Lancaster South Plan AAP including Bailrigg Garden Village

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Planning and Housing Strategy

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.

Background to the Bailrigg Garden Village Masterplan

Work on the Lancaster South Area Action Plan (AAP) is proceeding following  public engagement in 2018  and the publication of the Bailrigg Garden Village Concept Masterplan, [ VISIONMASTERPLAN] . The Masterplan was prepared by the council-appointed consultants JTP and was formally endorsed by Cabinet members at the February 2022 Cabinet. The concepts, ambitions and ideas within this Masterplan provide a starting point for the development of an Area Action Plan.

Preparing a document that is robust, fully evidenced and has been thoroughly engaged upon will take some time to complete. Notwithstanding this, it is important that effective progress is made on Area Action Plan DPD to provide certainty to all; certainty to the local community in terms of how development will evolve in South Lancaster and how key concerns will be addressed; certainty to the development industry and landowners in south Lancaster to ensure the land-uses of the area are well understood and the requirements on new developments are clear and certainty to other key stakeholders and statutory bodies to ensure that the Area Action Plan makes sound and robust decisions around how future development is achieved.

Engagement so far

Informal Engagement

To commence the Area Action Plan process, the council have been undertaking a series of informal engagement events with key stakeholders. It is anticipated that this informal engagement process will provide the opportunity for the planning policy team to reach out to all those with an interest in the Area Action Plan: the local community, the development industry / landowner, and key statutory bodies, to secure input during the preparation of a Draft Area Action Plan.

Reminder:

A draft Area Action Plan has not yet been prepared. On 15 June 2023 Lancashire County Council’s announced a decision to suspend further work on the proposed South Lancaster to M6 transport project. Both the County and City County Council will now need to consider how infrastructure needed to support future development needs in the district might be achieved.  The Councils will engage with strategic partners and local communities when exploring these challenges.  The City Council will need to consider the implications for plan-making in the south Lancaster area. Updates of progress will be added when more information is available.

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Thematic Discussions

During February 2022 and March 2022, the council set up a series of ‘Thematic Discussions’ on key topic areas pertinent to the preparation of the Area Action Plan. Participants to each discussion were selected by the council based on the organisations they represented and their experience in relation to the topics presented. Participants included representatives from organisations such as the Environment Agency, Lead Local Flood Authority, United Utilities, Electricity North West, Morecambe Bay NHS, Lancaster Medical Practice, Highways & Transport Authority, Lancashire Wildlife Trust, and Lancaster University. The discussions were structured around a set of questions which were designed to stimulate debate and discussion and allowed key issues to be explored. The content of these discussions and the key issues and actions raised have been set out in  the Engagement Report here . You can view the  engagement questions here 

Parish Council Liaison Group

In May the council met for the first time with local Parish Councils regarding the AAP, who are either directly or in-directly affected by the preparation of the Area Action Plan. This included the Parish Councils of Scotforth, Aldcliffe-with-Stodday, Ellel and Thurnham. Liasion with Parish Councils allows for engagement with the democratically elected representatives of the community to provide an update on the preparation of the Action Plan and will provide opportunity to input into its preparation.

The event that took place in May 2022 was the first in a series of events with the Parish Councils, which have been set up to provide the opportunity for engagement throughout the Area Action Plan process, both in terms of seeking input on emerging issues but also ensuring that the community is kept updated on progress on the Area Action Plan.

Developer Forum

The council has also established a Developer Forum which seeks to engage with developers and landowners who have expressed an interest in delivering development in South Lancaster. The Forum will explore issues around implementation and delivery. The first Forum took place in   May 2022 to provide background context to the Area Action Plan process, outlining the key issues which the Action Plan will have to address and provide the opportunity for participants to ask questions about the development plan preparation process.

Again, this is the first in a series of events with the development industry which will provide the opportunity for engagement throughout the Area Action Plan process and will be supplemented, where necessary with one-to-one meetings to discuss site or area specific matters as the Action Plan evolves.

Public Consultation on Methodology Papers

To progress a robust and evidentially based Area Action Plan, it will be important that all allocations made in the Action Plan, whether for development or non-development purposes, have been fully explored and investigated. To make clear how allocations in the Area Action Plan will be made, the council will published a series of methodology papers for consultation with all interested parties and stakeholders. Consultation on both methodology papers commenced for a 6 week period from 13 June to 25 July 2022,  more details here .

Comments have been considered and the methodology documents updated and can be found in the EVIDENCE section below

Public Consultation on Topic Papers

From 14 December 2022 the Council undertook consultation on the publication of a series of Topic Papers for an 8-week period to Monday 9 January 2023. The Topic Papers looked to set context and background to some of the issues and matters which the Action Plan will have to address and suggest potential approaches to how such matters could be addressed.  The consultation documents can be found here. 

