Local Plan Issues and Options (Regulation 18)

Comment

Representation ID: 11274

Received: 28/08/2025

Respondent: Habiko LLP (c/o Muse)

I&O_11772
Habiko notes that CBQ does not lie within ‘Chester Gateway’ as defined within the Regeneration Framework, however it does form a constituent component of the similarly named ‘Northern Gateway’ within the Local Plan (Part Two) Land Allocations and Detailed Policies development plan document. Habiko would encourage CWAC to cease use of the term ‘Northern Gateway’ to avoid potential confusion and ambiguity.

Comment

Representation ID: 11276

Received: 28/08/2025

Respondent: Habiko LLP (c/o Muse)

I&O_11774
For the reasons set out within our response to question CH 6 below, Habiko does not support the ongoing allocation of Chester Business Quarter for employment use. (I&O_11780)

Comment

Representation ID: 11277

Received: 28/08/2025

Respondent: Habiko LLP (c/o Muse)

I&O_11775
The CWACC ‘Supplementary Planning Document (SPD): Parking Standards’ was most recently updated in February 2022. Whilst the SPD allows for a shortfall in parking provision against the identified standards when justified by developers on a case-by-case basis, the standards themselves are deemed to be onerous. With particular regard to residential development, the expectation to provide 1 space per bedroom within new dwellings of up to 3 no. bedrooms is excessive within designated centres, and other highly accessible locations. The SPD as worded only explicitly supports a reduction in parking in ‘high-density urban areas’ where existing buildings are being reutilised. Given the national imperative to reduce carbon emissions reliance of travel by private vehicle, something which is reflected within both the R18 LP and adopted development plan, the expectation to provide such a high number of parking spaces within CBQ, and the wider city centre is fundamentally at odds with this ambition and takes up valuable space that could otherwise function as public realm, active travel routes and new biodiversity habitat. In summary, it is Habiko’s view that there should be no policy requirement for car parking to serve new development within Chester city centre and that this instead be justified and considered accordingly through the development management process.

Comment

Representation ID: 11282

Received: 28/08/2025

Respondent: Habiko LLP (c/o Muse)

