South Lakeland Local Development Framework Core Strategy ADOPTED 20 OCTOBER 2010 Lawrence Conway, Chief Executive, South Lakeland District Council www.southlakeland.gov.uk/ldf Alternative formats of this document are available by calling 01539 733333 ext.7102 South Lakeland Local Development Framework Core Strategy Foreword South Lakeland’s superb natural setting shapes the district’s image and plays a major role in its development, making it a very attractive location for residents and visitors alike. However, while the district can offer a quality of life that is second to none, it does experience problems common to many rural areas. There is a need to deliver more balanced communities and reduce inequality, including reducing dependency on high-level services and jobs in towns outside the district, increasing provision of affordable housing and developing and maintaining high-quality modern sustainable transport networks. The challenge is to secure a sustainable level and pattern of development that creates balanced communities and meets local needs whilst protecting the environment that makes the district special. The Core Strategy document sets out the development strategy for South Lakeland outside the National Park areas up to 2025. It is a long-term plan. It draws together strategies of the council and other organisations whose activities have implications for the development and use of land. It puts the aspirations of the Sustainable Community Strategy into effect – seeking to create a sustainable district that is the best possible place to live, work and visit. The Core Strategy is a document which forms part of the South Lakeland Local Development Framework (LDF). The LDF is a series of documents which will eventually replace the South Lakeland Local Plan that was adopted in 1997 and the Alterations to the Local Plan adopted in 2006. The LDF will consider how the District (outside the two National Parks) will develop over the next fifteen years and will form part of the statutory Development Plan for the District. The Core Strategy does not set out site-specific proposals or allocations; rather it looks at the broad locations for delivering new development such as for housing, employment, transport, retail, public services etc. The delivery of the Core Strategy will require a partnership approach. It involves other organisations and groups who will work within the framework of their own strategies and plans as well as the spatial plan for the District – the LDF. Evidence of how well the policies in the Core Strategy are being achieved against clear targets set out within the Monitoring and Implementation Framework is highlighted in the Annual Monitoring Report. The Core Strategy has resulted in some minor changes needing to be made to the 2006 Local Plan Proposals Map. These changes relate to the inclusion of an inset map showing the boundary of the Kendal Canal Head Area Action Plan as well as the removal of settlement boundaries relating to those settlements not identified as a Principal, Key or Local Service Centre. Further amendments to the Proposals Map will be required when other Development Plan Documents are published, primarily the Allocations of Land DPD. Cllr Peter Thornton Housing and Development Portfolio Holder Foreword i SouthSouth Lakeland Local Local Development Development Framework Framework ProposedCore Strategy Submission Document Contents Section Policy Sub Section Page Number 1. Introduction Spatial portrait – South Lakeland today... 1 Key issues 7 South Lakeland tomorrow… 9 Strategic objectives – how we will get there… 11 2. The Development Strategy CS1.1 Sustainable development principles 15 for South Lakeland CS1.2 The development strategy 17 3. Spatial Strategy for Kendal Kendal today… 26 Key issues 30 Kendal tomorrow… 31 CS2 How we will get there… 32 4. Spatial Strategy for Ulverston Ulverston and Furness today… 40 Key issues 44 Ulverston and Furness tomorrow… 45 CS3.1 How we will get there… 46 CS3.2 Ulverston Canal Head and corridor 46 5. Spatial Strategy for Cartmel Cartmel Peninsula today… 55 Peninsula Key issues 58 Cartmel Peninsula tomorrow… 57 CS4 How we will get there… 60 6. Spatial Strategy for the East The East (including Milnthorpe 65 (including Milnthorpe and Kirkby Lonsdale) today… and Kirkby Lonsdale) Key issues 69 The East (including Milnthorpe 69 and Kirkby Lonsdale) tomorrow… CS5 How we will get there… 70 CORE POLICIES 7. Housing CS6.1 Meeting the housing requirement 76 CS6.2 Dwelling mix and type 79 CS6.3 Provision of affordable housing 81 CS6.4 Rural exception policy 82 CS6.5a Gypsies and Travellers 83 CS6.5b Travelling Showpeople 84 CS6.6 Making effective and efficient use of land 85 and buildings ii Contents South Lakeland Local Development Framework Core Strategy Contents Section Policy Sub Section Page Number 8. Jobs, Skills and Regeneration Land for jobs and business 86 CS7.1 Meeting the employment requirement 88 