The Council received a wide range of responses from the local community, development industry and other key stakeholders which provided a diverse range of views over how some of the issues raised could be addressed. In total the Council received 785 responses from 37 individuals or organisations. The Council would like to thank all those who took the time and effort to read and respond to the topic paper engagement, the content and quality of response was very high and will provide valuable information moving forward as the Council seek to prepare a draft Action Plan for consultation later in the year. The Council have now published both a Covering Report (explaining the outcomes of the engagement process) and a Summary Report (which has summarised all responses received) these are  available to read here 

Placemaking with Young Adults

The engagement process with young people, which is being led by the University, and began on Saturday   28th May with a full-day workshop   at Halton Mill. The workshop focused on range of place-making themes and the principles and components of what makes a good place. To support discussions on the day participants to the event were supported by using a place-making tool (as attached) which set out a range of place-making attributes. The outcomes of the workshop provided a range of potential ambitions which young people would wish to see pursued in South Lancaster and promoted by the Area Action Plan.

More details on placemaking with young adults can be view on our storyboard  here 

Evidence Preparation

Coupled with the informal engagement described above, the council will continue to build up the necessary evidence base to support the content and direction of the Area Action Plan. The level of evidence which is required to support the Action Plan is significant given the scale and implications of what is being proposed. The council are engaged in the preparation of the following evidence, some of which has been completed, highlighed below

Process and Procedural Documents

A new Sustainability Appraisal [SA] Scoping Report has been prepared to support the AAP. This represents the start of the SA process and sets out the SA Framework. The SA Framework sets out the sustainability objectives and indicators against which the social, economic and environmental effects of the AAP can be assessed.

Further appraisal work was undertaken in September 2021. This considered the work undertaken as part of the Masterplanning process and also provided an update of previous SA options work undertaken in 2018 with these options now assessed against the revised SA Framework.

Evidence - strategies, assessments and studies

- Environmental Studies (En)

- Sports and Recreation Studies (Sr)

  • Open Space Assessment and Playing Pitch Strategy [E14]

- Transport Studies (Tr)

- Housing Studies (Ho)

  • South Lancaster Housing Strategy [E18]

- Employment and Economy Studies (Eme)

- Viability Studies (VI)

  • Lancaster South Area Action Plan Viability Assessment [E23]

There are further elements of evidence which Officers will seek to progress over the coming months, including evidence which relates to highways, sustainable travel, air quality and archaeology. It is important to note that in relation to highways matters, evidence prepared by the City Council will relate to the work which is already ongoing by Lancashire County Council in relation to new road infrastructure in South Lancaster.

The following evidence was produced as part of the adopted Local Plan process however as it was decided at that time to have an AAP for South Lancaster, as such the evidence will now be updated in due course, see above for the links to the updated evidence.

Lancashire County Council is the local highway authority for Lancaster.  

The County Council has been exploring approaches to managing travel in Lancaster, these are described on the County Council’s “Transforming travel in Lancaster” webpages.  The County Council is preparing a planning application for new roads in south Lancaster that would support the achievement of development in the AAP area.  

PLEASE NOTE:

Evidence will all be made publicly available at key stages of the Area Action Plan process and will start when the council publishes the background / topic papers previously described. Following that any further / new evidence will be published to support key stages of the Area Action Plan process.

The council want to keep an open dialogue with everyone interested in the progress of the Area Action Plan so please keep intouch by signing up the our consultation mailing list, using the link below.

Evidence Document Library [BGV_001_]

All the Lancaster South AAP evidence and supporting documents can also be found in one central place  here 

Timetable

During 2022 and 2023

Informal Engagement & Evidence Gathering (2022): The work which has been described in relation to informal engagement and evidence gathering represents a significant proportion of the work anticipated for the Area Action Plan through the course of 2022 and 2023. This work will form the basis of our understanding in preparing a draft Area Action Plan document which will set out an emerging vision in terms of draft policies to guide new development and the allocation of land for development and non-development purposes.

Late 2023

Consultation on a Draft Action Plan and Refinement (2023): Later in 2023 the Council hope to publish a draft Area Action Plan for South Lancaster and invite comments from all interested parties and stakeholders. For the first time the draft plan will provide a series of policies which will guide development across the South Lancaster area and identify land for development and non-development purposes. The comments received on the draft Action Plan will be fully considered by the council as they seek to finalise the Plan ready for its submission to Government, (Regulation 18 and 19 consultation stages)

Early Spring 2024

Public Examination into the Action Plan (early spring 2024): Once finalised and approved by Members of the City Council, the Action Plan will be submitted to Government, commencing a process of Public Examination. The Examination process, focused around a series of hearing sessions, will be chaired by a Government-appointed Planning Inspector who will consider the soundness of the Action Plan (i.e. its consistency with national planning policy) and its legal compliance (i.e. has it met the legal requirements of plan-making). The Inspector will conclude on these matters, deciding whether the Plan can be formally adopted by the City Council for planning purposes, (Regulation 22)

Anticipated 2024

Adoption of the Area Action Plan (2024): Subject to a satisfactory outcome from the Public Examination, the City Council could be in a position to adopt the new Area Action Plan in 2024

Stay informed

We want to keep an open dialogue so please keep in touch by signing up the our consultation mailing list.

Contact us

plannngpolicy@lancaster.gov.uk