We broadly support the stated purpose of Policy PO8, namely ensuring the availability of a wide range of employment land and buildings which are able to meet the needs of businesses into the future. We object, however, to the Council's proposed allocation of "a proportion" of land north of Gallows Hills/west of Europa Way for employment uses (please refer to separate comments under PO4). We also object to the current wording under the fourth bullet of the policy. It is our considered view that the loss of employment land and floorspace as a result of a change of use, including residential use, should only be permitted where there is no reasonable prospect of the site or building being used for employment purposes.

Under the first bullet the policy makes reference to supporting the delivery of priorities in the Council's emerging Economic Development and Regeneration Strategy but does not state what these priorities are nor is there any reference to them in the policy's justification. At the time of writing this comment we are also not able to say whether or not we support the priorities in the emerging Strategy as no draft appears to be currently available.