CS7.2 Type of employment land required 89 and sectoral split CS7.3 Education and skills 90 CS7.4 Rural economy 92 CS7.5 Town centre and retail strategy 95 CS7.6 Tourism development 96 CS7.7 Opportunities provided by energy 97 and the low carbon economy 9. Quality Environment CS8.1 Green infrastructure 98 CS8.2 Protection and enhancement 99 of landscape and settlement character CS8.3a Accessing open space, sport and recreation 100 CS8.3b Quantity of open space, sport and recreation 101 CS8.4 Biodiversity and geodiversity 102 CS8.5 Coast 103 CS8.6 Historic environment 103 CS8.7 Sustainable construction, energy efficiency 107 and renewable energy CS8.8 Development and flood risk 108 CS8.9 Minerals and waste 109 CS8.10 Design 110 10. Health and Wellbeing CS9.1 Social and community infrastructure 111 CS9.2 Developer contributions 113 11. Accessing Services CS10.1 Accessing services 115 CS10.2 Transport impact of new development 116 APPENDICES Appendix 1 Monitoring and Implementation Framework 117 Appendix 2 Local Plan Policies Replaced by the Core Strategy 157 Appendix 3 Glossary 165 Contents iii South Lakeland Local Development Framework Core Strategy iv South Lakeland Local Development Framework Core Strategy Section 1 – Introduction Spatial portrait – South Lakeland today… 1.1 South Lakeland district lies in the southernmost part of Cumbria between the districts of Lancaster, Craven and Richmondshire to the south and east, and the Cumbrian districts of Eden, Barrow-in- Furness, Copeland and Allerdale to the north, south west and west. 1.2 This Core Strategy covers those areas of South Lakeland outside the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Park areas, whose authorities will produce their own Core Strategies. The area covered by the South Lakeland Core Strategy is shown on the map below. Figure 1 - The area covered by this Core Strategy 1.3 The area covered by this Core Strategy can be split into: • Kendal and its Rural Hinterland1 to the east • Ulverston and Furness to the west • Cartmel Peninsula to the south 1.4 The total population of the area of South Lakeland District is around 105,000, with over a quarter of local residents being older than working age. The population is projected to grow to around 117,000 by 2026, during which time it is expected that the number of children and young people will decrease with an increase in the proportion of retired people in the area. 1 For the purpose of this document, the rural hinterland of Kendal will be referred to as The East (including Milnthorpe and Kirkby Lonsdale) Section 1 – Introduction 1 South Lakeland Local Development Framework Core Strategy 1.5 Kendal is the main town in the Core Strategy area. It is located in the southeast and accounts for 38 per cent of the total population. Ulverston, in Furness, is the second largest town, with 15 per cent of the population. Both are Key Services Centres – places that provide things such as jobs, shops and leisure facilities for many people in the surrounding areas. 1.6 Grange-over-Sands, Kirkby Lonsdale and Milnthorpe are smaller settlements that also act as Key Service Centres. Together they make up 12 per cent of the total population. 1.7 The rest of the population lives in villages and hamlets scattered across the countryside. Some of these act as Local Service Centres, which are like Key Service Centres but offer fewer services. Figure 2 - Population density The economy 1.8 South Lakeland has low unemployment compared to other authorities in Cumbria. Business survival rates are high. Kendal College and the newly formed University of Cumbria, which has a number of sites across Cumbria (but not within the area), provide further and higher education for local residents. 1.9 The area also provides economic opportunities for communities in the neighbouring National Parks, where there are more constraints on development. Kendal and Ulverston in particular are well located to cater for the needs of a large number of residents within the Lake District National Park without them having to travel long distances to work. 1.10 Tourism is successful, but many jobs in the sector have relatively low pay. Young people who leave the area for higher education often do not return. Those residents who are well-qualified commonly have to travel outside the district for work. Travel-to-work patterns show that more people travel out of South Lakeland than into South Lakeland for employment – with workers commuting as far as Manchester and Warrington. 2 Section 1 – Introduction South Lakeland Local Development Framework Core Strategy 1.11 The number of young people leaving the area, together with the heavy reliance on tourism, causes communities to become unbalanced. Regeneration becomes more difficult. 1.12 Some communities in South Lakeland face other, specific economic challenges. Ulverston is having to adapt to the changing business plans of major employers such as GlaxoSmithKline.