Draft Regulation 18 Sandwell Local Plan
Improving Access to the Labour Market
8.37 Restructuring Sandwell's economy is one of the key principles of the Plan's Vision, but the provision of land and premises alone will not deliver the necessary economic transformation without new skills and training in the workforce to help it meet the challenges of changing work requirements and patterns. This policy supports Strategic Objectives 8 and 9.
(1) Policy SEC5 – Improving Access to the Labour Market
- Planning applications for new major job-creating development will be required to demonstrate how job opportunities arising from the proposed development will be made available to the residents of Sandwell, particularly those in the most deprived areas of the borough and other priority groups.
- Planning conditions or obligations will be negotiated with applicants and applied as appropriate to secure initiatives and /or contributions to a range of measures to benefit the local community, including the potential for working with local colleges and universities, to ensure:
- the provision of training opportunities to assist residents in accessing employment opportunities;
- the provision of support to residents in applying for jobs arising from the development;
- enhancement of the accessibility of the development to residents by a choice of means of transport, including walking, cycling and public transport (see Policy STR1);
- child-care provision which enables residents to access employment opportunities;
- measures to assist those with physical or mental health disabilities to access employment opportunities.
- In respect of planning applications for new employment-generating development Sandwell will negotiate with applicants on financial or other contributions, to be secured through planning obligations or the CIL Charging Schedule.
Justification
8.38 The Plan plays a key role in ensuring that people who suffer from social exclusion and disadvantage can contribute fully to the regeneration of Sandwell. It is therefore important that jobs created through new developments across the borough are accessible to as many of Sandwell's residents as possible, especially those in the most deprived areas or who belong to priority groups.
8.39 There are several aspects to increasing the accessibility of job opportunities to residents. Firstly, it may be necessary for improvements to public transport infrastructure and services to be funded, and better facilities for pedestrians and cyclists to be provided, to ensure that residents are able to travel to and from their places of employment within reasonable timescales.
8.40 Support may also need to be provided to assist residents, particularly those from disadvantaged groups or areas, in applying for new jobs and to receive training that will assist them in accessing employment opportunities. Childcare provision may also help in enhancing access to employment and individuals with mental or physical health difficulties may also require additional support to enable them to access jobs.
8.41There are existing support structures and facilities in place across the sub-region to help ensure that local people can access and receive appropriate training to develop the necessary skills to compete successfully for jobs.
8.42 To assist with this, where major new employment-creating development is proposed, the Council will negotiate with companies to devise suitable bespoke training and recruitment programmes that can benefit local people.
8.43 Attracting graduates to, and retaining them within, Sandwell will also be key to securing the growth of a knowledge-based economy. The higher and further education sector is a major driver of economic, social and cultural regeneration and ongoing investment in this sector is supported. The Council will also support initiatives that strengthen linkages between the education sector and the wider economy.
