Policy 2.7 Outer London: Economy

Strategic

A The Mayor will, and boroughs and other stakeholders should, seek to address constraints and opportunities in the economic growth of outer London so that it can rise above its long term economic trends by:

a enabling existing sources of growth to perform more effectively, and increasing the competitive attractiveness of outer London for new sectors or those with the potential for step changes in output

b identifying, developing and enhancing capacity to support both viable local activities and those with a wider than sub-regional offer, including strategic outer London development centres (see Policy 2.16)

c improving accessibility to competitive business locations (especially town centres and strategic industrial locations) through: making the most effective use of existing and new infrastructure investment; encouraging walking, cycling and public transport use; and enabling the labour market to function more efficiently in opening up wider opportunities to Londoners

d providing strategic and local co-ordination within development corridors, including across the London boundary, to enhance competitive advantage and synergies for clusters of related activities and business locations, drawing on strategic support through opportunity area planning frameworks as indicated in Policy 2.13

e ensuring that appropriate weight is given to wider economic as well as more local environmental and other objectives when considering business and residential development proposals

f prioritising improvements to the business environment, including safety and security measures; partnership-based approaches like business improvement districts; enhancing the vibrancy of town centres through higher density, retail, commercial and mixed use development including housing; providing infrastructure for home-working; improving access to industrial locations; developing opportunities for decentralised energy networks and ensuring high quality design contributes to a distinctive business offer

g consolidating and developing the strengths of outer London’s office market through mixed use redevelopment and encouraging new provision in competitive locations, including through the use of land use ‘swaps’

h identifying and bringing forward capacity in and around town centres with good public transport accessibility to accommodate leisure, retail and civic needs and especially higher density housing, including use of the compulsory purchase process to assemble sites, and providing recognition and support for specialist as well as wider town centre functions. This will include mixed use redevelopment to address the challenges and consolidate the benefits of internet and multi-channel shopping as indicated in Policy 2.15

i managing and improving the stock of industrial capacity to meet both strategic and local needs, including those of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), start-ups and businesses requiring more affordable workspace including flexible, hybrid office/industrial premises

j co-ordinating investment by different public agencies to complement that of the private sector and promoting the competitive advantages of outer London for public sector employment, especially for functions of wider than sub-regional significance

k supporting leisure, arts, cultural and tourism and the contribution that theatres and similar facilities and the historic environment can make to the outer London economy, including through proactive identification of cultural quarters and promotion and management of the night time economy (see Policy 4.6)

l ensuring that strategic and local marketing of outer London’s visitor attractions are effectively co-ordinated and that account is taken of its capacity to accommodate large scale commercial leisure attractions, especially in the north, east and south sectors

m ensuring that locally-driven responses to skills needs in outer London also help address strategic Londonwide objectives

n identifying and addressing local pockets of deprivation, and especially the strategic priorities identified in this Plan as regeneration areas (see Policy 2.14)

o establishing ‘tailored’ partnerships and other cross-boundary working arrangements to address particular issues, recognising that parts of inner London also have ‘outer’ characteristics and vice versa, and that common areas of concern should be addressed jointly with authorities beyond London

p ensuring the availability of an adequate number and appropriate range of homes to help attract and retain employees and enable them to live closer to their place of work in outer London.

2.33 Possible sources of employment growth in outer London can be broken into two categories:

• Existing sectors, which could grow more strongly than they have been if factors holding back their competitiveness and success are addressed. These include some private sector office-based sectors, retail, leisure/tourism, public sector activities, logistics and some other industrial type activities, economic sectors based around serving the needs of residential communities and other sectors like construction.
• New sectors – either entirely new activities which could be attracted to outer London if particular factors currently making it unattractive as a location could be addressed, or activities already existing in outer London but which could be developed on a scale so they are of a significantly different nature. Examples could include central government operations, public or state institutions of more than local importance, environmental or knowledge-based industries, opportunities presented by large-scale transport investment (such as High Speed Rail interchanges) or office-based activities that could be attracted from parts of the wider south-east.

2.34 Supporting growth in either category will require a strategic approach to office and retail provision in outer London, consolidating its strengths by releasing surplus capacity and enabling additional development in competitive locations for growth. It will also be important to consider the particular needs of new and developing sectors – many of the ‘knowledge-based’ sectors can start out and grow through home working, and may need innovative approaches to ensuring the ready availability of information and communications technology. These could range from greater business support through local libraries to bespoke town centre business centres to larger facilities such as innovation parks. Boroughs should support flexible B1 business use of existing buildings and new forms of development to meet the needs of occupiers who require different types of affordable workspace. The Economic Development Strategy sets out the GLA Group’s broader approach to supporting innovation.

2.35 There is considerable potential for growth in the leisure, cultural and visitor economy sectors, with scope for encouragement of cultural quarters in outer London – particularly in town centres, the promotion, diversification and tighter management of the night time economy and possible opportunities for very large-scale commercial leisure facilities. The scope for rejuvenation of local theatres and other similar facilities and for the more positive marketing of outer London’s distinct attractions should also be considered. Appropriately located retail development (see policies 4.7 and 4.8) can also play an important part in development and regeneration here. Residential development can indirectly create new employment, generating an estimated 230 new local jobs for every 1000 new residents^[1].

^[1] GLA Economics. More residents, more jobs? The relationship between population, employment and accessibility in London. GLA, 2005. Batty M. More residents, more jobs. The relationship between population, employment and accessibility in London. A review of the report from GLA Economics. GLA, 2007