Teorías que niegan la existencia del daño moral y jurisprudencia nacional

5.1 Taking account of the conclusions set out in the previous section regarding the potential and risks associated with seeking to deliver a major business park, not least in planning terms, this section moves on to consider alternative options – looking particularly at the potential for intensification within key employment areas in the Borough.

5.2 Drawing on the findings of the Council’s 2009 Employment Land Review, the associated Market Demand and Feasibility Report and the 2012 Retail, Office, Industry and Leisure Study, and discussions with LB Bromley Officers, our analysis focuses on the opportunities which exist in Bromley Town Centre for additional office development; and for the regeneration of the Crays Employment Area. Potential for economic growth at Biggin Hill is considered in Section 6.

Office Floorspace Provision in Bromley Town Centre

5.3 DTZ’s recent Retail, Office, Industry and Leisure Study provides, in our view, a robust assessment of demand and development potential for office floorspace in Bromley Town Centre.

5.4 Bromley Town Centre is identified as a back office location with modest take-up focused particularly over the last three years towards demand from local-based SMEs, but exhibiting potential to capture investment from the relocation of back-office functions from banking, insurance and professional services occupiers from Central London on cost grounds.

5.5 Existing corporate occupiers include Direct Line Group, Bank of America, Baker Tilly Accountants and Cosmos Holidays. There is a cluster of holiday operators and small/ medium-sized solicitors. The occupier mix contrasts for instance with Croydon (focused on Government back-office functions and engineering firms) and the M4/ Thames Valley (focused on technology-based firms, particularly US based).

5.6 The rail links to Central London, particularly the fast 16 minute service to London Victoria, is identified as a key market driver for corporate investment/ relocations, with demand from this market segment likely to be focused within a 5 minute walk of Bromley South Station. Take-up is however constrained by a lack of Grade A stock.

5.7 Take up in the town averages around 56,000 sq. ft. per annum. However, this does not take account of variations between some of the years, caused as a result of economic conditions at the time. Not surprisingly, the best years were from 2005 through to 2009 when the average annual take up was nearer 75,000 sq. ft. Whilst some 63,000 sq. ft. of space was let/sold in 2011, take up

in 2010 (30,000 sq. ft.) and 2012 (28,500 sq. ft.) were disappointingly low but hardly an indication that the market is in any way failing. In total 16% of office floorspace is vacant.

5.8 There is a local market from SMEs which the DTZ Study indicates could be met both in the existing office core around Elmfield Road/ Bromley South and around Bromley North. However the Study identifies that it is around Bromley South that the potential exists for net growth in office floorspace (building on and enhancing critical mass in this area), with the likelihood that values/ deliverability and the nature of the market would more likely support maintenance (with upgrading) of stock at Bromley North rather than significant net growth in the quantum of stock. Car parking is identified as a key constraint to the office market in this area.

5.9 The Town Centre Area Action Plan (adopted in 2010) identifies the key development opportunities which exist in Bromley Town Centre and sets out policies to guide development in these areas. We have sought to review (at a high level) the key sites identified as having office development potential, taking account of policies in the AAP and the conclusions of the DTZ Study.

5.10 The following opportunities are identified as having potential for office floorspace development:

• A. Bromley North Station9;

• C. Former Town Halls and South Street Car Park;

• F. Bromley Civic Centre;

• L. DHSS Building.

5.11 Table 4.2 in the AAP identifies the potential for 7,000 sq.m of office floorspace comprising 2,000 sq.m at Bromley North Station10; 5,000 sq.m on the former Town Hall and South Street Car Park sites; and replacement floorspace on the site of the former DHSS building and Bromley Christian Centre. The AAP also identifies the opportunity for the Council to increase the efficiency of land on the Civic Centre site, with potential rationalisation of council office accommodation to allow provision of floorspace for other occupiers.

5.12 The Council is considering a new policy for Bromley North Station as part of the current Local Plan Review. It is anticipated that any further office allocation could be combined with a replacement provision for Northside House. However, a key constraint is the lack of a direct rail link to Central London11. However there is potential that the Docklands Light Railway could be extended (through a two phased scheme) from Lewisham to Catford and then Bromley12. The potential extension of the DLR could provide a boost to the office development potential around Bromley North; albeit that

9

This allocation has been quashed following a legal challenge to the policy

10

In addition to potential replacement of Northside House

11

Currently typical journey times are 35-45 minutes to Victoria with a change at Bromley South

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12

Bromley South will retain a stronger rail link to Central London. An assessment of the scale of the potential has yet to be undertaken.

5.13 The AAP also identifies potential for up to 5,000 sq.m of office floorspace on the former Town Halls and South Street Car Park site. However, following a competitive marketing of the site, the Council have entered into an exclusivity agreement with the Cathedral Group to develop a high quality hotel and conference centre on the site. This will support the business rates base. The distance of the site from Bromley South Station we consider would act to limit market demand for office floorspace in the short-term.

5.14 The Civic Centre site provides office accommodation in buildings of varying ages / quality in a campus environment. The site and buildings we understand are primarily in the Council’s ownership. Any redevelopment of this site would need to respect the setting and legibility of the Palace, which is listed.

5.15 Following a review of the Council’s current and future accommodation needs in 2011, it was decided that the Council would remain on the campus site in the short term. However we consider that the site does offer the potential through redevelopment to create an office campus. We consider that a pre-let would be necessary to underpin the scheme but that it could be attractive to occupiers in offering an in/edge-of-town campus or business park environment. It would need to be supported by adequate parking provision to attract private sector occupiers. We would recommend detailed feasibility testing should the Council want to consider this opportunity further.

