Lancaster District Emergency Plan

The city council has a district emergency plan to support the emergency services and to provide welfare and help in the event of a major disaster.

• View Lancaster District Emergency Plan

The plan sets out the notification and call out procedures to be adopted in different kinds of emergencies, and identifies the different departmental responsibilities. The plan is generic in nature, providing a flexible framework for a plan of action should the need arise.

The district plan also links to a number of other plans prepared by the city council and other partner organisations for use in specific circumstances, for example flooding, hazardous substance incidents, oil pollution, and the incidents involving radioactivity.

Community Emergency Plans

The city council actively promotes the improvement of community resilience through the creation of community emergency plans. Following the experiences of Storm Desmond in 2015 a growing number of communities in the district have produced their own plans. In some cases they have identified local buildings that can act as community emergency centres and they also keep a stock of emergency equipment to assist local residents in emergency situations. The groups meet periodically to exercise their plans and share ideas and learning from incidents.

Here are links to some of the established community groups around the district:

• Caton and North Quernmore: https://www.catonvillage.org.uk/community-emergency-plan-2447
• Overton: https://overtonemergencyplan.wixsite.com/overtonemergencyplan
• Warton: https://www.warton-pc.gov.uk/index.php/wep

The Lune Valley Flood Forum also brings together agencies dealing with flooding and communities who are affected by it.

• The LVFF website is: www.lunevalleyfloodforum.org.uk

If you would like to discuss how an emergency plan might be created for your own community the Civil Contingencies Officer will be pleased to assist and can be contacted at civilcontingencies@lancaster.gov.uk  

What is a major emergency?

The Cabinet Office defines a major emergency as:

Any event or circumstance (happening with or without warning) that causes or threatens death or injury, disruption to the community, or damage to property or to the environment on such a scale that the effects cannot be dealt with by the emergency services, local authorities and other organisations as part of their normal day-to-day activities.

Contact us

• Lancaster City Council’s emergency planning telephone number is 01772 678915
• Please note calls are recorded for monitoring and training purposes