LANCASTER CANAL QUARTER Strategic Regeneration Framework REFERENCE 1234 CONTEXTPROJECT AND SITEPROJECT ANALYSIS TITLE DOCUMENT BID TO TENDER CLIENT STATUS DATE NAME OF CLIENT DRAFT 12/12/19 DECEMBER 2019 REF. 2037 2 | 4 | CONTENTS 1 ABOUT LANCASTER 7 Context 8 Land Use and Facilities 10 Movement 11 Green and Blue Infrastructure 12 Car Parking 13 Lancaster Canal 14 Planning, strategy and market context 16 2 THE CANAL QUARTER 25 The Canal Quarter Today 26 Heritage 28 Understanding the Site's Character 30 Site atmospheres 32 Cataloguing the Site's Specialness 34 LANCASTER CANAL QUARTER 5 | ABOUT LANCASTER 1 8 | CONTEXT Lancaster is the most northerly city in Lancashire, located on the River Lune KENDAL and the Lancaster Canal. Its LAKE DISTRICT rich past as a commercial and economic centre has M6 resulted in an abundance of historic sandstone buildings, YORKSHIRE winding streets and defined DALES spaces, as well as a skyline LANCASTER marked by steeples. It benefits from good connections to the towns and FOREST OF cities of the North West and M6 BOWLAND proximity to the M6. Lancaster is also a main rail station on the West Coast Mainline. It enjoys excellent links with BLACKPOOL neighbouring Morecambe. M55 This includes a traffic-free PRESTON M65 cycleway, the western end BLACKBURN of which comprises the national coast-to-coast Way of the Roses cycle route. M56 M62 The Lake District, Forest of M6 Bowland Area of Outstanding M61 Natural Beauty, Arnside M60 M58 and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty M57 MANCHESTER and the Yorkshire Dales are also within easy reach. M62 LIVERPOOL The city benefits from the M56 internationally-renowned Lancaster University, and many students are tempted to relocate to Lancaster after their studies are completed. and cultural heritage and is Lancaster offers other excellent known for its range of festivals, opportunities for further cultural venues and high quality education at Lancaster and pubs. The vibrant local music Morecambe College and at scene is supported by a number the Lancaster Campus of of music venues and a series the University of Cumbria. of annual music festivals. Lancaster is proud of its arts LANCASTER CANAL QUARTER 9 | MORECAMBE SANDYLANDS THE SITE LANCASTER HEYSHAM PROPOSED BAILRIGG GARDEN VILLAGE LANCASTER UNIVERSITY CANAL QUARTER The Canal Quarter is located immediately northeast of Lancaster city centre, roughly bounded by St Leonard's Gate, Alfred Street, Lancaster Canal, Quarry Road, Nelson Street, LANCASTER CITY CENTRE Bulk Street and Moor Lane. Previously known as Canal Corridor North, the 6.5 hectare site was subject to another spatial strategy during the early 2000s. However Lancaster City Council decided to rethink the scheme, in the name of a more deliverable, phased approach to the redevelopment of the site. 10 | WIDER CONTEXT LAND USE AND FACILITIES A pp ro x. 15 m in w a lk M6 App rox . 10 m in w a lk App rox . 5 m in w a lk M6 The Canal Quarter's proximity to the city centre KEY and its comparable size have the potential to Site Primary school significantly influence its existing pedestrianised River Lune Secondary school centre. Canal Higher education Lancaster is compact and walkable, and most City centre of the city centre amenities are within 15 Medical facility Train station minutes walking distance from the surrounding Supermarket residential areas. Bus station Football club Cricket club LANCASTER CANAL QUARTER 11 | WIDER CONTEXT MOVEMENT 34 / Ke J n 6 d a M l o T A6 A6 M6 cam re b o e A M A6 p o p T r o x . 1 5 A m p i p n r o w x a . 1 l 0 k m A i p n p r w o a x . l k 5 m i n w a l k A6 M6 A6 / L 33 an J c 6 U M n i o / T P r e n s o t The Canal Quarter benefits KEY from Lancaster's excellent Site connectivity with its River Lune surroundings, both by rail Canal and road. The main railway Railway station is located 7-10 minutes walk from the site. The A-road Motorway network runs past the edge of 10-20 mins to A-roads 20 mins to Lancaster University the site boundary; it provides Preston B-roads easy vehicular access, but on Public Right of Way (PRoW) 30 mins to Kendal the other hand, also acts as a 30 mins to Bridleway potential barrier to movement. Morecambe Traffic-free cycle route 40 mins to 40 mins to Kendal Preston Recreational route 50 mins to Blackpool 1 hour to 1 hour to Kirkby Manchester Lonsdale 12 | WIDER CONTEXT GREEN AND BLUE INFRASTRUCTURE A pp ro x. 15 m in w a lk RYELANDS PARK App rox . 10 m in w a lk App rox . 