Local Plan Review
Lancaster City Council adopted its Local Plan in July 2020 which included a Strategic Policies & Land Allocations DPD, a Development Management DPD and a range of accompanying Local Plan Policies Maps (viewable with the Strategic Policies & Land Allocations DPD) which set out an ambitious planning vision for the district. Upon the adoption of the Plan, the City Council chose to embark on a Partial Review of the Plan to strengthen its approach towards adopting to, and mitigating against the impacts of Climate Change following the declaration of a Climate Emergency in January 2019. Work on the partial review is at an advanced stage with its adoption expected early in 2024.
The adopted Local Plan set out an ambitious vision for the district but, since its publication in 2020, it has been subject to a number of challenges outside of its control which has led to the Council on 12 September 2023 taking the decision to review of the Local Plan. The Review will revisit a range of issues that will include (but is not limited to) matters of housing, employment, climate change, design and the natural environment. The decision to undertake a Full Review of the Plan has led to the decision to cease work on the preparation of the Lancaster South Area Action Plan. Key reasons for the suspension of this work included the decision by Lancashire County Council in June 2023 to suspend work on the proposed South Lancaster to M6 Transport Project (otherwise known as the South Lancaster Growth Catalyst). The reasoning behind this suspension of this work related to the increasing inflationary costs of the project and its implications on the ability to delivery sustainable growth in the South Lancaster area.
The decision to undertake a Full Review of the Plan made by Cabinet 12 September, Council approved the Local Development Scheme (27 September 2023) for publication along with a process of delegation for minor updates.
Over the coming months, the City Council will be looking to talk to all those who are interested in helping to shape the content and direction of the Local Plan Review. That will involve our local communities, infrastructure providers, the development industry and other key stakeholders in the process. We will look to talk and listen to your views, your ideas and your concerns and use these comments to help us prepare a new Local Plan. We will also look to put together a range of studies and assessments which will help inform the content of the Local Plan Review both in terms of the allocation of land or the policy it contains.