Morecambe Area Action Plan
MAAP Draft Plan (Preferred Options) Consultation
Preparing the Morecambe Area Action Plan will vision and map the future of central Morecambe.
It will create a framework for the development, conservation and change needed to secure lasting regeneration gains for the town.
Latest news
Thank you to everyone who commented on the Draft Local Plan consultation which closed on 14 December 2012. A report on the findings of the consultation will be available shortly. A consultation will take place in 2013 on the publication version of the documents. The documents will then be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for a public examination, before they can be formally adopted in late 2013/ early 2014. To find out more please click on the links below.
Draft Plan (Preferred Options) Consultation - Autumn 2012
Draft Local Plan consultation leaflet has been delivered to all households in the district.
A eight week consultation ran from 22 October 2012 to 14 December 2012 on a new Local Plan for the district. The Core Strategy is the main document in the Local Plan and was adopted by the council in 2008. This established the overall vision and overriding strategy for the district. Three further documents (Development Plan Documents (DPDS) have now been prepared:
- Land Allocations
- Development Management
- Morecambe Area Action Plan
Drafts of each of these plans are now available. The Morecambe Area Action Plan can be viewed below.
A report on the findings of the consultation will be available in 2013.
Point us in the right direction...
You can also click the viewer below to read the Morecambe Area Action Plan online:
There are a number of companion documents to the Draft Plan which will also be made available during this consultation period. These include a draft Sustainability Report in two parts - Sustainability Appraisal and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SA and SEA) with supporting separate appendices; and a draft Habitats Regulation Assessment (HRA) - please note that the 'Figures' from Appendix B can be found at the end of this document.
Background
The council's adopted Core Strategy (2008) identified central Morecambe as a Regeneration Priority Area. In October 2008, the council's Cabinet authorised the production of an area action plan for central Morecambe.
What is an Area Action Plan?
An Area Action Plan (AAP) is a Development Plan Document (DPD) that will form part of the Lancaster District Local Plan Together with the Core Strategy they will form the most important considerations in determining most planning applications in central Morecambe.
The preparation of an area action plan will put in place a comprehensive and robust planning framework to provide for the development, conservation and change needed to secure lasting regeneration gains. It is both a policy and delivery tool and goes beyond traditional land use policy documents by considering issues of funding, timing and delivery.
Land use and development management policies for the wider district are also currently being prepared - see www.lancaster.gov.uk/planningpolicy for further information.
The Morecambe Area Action Plan
The Morecambe Area Action Plan (MAAP) will provide a framework to facilitate and manage development and change within central Morecambe over the next ten years or so to 2023/4. The MAAP will become the document through which the visions and objectives for the area will be developed, considered and co-ordinated for implementation. It will identify key infrastructure projects that will contribute to the regeneration of central Morecambe. It will direct investment, give increased certainty to potential investors, build confidence and assist the council in securing funding and facilitating development. Economic circumstances inevitably will affect the pace of regeneration but bringing forward the MAAP should ensure that central Morecambe is well placed to capture and benefit from economic upturn.
The MAAP should:
• Detail the vision for central Morecambe set out in the Lancaster District Core Strategy:
'Central Morecambe is identified as a Regeneration Priority Area of sub-regional importance. Through tourism, housing renewal and heritage led regeneration, central Morecambe will be reinvented as a visitor destination drawing on its natural and built heritage, and as an office and service centre with restored historic townscape and a revived housing market.' Lancaster District Core Strategy (July 2008), Policy ER2.
• Provide a spatial framework that will help facilitate development and change to realise the regeneration vision.
• Be supported by the community
• Be deliverable
Preparing the MAAP
Stages
Preparing any DPD under the new planning system might be described as involving three main stages:
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Preparing the evidence base
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With stakeholders, identifying the scope, objectives and key issues and out of these options before agreeing a preferred option
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Publishing the plan for formal consultation, submitting the preferred option for examination and, subject to the outcome, formal adoption.
Outline Timetable
A draft plan (preferred options) will be available for consultation from 22 October - 14 December 2012. The comments and responses to this will inform the production of a final draft plan (Spring 2013) to which representations can be made. These will be presented for independent examination in Summer 2013. Subject to the outcome of this examination, formal adoption is anticipated to occur in early 2014.
In reaching this stage extensive public and stakeholder consultation has been carried out. See our Consultation page for further information.
Contact Us
There will be further opportunities to get involved with the the MAAP and the wider Local Plan so please continue to visit this page. In addition, you may wish to receive notifications of our consultations and progress by adding your details to our consultation database. Please contact us with your details via one of the methods below. We would love to hear from you:
Email: morecambeaap@lancaster.gov.uk or planningpolicy@lancaster.gov.uk
Write: Morecambe Area Action Plan, Regeneration and Policy Service, Lancaster City Council, PO Box 4, Town Hall, Dalton Square, Lancaster LA1 1QR. Please note that the Regeneration and Policy Service is based at Morecambe Town Hall but mail is sorted in Lancaster.
Phone: 01524 582375 or 582362