South Lakeland District Council Cabinet Wednesday, 18th July 2018 Lake District National Park Local Plan Response Portfolio: Deputy Leader of the Council Report from: Assistant Director Strategic Development Report Author: Dan Hudson – Development Strategy and Housing Manager Wards: Ambleside & Grasmere; Bowness & Levens; Broughton & Coniston; Cartmel; Kendal Rural; Windermere; Forward Plan: Consultation Response - NA 1.0 Expected Outcome 1.1 To ensure that the Council’s views on the Lake District Local Plan from the planning, economic development, asset management and housing perspectives are communicated to the Lake District National Park Authority and are taken on board in when the next iteration of the plan is published. 2.0 Recommendation 2.1 It is recommended that Cabinet endorse the comments made in Paragraphs 3.21 -3.47 of this report as South Lakeland’s response to the Lake District Local Plan 3.0 Background and Proposals Background 3.1 The Lake District National Park is a planning authority in its own right and outside the area for which South Lakeland is the Local Planning authority. The Lake District Local Plan will contain the development strategy, land allocations and development management policies for the whole national park (including national park extension areas). 3.2 The Lake District covers about 55% of South Lakeland by area and contains about 23% of the District population. Conversely South Lakeland covers around 1/3 of the National Park area but contains around 56% of its population including three of its four main settlements. So there is a high level of interdependency between the National Park and the District. 3.3 The Lake District Local Plan will cover the 15 years from 2019 to 2034. Once adopted, it will replace the current Lake District Local Plan including the Core Strategy, the Land Allocations document and the Minerals Safeguarding document as well as saved policies of the South Lakeland and Eden Local Plans which relate to the extension areas. The Coniston neighbourhood plan will remain as part of the statutory planning framework. 3.4 The National Park authority is consulting on the plan between Tuesday 8th May and Friday 29th (LDNPA have agreed to extend the period for SLDC’s response to July 19). The consultation is a ‘preferred options consultation’ and is a critical time to influence the plan. Following the consultation, LDNPA will have regard to comments made and work up the preferred approach document into a published plan (expected in January 2019). There will then be a six week period during which formal representations may be made. The plan will be submitted for examination in April 2019 and hearings are anticipated to take place in August and September 2019. LDNPA expect to adopt the plan in early 2020. What is the overall Development Plan Strategy? 3.5 The starting point for the plan is the vision set out in the Lake District National Park Management Plan which underpinned the successful bid for World Heritage Site status as follows; The 2030 Vision for the English Lake District is that it will be: An inspirational example of sustainable development in action. A place where its prosperous economy, world class visitor experiences and vibrant communities come together to sustain the spectacular landscape, its wildlife and cultural heritage. Local people, visitors, and the many organisations working in the Lake District or have a contribution to make to it, must be united in achieving this. A series of objectives are drawn from the vision including Cross cutting sustainability objectives – including digital and transport connectivity, climate change adaptation, mitigation and resilience, health and wellbeing and distinctiveness of place; Prosperous Economy; Vibrant Communities; Visitor experience; Spectacular wildlife and cultural heritage; ` The plan’s policies and allocations contribute to the achievement of those objectives. The plan must also safeguard the Special Qualities for which it was designated as a National Park and the Attributes of Outstanding Universal Value which justify its World Heritage Site status. 3.6 The plan seeks to deliver 1200 new permanent homes between 2019 and 2034 which equates to 80 per annum for the whole National Park. It also seeks to make provision for the creation of 2,850 new jobs. It carries forward the existing hierarchy of settlements and seeks to accommodate most new development in ‘Rural Service Centres’ including Ambleside, Backbarrow/Haverthwaite, Bowness/Windermere, Broughton, Coniston, Grasmere, Hawkshead and Staveley. Allowance is also made for smaller scale development in villages and ‘cluster communities’. Development in open countryside is exceptional. 