About the Woodside local development order consultation
Consultation closed: Monday, 7 September 2020
Consultation started: Monday, 27 July 2020
We want to see significant job creation in the future, so we are committed to help existing businesses and employment areas grow through flexible and positive planning measures. To this end, we’re planning to revise and re-adopt a local development order (LDO) for Dunstable’s Woodside Industrial Estate and extend it to cover adjacent areas such Houghton Hall Business Park. LDOs allow minor works and changes of use to be carried out without the need for planning permission.
Background
Woodside is ideally suited to a LDO. It is a substantial, purpose-built and established industrial / employment area, with well-defined site boundaries with some scope for intensification.
We first made the area a LDO in May 2014. The main driver then was the age of some of the units as demonstrated by the large number of planning applications for small scale improvements or minor works to existing buildings. The LDO will also be a useful tool to assist businesses in adapting to new layouts and various other changes to their premises necessitated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and their response to recovering from the impact of this on their business.
The primary purpose of a LDO remains to simplify the planning permission process. It will detail the specific types of development and uses which are permitted without having to apply for planning permission. Together with continuing to meet the needs of those refurbishing premises, it will make it simpler for businesses to set up, diversify or expand their existing operations. The LDO should also give greater confidence to businesses investing in Woodside.