Methodology
This section will explain the data collection methods used to analyse employment land availability within the district. It provides information relating to employment land data between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024. An analysis has been undertaken of all new sites with planning approvals within the periods stated above. The survey identifies and records sites that have been completed, sites that are currently under construction and sites with outstanding planning permission, yet to be implemented. Any existing employment land which was lost to non-employment uses during the monitoring year has also been recorded. Sites identified for the purposes of this report are those that fall within Class B of the Use Classes Order. These are defined as:
| Class B1a | General offices |
|---|---|
| Class B1b | Call centres |
| Class B1c | Research and development |
| B2 | Light industry |
| B3 | General industry |
| B4 | Storage and distribution |
The methodology has been revised since the publication of the last report to allow for more accurate reporting which removes the risk of double counting yields where there is more than one extant approval on a site. The monitor also captures instances where there is a loss and a gain of employment floorspace as part of the same proposal.
The process followed to produce the employment land monitor is summarised at Appendix A.
The Monitor presents a register of potential employment land, based on current planning policy designations and planning permissionsFootnote One. It is the role of an Urban Capacity Study (UCS) and the Employment Land Review which will be undertaken from time to time, to assess the suitability, availability and achievability of monitored sites to contribute to a viable supply of land.
Footnote One: For the purposes of the employment monitor, the draft Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan (BMAP) 2015 is utilised rather than the former Belfast Urban Area Plan (BUAP) 2001.The adopted BMAP was quashed as a result of a judgement in the Court of Appeal delivered on 18 May 2017 and, although this means the BUAP is now the statutory development plan for the area, the draft BMAP, in its most recent, pre-examination, form remains a significant material consideration in future planning decisions. Draft BMAP therefore refers to that which was purported to be adopted and not the pre-examination draft published in 2004.