3.7 The plan follows the existing Local Plan in dividing the Park into six character areas and roughly apportions development between them in line with population size. These are North (Allerdale) 25%, West (Copeland) 10%, East (Eden) 7%, Central and South East (SLDC) – Windermere/Grasmere and areas to the east) 44% and South (SLDC) – Hawkshead, Backbarrow and areas to the west) 14%. 3.8 Housing and employment allocations are in line with that distribution of development. 3.9 The plan also identifies three showcase areas which are intended to be the focus for high quality sustainable tourism development and infrastructure. These are Keswick/Borrowdale, Ullswater and Windermere. The Windermere corridor is large, extending from Backbarrow to Grasmere north to south and from Coniston to Staveley and outside the Park boundary to Kendal east to west. 3.10 An important policy is Policy 4 – Development and Flooding which supports flood resilience schemes and natural flood management which are tailored to provide the optimum solution for the catchment as a whole, reduce the risk and impact of flooding on settlements and high risk areas seeks to ensure that development will be safe for its lifetime and will not increase the risk of flooding elsewhere. 3.11 There are a range of policies protecting landscape quality and built and natural heritage within the park as well as policies to promote town centres (including Ambleside, Bowness and Windermere), employment development, appropriate tourism development, agricultural diversification and appropriate renewable energy. 3.12 Other policies include Policy 22 on sustainable travel which supports proposals for improvements to the Oxenholme-Windermere railway, seeks to promote sustainable travel and safeguard the former Coniston-Foxfield and Greenodd-Haverthwaite rail alignments. 3.13 Policy 23 supports additional public parking at ‘Multi-Purpose Hubs’ (including Ambleside, Bowness, Broughton, Coniston, Grasmere, Hawkshead, Staveley and Windermere) where evidence shows that it is needed and it facilitates the transfer of people to sustainable transport and encourages long-stay parking. It also seeks to secure developer contributions for sustainable travel from all new parking. 3.14 Policy 25 seeks to ensure that lakeshore development has a direct lake use function, enhances the character of the lake shore and does not have an adverse impact on navigation. What does the plan propose in South Lakeland? 3.15 Of the total housing requirement of 1200 dwellings or 80 per annum, 690 or 46 per annum are proposed in South Lakeland. 3.16 Policy 12 sets the overall strategy for the Central and South Distinctive Area (see Para 3.7 above). It proposes to deliver prosperous economy by supporting The retention and development of the University Campus in Ambleside and its safeguarding for higher and further education including student accommodation; Employment sites at Ambleside, Staveley, Boundary Bank and Plumgarths; It proposes to encourage visitor experience by supporting Development in the Windermere Corridor Showcase Area; Solutions to car parking and congestion in Windermere; Infrastructure and station improvements to the Lakes line including electrification, Improvements to rights of way network in the Levens Valley and between Arnside and Meathop including the crossing of Arnside Viaduct; It proposes to enable vibrant communities by supporting At least 35 affordable dwellings per annum including on sites allocated for housing in Ambleside, Grasmere and Windermere; Extra care housing to serve the needs of the area; A public sewer along the A591 between Waterhead and Windermere Small scale development in Longsleddale valley. It proposes to conserve and enhance the spectacular landscape by supporting Advertising (signage and lighting) that is sympathetic to the historic town and buildings of Windermere; The rejuvenation of ornamental parkland around Windermere Schemes which facilitate landscape recovery at existing caravans and parks to reflect their sensitive and inspirational setting 3.17 Policy 13 sets the overall strategy for the South Distinctive Area It proposes to deliver prosperous economy by supporting Employment opportunities in Hawkshead which diversify the economy; Employment sites at Coniston, Haverthwaite and Backbarrow It proposes to encourage visitor experience by supporting Development in the Windermere Corridor Showcase Area; Development which enhances the role of Coniston and Hawkshead as sustainable transport hubs; Creation of a multi-user route connecting Coniston and Broughton-in-Furness It proposes to enable vibrant communities by supporting At least 11 affordable dwellings per annum including on sites allocated for housing in Backbarrow, Broughton-in-Furness, Coniston and Hawkshead; Extra care housing