§ Mr. Leadbitterasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he intends to modify the operation of the office development control; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. JayI intend to raise from 3,000 sq. ft. to 10,000 sq. ft. the exemption limit for office development permits in the areas outside the Metropolitan Region to which the control of office development applies. I shall be laying an Order to this effect as soon as possible.
This very limited relaxation in the office control will mean that in the East and West Midlands, East Anglia and the South-East (with the exception of the Metropolitan Region), office development permits will no longer be required for small developments. These are usually designed to serve a need of a purely local character, and local planning considerations alone need apply to them.
Industrial Development Certificates will continue to be required in these areas for industrial buildings exceeding 3,000 sq. ft. (or 5,000 sq. ft. in the Isle of Wight) and premises (including offices) which are ancillary to them.
247WOffice developments above 10,000 sq. ft. in these areas and all office developments over 3,000 sq. ft. in the Metropolitan Region will remain under close control. This control will continue to be operated mainly as an instrument of regional planning with the object of encouraging the diversion of office employment to Development Areas and the improved distribution of employment throughout the country. It will be recognised that a considerable part of the new office space which I have to authorise by issue of office development permits in fact provides ancillary services such as basement car-parks, canteens and amenities which do not add to office employment in the area of the control. Now that we have checked the unrestrained development of offices in and around London, I propose to give greater weight to the needs of physical planning, and the efficient use of labour put forward by those office employers, including local authorities, who are unable to move from the South-East and who wish to build offices.