2021: Issues and Options and second Call for Sites
Last Updated: 3 April 2024
Our ‘Issues and Options’ stage of our Local Plan Review ran from 30 June to 29 October 2021. This was an early stage of the process where we presented some of the key issues in planning for South Lakeland to 2040. We set out a number of options and approaches on how the new Local Plan might address the issues and asked for views on them.
Issues and Options Public Consultation 30 June to 29 October 2021
The main document we consulted on was the ‘Issues and Options’ report. This set out the main issues we are planning for and presented a number of policy options and approaches for addressing them, which we sought views on.
Issues and Options consultation report (PDF 9MB / 234 pages)
We prepared a virtual consultation room containing exhibition boards and a welcome video, and links to all our documents, virtual ‘drop in’ sessions and online survey.
We also prepared a summary leaflet to provide an overview of the consultation and the issues we were seeking views on: Issues and Options consultation summary leaflet (PDF 354KB / 4 pages)
We also prepared a range of supporting documents as part of the consultation:
- Policy Review Paper (955KB / 83 pages): a report setting out which policies in our existing Local Plan we are reviewing through the Local Plan Review process
- Consultation Statement (PDF 1MB / 97 pages): a report summarising the feedback we received in our early engagement in 2020 and how we have taken it into account in preparing the Issues and Options report
- Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report (PDF 11MB / 240 pages): sets out how we will assess the Local Plan to help ensure it delivers sustainable development. It provides a detailed assessment of the social, economic and environmental characteristics of our district. The report is also available as a non technical summary (PDF 365KB / 7 pages)
- Housing Topic Paper (PDF 2MB / 85 pages): a report providing more information on the housing issues in the Issues and Options report and useful facts and figures
- Settlement Services and Accessibility Assessment (PDF 7MB / 157 pages): an assessment of the services and facilities within our key and local service centres, and their accessibility by public transport/walking. This will inform the review of our settlement hierarchy
- Call for Sites 2020: Submitted Sites: a report presenting the sites that were submitted through our Call for Sites in summer 2020
On the 14th July 2021 we held an online stakeholder workshop to discuss our Issues and Options report. You can read a summary Stakeholder Workshop Report.
How to get involved
There were a wide range of ways that people were invited to get involved in the Issues and Options consultation.
We encouraged as many people as possible to give us their views through our issues and options online survey.
You can view responses that were submitted: Issues and Options consultation responses. Responses that were received by email or post are in the process of being uploaded to our survey.
We also offered ‘virtual chat’ sessions with our Officers via Microsoft Teams on Tuesdays 11am-12pm throughout the consultation period.
As the consultation period progressed we closely monitored the COVID-19 situation and by October we were in a position to safely run a series of in person drop in events, and so extended the consultation deadline from 30 September to 29 October.
These were held at the following locations from 3pm to 7pm:
- Tuesday 12 October: Kirkby Lonsdale, Lunesdale Hall
- Friday 15 October: Milnthorpe, M: Hub
- Monday 18 October: Kendal Town Hall (Town Council Chamber)
- Wednesday 20 October: Ulverston, Coronation Hall
- Friday 22 October: Grange-over-Sands, Victoria Hall
Planning Officers were on hand to listen to and discuss any views in response to the consultation. These were open public consultation events with a range of Covid secure measures in place. Almost 250 people came along to our drop in sessions and lots of interesting conversations were had.
Call for Sites 2021
We also ran a second ‘Call for Sites’ exercise alongside the Issues and Options consultation. This invited suggestions for sites to be considered for allocation for housing or employment development.
You can find out more about this exercise and view the sites that were suggested on our Call for Sites survey page Call for Sites 2021.
Sites submitted in this Call for Sites are being assessed in our Strategic Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (SHELAA). A draft of the SHELAA study should be available for comment in early 2023. You can find out more about the SHELAA by reading the methodology report which explains what the study is and how we will produce it.
Call for Sites 2021 Feedback Consultation
In autumn 2022 we ran a feedback consultation offering the opportunity for communities and stakeholders to give us their initial thoughts on the sites suggested in the Call for Sites 2021 exercise.
You can find out more about this consultation and view the responses that were received on our survey page Call for Sites 2021 Feedback Consultation