District, capitalising on the local gastronomy, the traditional English landscapes, the vibrant market towns and villages, lively festivals and farmers' markets, the District's heritage assets and ease of access to the South Downs National Park and the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.  The “Horsham District Hotel & Visitor Accommodation Study” (2016) presents key findings on the specific type of accommodation that is required in the District.  This document or any subsequent update can help to inform decision-making on applications for tourist accommodation.

5.27 The promotion of tourism often provides the means of conserving the heritage and enriching the quality of life.  There are opportunities to improve the tourism 'product' of the District through appropriate management and promotional initiatives; it will also be important to encourage the retention of existing facilities and new development which meets the objective of facilitating sustainable tourism and economic growth within the District.

5.28 We will aim to take a proactive stance to encourage local tourism within the District. Within this overall philosophy, the approach towards encouraging tourism will vary across the District according to the characteristics of the local area. The emphasis is on:

• supporting high-quality tourism facilities and visitor accommodation that enhance the visitor economy with sensitively designed development that minimises any adverse impacts on individual settlement characteristics, landscape character and the environment;
• supporting appropriate facilities in towns and villages in the District and maximising the potential of settlements in the southern part of the District to benefit from their proximity to the South Downs National Park; and
• supporting facilities that are in keeping with and complement the rural hinterland that surround Horsham town and other settlements.

5.29 In the rural areas we will support initiatives that seek to develop the tourism opportunities associated with rural diversification, including recreation-based farm diversification, if they are of a scale and type appropriate to their location.

5.30 Retail plays a key role in the wider economy of Horsham District: 10% of employment in the District is in the sector.  As well as offering employment opportunities to local people, retail and other main town centre uses provide goods and services to residents and other businesses in the District.  Town and village centres provide an important function in contributing to well connected, sustainable and healthy communities.  They provide spaces for interaction and collaboration, and meet a broad range of needs for both residents and visitors. 

5.31 The Horsham Town Retail and Leisure Study (2017), and other studies indicate that Horsham town centre is generally functioning well, with capacity for some additional retail development.  Redevelopment at the Bishopric and Piries Place have helped to increase the scale, range and diversity of the offer within the town.  Their focus extends beyond retail, including leisure and recreation provision and contributing to the visitor economy.

5.32 Successful town and village centres must seek to provide an enhanced range of services, attractions and facilities in order to increase the time people want to spend in these spaces.  Horsham town centre is an attractive and welcoming centre with a robust presence, which performs well in the current economic climate and has strong prospects for maintaining and enhancing its competitive position in the sub-region.  The reports outlined above identify a number of positive features of Horsham town centre including a high number of independent retailers, cafés and restaurants and an attractive historic environment.  In conjunction with stakeholders, and through collaboration and active measures such as town centre management, the role of the centre servicing Horsham District will be reinforced.  Some smaller centres throughout the District have capacity for enhancement and broadening of their offer.

5.33 The role of both residential and employment (particularly B1) uses in supporting the vitality and buoyancy of town and village centres is acknowledged.  It is vital that a balance which allows retail and leisure uses to flourish alongside these other uses is achieved.  No one element of the District's centres should negatively impact the success and viability of another.

5.34 The continued promotion of a “Town Centres First” strategy will help to support the economic health of our town and village centres and the longer term interests of customers and other town centre users.  In smaller towns and villages, maintaining a retail offer may present a greater challenge, given the requirement on both large and small retailers to ensure physical outlets remain commercial and competitive, whilst reflecting changes in the nature of demand and the pattern of supply in the delivery of local goods and services (e.g. the increased role of online shopping).

5.35 The role that residential uses play in improving the vitality of retail centres is acknowledged, as is the importance of a strong non-retail employment presence (such as offices). However, there is a need to balance the potential for any conflict between these uses.

5.36 These policies seek to improve the vitality and viability of the existing centres in the District so they are best able to meet the needs of communities. It is also recognised that centres created through new development will play an important role in meeting communities' needs.