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Economy

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6.8 Commercial Development in Rural Areas

The County Council and Urban Authorities have zoned a significant amount of land in towns and settlement centres for commercial and industrial activity. The Council recognises that certain commercial activities can be accommodated in villages adjacent to residential areas, particularly those that contribute to local service provision. However, there is a growing trend of industrial and commercial activity locating in the open countryside. Such activities can be divided into three categories:

1. Services such as nursing homes, petrol filing stations, builders providers, etc;
2. Small-to-medium sized units, often self-employed and small-scale, that comprise of workshops and storage units, for example, joinery, welding shops, metal fabrication, car parking for articulated trucks and buses, etc.
3. Medium-to-large-scale sized units that include; concrete manufacturing plants, warehousing and industrial plants.

Policy ECON 7: Commercial Uses in the Open Countryside

It is the policy of the Council to resist commercial or industrial development in the open countryside, which would be inappropriate by virtue of size, scale, and hours of operation, traffic congestion or nature of use. The Council will resist proposals for commercial/industrial activity in the open countryside except where:

1. there is a proven reason for the proposal to be sited in the open countryside; and
2. the proposed building/site works do not detract from the rural character of the landscape; and
3. the proposal is compatible with the neighbouring land-uses; and
4. the proposal does not impact on traffic safety.

These types of activities can have a detrimental impact on amenities of adjacent residents, viability of agricultural and equine activities, traffic safety on surrounding rural roads, and cause detrimental harm to the rural character of the area. The Council will therefore seek to balance the need to provide for rural diversification against the impact that such proposals would have on existing agricultural viability, amenities, road safety and the rural character of the area.

 

While it is the policy of the Council to encourage industrial, commercial and service activities in towns and large settlements, there are opportunities for the development of acceptable enterprises that support and enhance rural communities. Such activities should not be allowed at the expense of quality of life or the environment.

Policy ECON 8: Rural Employment

It is the policy of the Council to facilitate the development of small-scale rural enterprises provided that such development:

• is a conversion of an existing building or a new building that protects rural character;
• does not detract from the rural character of the landscape; and
• does not impact on traffic safety.

This policy seeks to provide for small-scale commercial activity that needs to locate in rural areas. The Council will support activities such as tele-cottages, eco-projects and agri-tourist projects that provide economic or tourist facilities that meets with the above policy.

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