I&O_11780
No. Habiko LLP consider that the Local Plan should not continue to allocate Chester Business Quarter for high quality office use. The concept of large scale employment-led development at Chester Business Quarter was conceived over 15 years ago. Although in the intervening period planning permission was granted, and Building 1 (One City Place), delivering c.70,000sqft (6,495sqm) of Grade A office space, was completed in 2016, the residual floorspace capacity provided by the outline planning permission – amounting to c.37,000sqm, or 83% of the permitted floorspace – has never materialised. Demand has also weakened in the intervening period, with the Covid-19 pandemic acknowledged to have resulted in significant changes to the way in which large parts of the labour-force work, accelerating a shift towards hybrid work arrangements, where employees split their time between the office and home. This in turn has had implications for the commercial office market in terms of the requirements organisations have to accommodate these changes to ways of working. Market advice from Savills (enclosed at Appendix 1) confirms however that despite this structural shock now alleviating to a degree in certain markets, more traditional cyclical challenges associated with inflation, interest rate rises and economic uncertainty continue to present challenges to the office sector more generally (Ibid, page 1) CoStar commercial market data has also been reviewed to better understand recent trends in the office floorspace supply and demand local to the Site in Chester city centre. This allows for a more in depth analysis of trends within central Chester, beyond those assessed at a Chester sub-market area level in the EDNA. This data shows that line with national trends, there has been a sharp fall in the number of lettings in central Chester (Defined by CoStar as the area bound by the River Dee to the south, Nuns Road and St Martin's Way to the west, St Anne Street and Lightfoot Street to the north, and Hoole Lane, the A51 and Dee Lane to the south) with an average of 13 having been annually recorded over the last five complete years (2020-24) compared to almost twice as many (24) over the five years prior. The average size requirement for office space in Chester city centre has also reduced significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic, with this likely a result of firms consolidating their office space as working patterns have changed, with a shift towards hybrid working (Iceni Project (2025) Cheshire West & Chester Economic Development Needs Assessment, Final Report, paragraph 6.61). According to CoStar, only four businesses have taken more than 10,000sqft of office space in central Chester since the last recession, and not a single one has done so since 2019. The market preference for smaller lettings has also resulted in take up of space at One City Place being slow, leading the developer to subdivide floors, resulting in additional costs (Savills (2025) Charterhall Drive Office Market Assessment and Report, page 3). It is also of note that the “HQ” office building was also reoffered to the market in 2017 following the Council’s initial purchase and occupation of the building in 2009. Take up here has also been slow, with the available space taking around 7 years to let. Therefore, despite attempts to introduce new larger floorplate Grade A floorspace, the core characteristics of Chester’s office market remain unchanged, with the bulk of demand being for smaller office spaces serving existing locally based businesses. The Council’s evidence corroborates this trend highlighting also that demand tends to be driven by existing firms, rather than firms from outside of CWAC looking to establish within Chester (Ibid, paragraph 6.56). As a consequence, the market can be best described as ‘churn’ driven with space being recycled and then relet upon lease expiry (Savills (2025) Charterhall Drive Office Market Assessment and Report, page 8). There is, however, now very limited net erosion of office space in the city as generally businesses are moving out of office space which is subsequently being refurbished and added back into the available supply of office space. Indeed, refurbishing of existing offices is cited by Savills as being the preferred strategy for delivering Grade A accommodation in the city centre, since it requires less capital and carries lower construction risk (Ibid, page 6). Transactional data presented within the latest Council funded CWAC Property Review 2025 supports this trend, with demand for Grade A space seemingly being met through existing, rather than new, supply with the high density of sub-200 sqm deals in Chester showing “the resilience of the small business and professional services segment within the city”  (Cheshire West and Chester Council (2025) Cheshire West and Chester Property Review 2025, page 25). With regards to new supply, successive Council funded studies have consistently highlighted the viability and delivery challenges associated with developing new Grade A space in Chester. The two largest schemes that have come forward, namely the “HQ” Building (c.80,000sqft completed in 2009) and One City Place (c.70,000sqft completed in 2016), have only done so with significant public sector funding support (with the former also having been occupied by CWACC before being relet). A hypothetical development appraisal prepared by Savills (see Appendix 1 ) confirms this issue persists and highlights clearly that the rental values required to make office development viable are far in excess of any rent previously achieved for any office building in Chester city centre (Savills (2025) Charterhall Drive Office Market Assessment and Report, page 7). As a result, new office development at Chester Business Quarter is not viable without significant public sector support and there is currently no appetite from the market to secure a fresh application for employment use on the site. Habiko LLP therefore consider that ongoing protection of Chester Business Quarter for high quality office use is no longer justified. The current policy approach is also considered to be ineffective, particularly given the lack of viability and where: • The Chester office market is largely “churn” driven and the need for Grade A space can be more efficiently met through the refurbishment of existing buildings as occupiers vacate their premises. • There is currently 71,200sqft of Grade A capacity within existing and refurbished accommodation within central Chester and at Chester Business Park, which has the potential to play an important role in fulfilling unmet business needs in the near term, with ongoing churn in the market also likely to contribute to the supply in future years (Savills (2025) Charterhall Drive Office Market Assessment and Report, page 8). • Land for office development remains available at Chester Business Park (2.7ha) which has been assessed by the Council as a flagship/strategic business location and continues to attract demand (Cheshire West and Chester Council (2024) Employment Areas Survey). Chester Business Park also notably has capacity to provide new refurbished Grade A accommodation capable of accommodating larger requirements in excess of 5,000sqft. • Land outside of Chester, including 19ha on land south west of Gadbrook Park in Northwich, has the potential to provide additional land capacity to accommodate a proportion of CWAC assessed office needs over the plan period. It is also strongly recommended that the Council considers the role and potential of centrally located retail and leisure led mixed-use development incorporating small office spaces, to help increase the supply and choice for local businesses.

Comment

Representation ID: 11307

Received: 28/08/2025

Respondent: Habiko LLP (c/o Muse)

I&O_11805
Chester Business Park is notably assessed as ‘good’ and ‘a flagship/strategic location’ in the Council’s latest employment areas survey. There is also recent evidence of existing offices at Chester Business Park being refurbished where vacated. According to the Council’s evidence, Chester Business Park recorded four separate deals in 2024 totalling 1,373sqm (Ibid, page 26), reinforcing its market appeal, where appropriately sized units are offered to the market. The safeguarding of Chester Business Park for office use is therefore supported by Habiko to help meet the future economic strategy of the plan and a proportion of CWAC’s assessed office needs. Habiko LLP is also supportive of a policy approach which seeks to enhance the vitality of these businesses parks to attract and retain office occupiers.