5 m in QUAY w WHALLEY a MEADOW lk RECREATION GROUND DALTON SQUARE DALLAS ROAD GARDENS WILLIAMSON SCOTCH PARK QUARRY FAIRFIELD BISHOP'S NATURE WALK RESERVE GREAVES PARK There is a lack of green space within the city KEY centre - the key public spaces within the city's Site heart are Dalton Square, within the historic civic River Lune quarter, and Quay Meadow, a large green space Canal around Lancaster Castle. Public open space The River Lune and Lancaster Canal both provide Sports amenity within the city centre and are important, Allotments biodiverse walking routes. Cemetery LANCASTER CANAL QUARTER 13 | WIDER CONTEXT CAR PARKING There are several areas of surface car parking KEY distributed across Lancaster city centre. The Canal Site Quarter site is predominantly covered by council Surface car parking owned and managed surface car parking areas. These include Edward Street, Bulk Street and Nelson Street car parks. 14 | LANCASTER CANAL The Lancaster Canal is known as the 'Black and White Canal' as it transported coal down from the North and limestone up from the South. The canal was only connected up to the wider network (via the Ribble Link) in 2002. This long period of isolation from the wider network has contributed to the canal's unique character. The site has the potential to play a major role in providing a new point of interest along the canal and contribute to the tourism offer of Lancaster. LANCASTER CANAL QUARTER 15 | KENDAL 66KM GREENLANDS FARM VILLAGE LANCASTER THE CANAL QUARTER GALGATE MARINA BARTON GRANGE GARDEN CENTRE BOAT HIRE PRESTON BOAT HIRE 16 | PLANNING, STRATEGY AND MARKET CONTEXT The Canal Quarter is located within Lancaster City Centre and is recognised to hold the potential to create an exciting and unique neighbourhood, accommodating a mix of uses whilst contributing to the vibrancy and vitality of the city centre as a whole. The SRF has been developed with full consideration to strategic policy and regeneration context relevant to the area, which is summarised in this section. A fuller review of the strategic and planning policy context is contained in the Lancaster Canal Quarter SRF Planning Appraisal produced by Avison Young. PLANNING POLICY CONTEXT The relevant planning context is set out in the and the Proposed Modifications version. National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which provides the overarching planning The emerging Local Plan for Lancaster requires framework that underpins decision making at the development in the Canal Quarter to be brought local scale. The NPPF expects the planning system forward in the context of a Development to embrace positive development and to deliver Framework (this SRF) which will be prepared in the types of sustainable development that will the form of a Supplementary Planning Document create inclusive, mixed and vibrant communities. (SPD). It further states that the framework will support the phased regeneration of the Canal Whilst the relevant adopted Development Plan Quarter area and provide a document which can Documents (‘DPDs’) for Lancaster comprise be applied in a flexible and adaptable manner. the Lancaster District Local Plan (adopted April 2004), the Core Strategy (adopted July It supports a mix of town centre uses across 2008), and the Development Management DPD the area, and specifically requires the mix (adopted December 2014), it is recognised that of uses brought forward to contribute to the Council are currently preparing a new Local the overall diversity across the city centre. It Plan, intended for adoption in early 2020. At the requires explicit connections between the time of writing, the Council are consulting on Canal Quarter and the wider area to create the proposed modifications to the Local Plan a sustainable extension to the city centre. following Examination in Public earlier in 2019. The adopted Development Management There is no question of the long term focus DPD will remain a material consideration on the need to regenerate this area of the city in determination of planning applications centre. Indeed, the site was first allocated for across the site following adoption of the development in the form of Supplementary revised Local Plan and Canal Quarter SPD. Planning Guidance (‘SPG’) Note 8 ‘Lancaster Canal Corridor – North Development Brief’, which was adopted by the Council in May 2002. The focus on the Canal Quarter as a priority area for regeneration and investment continues to be a theme within Lancaster’s emerging local planning policy, with the site designated as ‘Canal Corridor North, Central Lancaster’ within Policy SG5 of the emerging Part One Strategic Policies and Land Allocations Development Plan Document (2011-2031) Publication Version LANCASTER CANAL QUARTER 17 | PLANNING HISTORY The Canal Quarter is steeped in an extensive and The Inspector, and some statutory consultees, extremely important planning history which the noted specific concern with the proposals relating SRF has had full regard of in defining a vision to potential heritage impact.