5.16 The Council is currently seeking a development partner to take forward retail-led development of Site G. Whilst the planning framework for the site does not currently explicitly support office accommodation, this should be reviewed further as the development scheme progresses.

5.17 It is likely that the scale of office floorspace provision (and particularly any net increase in provision) on sites J and L would be relatively modest. However there may be potential for over-station development at Bromley South, which could add substantially to the office offer.

5.18 There is potential for the delivery of new-build and refurbished office space in Bromley Town Centre and it will be important that sites with potential to support office floorspace are identified in planning policy terms and protected from inappropriate development.

5.19 However it should be recognised that delivering new office floorspace is unlikely to be easy: where there is an existing use value, office-led development in many circumstances is unlikely to generate a sufficient uplift in value to make development viable. This can be demonstrated for instance by considering the potential for redevelopment or intensification of land within the existing office core at Elmfield Road. Elmfield Road provides primarily 1970s and 1980s stock and some of the older

buildings do not meet Grade A requirements in terms of floorplates, flexibility, specification, ceiling heights etc. The area is quite densely developed and occupied with office floorspace provided over 4 or more storeys in many circumstances with undercroft parking. However, the Council is currently examining options for encouraging the redevelopment and intensification of some of the lower density units.

5.20 The viability of refurbishment of office floorspace of individual units is likely to be linked to current occupancy levels and rental income; with an uplift in the rental yield and capital value through redevelopment necessary to justify the capital outlay. For existing well occupied units this may be challenging. However over time, refurbishment may become a viable option. There are also options, through the Local Plan Review, to define a primary office zone centred around Bromley South Station and allocated additional office sites such as Bromley South Station, the HG Wells Centre and Bristol Street Motors sites.

5.21 The potential for redevelopment is also likely to be influenced by the nature of ownership and lease structures. Where for instance a head leasee is paying a ground rent on rents receivable there may be no incentive for the freeholder to consider bringing forward redevelopment and the existing lease structure provides security of income.

5.22 Should the Council wish to consider the potential for redevelopment to provide Grade A floorspace, detailed feasibility work would be necessary including analysis of ownership and lease structures. However we would caution that in many instances the rental uplift which could be achieved through redevelopment may not be sufficient to support redevelopment; and that there are few comparable centres where redevelopment schemes have been successfully achieved in recent years. We consider that the Council would likely need to take a proactive role in land assembly to bring forward a redevelopment scheme for office floorspace in this area in the short-to-medium term.

Intensification of Use at Crays Employment Area

5.23 Next we consider the potential for regeneration of the Crays Employment Area. In doing so, we have drawn on the findings of the Market Demand and Feasibility Report prepared by GVA in 2009 and a site visit undertaken in November 2012.

5.24 The Cray Valley is a corridor of varied land use which includes traditional employment uses, retail park and retail warehouse development, and adjoining residential uses. There are two concentrations of activity – the first clustered around St Mary Cray station to the north and south of the rail line; and the second to the north of Main Road in the Ruxley area.

5.25 The former area is dominated by larger ‘shed’ developments on the A224 frontage with some smaller industrial/ light industrial activities on sites to the rear such as off Cray Valley Road and Leesons Hill. This area is designated as a Strategic Industrial Location in the London Plan.

5.26 Public transport accessibility is reasonable (although less strong than Bromley South) with St Mary Cray Station providing train services to Victoria in 23-28 minutes. It is also served by Thameslink services. However we would consider that environmental quality along Cray Road is average-to- poor (particularly in regard to providing an attractive environment for office development).

5.27 The perception and demand profile for new development along Cray Avenue/ Sevenoaks Way would likely be more biased towards light industrial, trade counter and retail warehousing uses; as opposed to office floorspace. The GVA study identified that “agents and developers alike noted that Cray Valley has traditionally been recognised as an industrial, storage and distribution area … it was agreed that it was not an aesthetically attractive location for office occupiers and it might provide difficult to change the warehouse image of the area into a recognised office location. Any aspirations for the promotion of the Cray Valley as an office location should therefore be a long- term objective.” We concur with this.

5.28 Industrial land around St Mary Cray station is currently well occupied and intensively used. There has been some recent light industrial development and is an evident local market for this and an opportunity to see progressive upgrading of industrial premises over time. However we consider that the potential for commercial office development is limited, unless a sizeable existing development site became vacant (such as for instance the Allied Bakeries site) providing an opportunity to deliver a critical mass of new provision and change perceptions of the area.

5.29 The second area worth consideration is the employment land located on the northern side of Main Road. This area includes the Crayfields Business Park – generally higher quality employment sites. GVA’s 2009 report identifies that two sites adjacent to the Crayfields Business Park could be considered for potential allocation to provide further employment land – however the site to the west is protected public space, whilst the site to the east is Green Belt.

5.30 This area offers greater potential for attraction of B1 employment, subject to detailed feasibility testing, taking account of its environmental setting, and accessibility to the A20 at Crittalls Corner. However viable development would need to be supported by adequate parking provision given the site’s distance from rail links. However the policy barriers in regard to development – particularly in terms of Green Belt policy – together with the impact of office development on local highway infrastructure, represent a clear risk to the deliverability of additional development in this area.