Comment

Representation ID: 11313

Received: 28/08/2025

Respondent: Habiko LLP (c/o Muse)

I&O_11811
Habiko LLP supports the policy’s broad goals of promoting sustainable economic growth and the creation of job opportunities across a range of sectors and locations. The role of town and city centres in providing a range of ‘main town centre uses’ including commercial, retail, leisure and office is also supported. The role of residential development is also important where this can attract younger economically active residents and significantly contribute to the vitality and vibrancy of town and city centres through increased vibrancy, footfall and expenditure to support local businesses. Whilst locational preferences remain a very business specific decision, there is a clear trend towards prime locations, mainly due to office occupiers seeking to attract staff with good connectivity and proximity to retail, leisure, and amenities. This, however, tends to be more applicable to large metropolitan areas with multi-mode public transport systems which attract commuters from a wide area. In a Chester context, although sites close to the railway station represent sustainable locations, it is considered that offices with better access to shops, cafes and general amenities of the city centre are likely to have more appeal. As has been demonstrated in our response to Question CH 6, ongoing churn in the market has and will continue to contribute to the supply of office floorspace. The refurbishment of existing office space is already proving to be an effective strategy for addressing market demand where new standalone office development is not currently viable without significant public sector support. However, it is recommended that the Council also considers the role and potential of centrally located retail and leisure led mixed-use development incorporating small office spaces, to help increase the supply and choice for local businesses.

Comment

Representation ID: 11322

Received: 28/08/2025

Respondent: Habiko LLP (c/o Muse)

I&O_11820
A number of new and existing firms, including those with more car dependent functions, are likely to continue to favour out of town office locations. In CWAC out of town business parks play an important role in accommodating demand from firms operating in a number of sectors including in particular professional services, finance and insurance. Analysis presented in the EDNA examining the size and spatial distribution of sectors most likely to occupy office space is instructive in this regard and highlights clusters of these businesses located in out of town business parks including Chester Business Park and Gadbrook Park in Northwich (Ibid, paragraph 4.31), as well as in Chester city centre. The proposed safeguarding of strategic employment locations such as Chester Business Park and Gadbrook Park is therefore supported to help meet the future economic strategy of the plan and a proportion of CWAC’s assessed office needs.  Habiko LLP is also supportive of a policy approach which seek to enhance the vitality of these businesses parks to attract and retain office occupiers, subject to existing office floorspace not being lost.

Comment

Representation ID: 11324

Received: 28/08/2025

Respondent: Habiko LLP (c/o Muse)

I&O_11822
Habiko LLP support the general principle of other established employment areas and land allocations being protected to meet a range of sizes and types of small-medium business needs, but only where they are deliverable. The policy approach should avoid the long term protection of allocated sites which, by virtue of changes in the market and/or local environment have little prospect of being delivered for their intended use. The principle of allowing residential development necessary to secure additional employment development that would not otherwise be viable is also broadly supported, although a degree of flexibility is potentially needed to enable complementary non-employment uses to be delivered in their entirety. It is considered, however, that the delivery of residential development within out of town office locations, either through the development of vacant land or via the refurbishment of existing office space, should be strongly resisted.

Comment

Representation ID: 11330

Received: 28/08/2025

Respondent: Habiko LLP (c/o Muse)

I&O_11828
Paragraph 35 of the NPPF makes clear that Local Plans should set out the contributions expected from development and that such policies should not undermine the deliverability of the Local Plan. The emerging Local Plan and any planning obligations to be embedded within future planning policy must be supported by a Viability Appraisal which demonstrates that the infrastructure needed to support the quantum of new development allocated is viable. Specific infrastructure and developer contributions will need to be informed by the Infrastructure Delivery Plan and ultimately meet the ‘CIL Tests’. Ultimately development can only be required to mitigate its own impact and cannot be required to address existing deficiencies in infrastructure or services.

Comment

Representation ID: 11332

Received: 28/08/2025

Respondent: Habiko LLP (c/o Muse)

I&O_11830
Habiko considers that all development should contribute to infrastructure provision required to enable its delivery, in a proportionate way (subject to viability).  Major development should be defined in accordance with the definition established in the NPPF (Glossary) to ensure consistency with other policy requirements: “ For housing, development where 10 or more homes will be provided, or the site has an area of 0.5 hectares or more. For non-residential development it means additional floorspace of 1,000m2 or more, or a site of 1 hectare or more, or as otherwise provided in the Town and Country Planning  Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015 ”.