SOUTH LAKELAND DISTRICT COUNCIL

News release (with pictures)

29 September 2022

UPDATE ON REVIEW OF SOUTH LAKELAND LOCAL PLAN – HAVE YOUR SAY

Residents who would like to keep up to date with progress on the review of the South Lakeland Local Plan can do so by signing up for regular updates.

An important role in updating the Local Plan, which relates to the district outside the National Parks, is to ensure South Lakeland’s residents and businesses have sufficient land allocated for new homes and jobs between now and 2040.

Anybody who wants to receive regular updates about the South Lakeland Local Plan Review can sign up to the mailing list by emailing: developmentplans@southlakeland.gov.uk.

The most recent newsletter includes the opportunity, through an online survey, for people of all ages to give their views on 40 sites suggested by landowners and developers during the 2021 Call for Sites, as part of the South Lakeland Local Plan Review.

At this early stage, none of these locations has been formally proposed by the council or allocated for development. Although the list may seem long, most of the sites will ultimately not be needed.

Residents, businesses and organisations are therefore invited to have their say on these sites while the Local Plan Review is still in its early stages by completing the online survey by the closing date of 10 November 2022. If residents do not have access to the internet, they can browse the documents in person at Kendal Town Hall or at libraries in Kendal, Ulverston, Grange-over-Sands, Kirkby Lonsdale, Milnthorpe or Arnside, and submit a paper response.

Importantly, there will also be a further opportunity to comment on the council’s high-level technical study of all of the suggested sites in both the 2021 Call for Sites and the earlier 2020 Call for Sites. The findings of this study – the Strategic Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (SHELAA) study - will be published later and further comments invited.

Councillor Helen Chaffey, Portfolio Holder for Housing and the Local Plan, said: “We hope people of all ages will want to help us plan for the future of South Lakeland by taking this early opportunity to tell us what they think of the suggested sites.

“The South Lakeland Local Plan is vitally important for making South Lakeland the best place to live, work and explore. We are reviewing the Local Plan to ensure that our children and grandchildren can thrive and have the homes and jobs they need between now and 2040, as well as making sure we have enough extra-care provision to enable older people to stay living locally in their communities - while protecting the district’s special landscape, historic character and rich biodiversity.

“A key part of this ambition is making sure that sufficient land is allocated for development in the district, outside the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks, which have their own Local Plans.

“Rest reassured that nothing is set in stone yet and we are still in the early stages of this work. None of these 40 suggested sites – or the 122 sites put forward in the first Call for Sites in 2020 – have been proposed or allocated for development. Everything is still up for discussion so it’s the ideal time to share your thoughts.

“The list of sites may seem long but it’s likely that many of them will not be needed. A number of them, including several in south-west Kendal, were also put forward in 2020. If you’ve already commented on these during last summer’s Issues and Options consultation, there’s no need to do so again, unless you would like to make further comments.”

Here is how to have your say by 10 November 2022:

• Visit the survey page here to find out more about the sites and to give your early views: https://cumbria.citizenspace.com/south-lakeland-district-council/call-for-sites-2021-feedback

• Browse the documents in person and complete a paper form at Kendal Town Hall or Kendal, Ulverston, Grange-over-Sands, Kirkby Lonsdale, Milnthorpe or Arnside libraries.

The newsletter also provides an update on other work under way on the Local Plan Review. These include an important study to assess the level of need for new homes and employment between now and 2040. Another study is updating our record of services and facilities in South Lakeland’s towns and villages to help inform where new development may best be located in future.

The council is also working closely with Barrow and Eden Councils and Cumbria County Council to make sure that our plans are aligned as we approach April 2023, at which point the new Westmorland and Furness Council will assume responsibility for Local Plan preparation across the new authority.

Ends