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South Lakeland Local Plan

Local Plan documents adopted by the former South Lakeland District Council.

The South Lakeland Local Plan forms part of the existing Westmorland and Furness consolidated Local Plan framework.

Find out more about legacy Local Plans

The South Lakeland Local Plan comprises the following documents:

Local Plan Core Strategy

The Core Strategy provides the strategic planning framework for the district, outside the National Parks. It sets out the long term vision, objectives and policies that will guide proposals in our other local plan documents.

The adoption of the Development Management Policies DPD (DM DPD) and the Arnside and Silverdale AONB DPD has resulted in the replacement of some policies in the Core Strategy either wholly or in part.

The Addendum note to the Core Strategy and Land Allocations DPD explains the relationship of the DM DPD and AONB DPD with the Core Strategy in this respect.

Addendum note to the Core Strategy and Land Allocations DPD (PDF 178KB / 6 pages)

Land Allocations

The Local Plan Land Allocations document identifies land for different types of development outside the National Parks.

Other background documents used in the preparation and examination of the Land Allocations Development Plan Document (DPD) are listed in the library document below. If you would like to view a digital copy of any of the documents listed within, contact us using the details at the bottom of the page.

For designations and allocations identified in the Land Allocations DPD, please see our policies map section below.

The South Lakeland Local Plan Policies Map shows the extended National Park areas that came into force in August 2016.

The adoption of the Development Management Policies DPD (DM DPD) and the Arnside and Silverdale AONB DPD has not resulted in any Land Allocations DPD policies being replaced.

However, it has resulted in a number of new site designations in respect to the AONB and the Kendal Canal Head area. Changes to the district wide Policies Map and inset settlement maps for the AONB are detailed in the Policies Maps.

Changes to the Kendal Canal Head area are contained in Appendix 2 of the DM DPD. The Addendum note to the Core Strategy and Land Allocations DPD explains the relationship of the DM DPD and AONB DPD with the Land Allocations DPD in this respect.

Addendum note to the Core Strategy and Land Allocations DPD (PDF 178KB / 6 pages)

Development Management Policies

The Development Management Policies Development Plan Document (DPD) for South Lakeland outside the National Parks contains a set of planning policies that will be used in the determination of planning applications, and management of the shape and quality of new development in the South Lakeland Local Plan area.

Adoption of the Development Management Policies DPD

South Lakeland District Council adopted the DPD on 28 March 2019.

Copies of the adopted DPD and the Inspector's Report are available to view at the following locations during normal opening hours:

  • South Lakeland House, Lowther Street, Kendal, LA9 4DQ
  • Coronation Hall, County Square, Ulverston, LA12 7LZ
  • Libraries in Kendal, Ulverston, Grange-over-Sands, Milnthorpe, Kirkby Lonsdale and Arnside

Replacement of current adopted local policies

The adoption of the Development Management Policies DPD has resulted in the replacement of a number of saved policies from the adopted 1997 Local Plan (saved Local Plan 2006) within the South Lakeland Local Plan area as detailed in Appendix 3 of the DM DPD.

It has also resulted in some policies in the Core Strategy being replaced wholly or in part. The Development Management Policies DPD does not replace any policies in the Land Allocations DPD, however, it has resulted in changes to the District-Wide Policies Map (see Appendix 2 of the DPD) replacing previous Local Plan designations for the Kendal Canal Head Area.

The Addendum note to the Core Strategy and Land Allocations DPD explains the relationship of the DM DPD with the Core Strategy and Land Allocations DPD in this respect.

Addendum note to the Core Strategy and Land Allocations DPD (PDF 178KB / 6 pages)

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Development Plan

The Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) covers part of South Lakeland and Lancaster Districts. It is a nationally protected landscape given statutory protection and its primary purpose is to conserve and enhance the natural beauty of the area.

Please note that the government has now changed the name of AONBs to National Landscapes

The DPD identifies sites for new housing and employment to contribute towards meeting local needs and sets out planning policies to ensure that development reflects the AONB designation.

For allocations and designations within the AONB, please see our policies map section below.

Adoption of the AONB DPD

We adopted the AONB DPD on 28 March 2019. It came into effect from that date and forms part of our Development Plan.

Lancaster City Council adopted the AONB DPD on 13 March 2019. The DPD also forms part of the Lancaster City Council Development Plan.

Copies of the adopted DPD and Inspector's Report are available to view at the following locations during normal opening hours:

  • South Lakeland House, Lowther Street, Kendal, LA9 4DQ
  • Morecambe Town Hall, Marine Road East, Morecambe, LA4 5AF
  • Arnside & Silverdale AONB Offices, The Old Station Building, Arnside, LA5 0HG
  • Libraries in Arnside, Carnforth, Kendal, Milnthorpe and Silverdale

Replacement of current adopted Local Plan Policies

The adoption of the Arnside and Silverdale AONB DPD has resulted in the replacement of a number of saved policies from the adopted 1997 Local Plan (saved Local Plan 2006) within the South Lakeland Local Plan area as detailed in Appendix 5 of the AONB DPD.

It has also resulted in some policies in the Core Strategy being replaced wholly or in part. The Arnside and Silverdale AONB DPD does not replace any policies in the Land Allocations DPD, however, it has resulted in a number of new site designations as identified in the Policies Maps, replacing previous Local Plan designations.

The Addendum note to the Core Strategy and Land Allocations DPD explains the relationship of the AONB DPD with the Core Strategy and Land Allocations DPD in this respect.

Addendum note to the Core Strategy and Land Allocations DPD (PDF 178KB / 6 pages)

Policies map

The interactive policies map shows the areas covered by policies, designations and allocations that are identified in our adopted development plan documents (DPDs) and will be kept up to date as new development plan documents covering the plan area (including Neighbourhood Plans) are adopted.

To view the policy layers, click on the “Adopted Local Plan allocations and designations” drop down in Map Categories.

As an alternative to the interactive map, the following PDFs are available:

The AONB DPD Policies Map shows allocations and designations across the whole of the AONB, part of which is in Lancaster City (that is: Warton and Silverdale). 

Latest changes

The inset maps for Allithwaite and Cartmel Land Allocations (Maps 6 and 11 respectively) have been updated following the making of the Allithwaite and Cartmel Neighbourhood Plan on 30 April 2024. The updates relate to the designation of local green spaces as included in the Neighbourhood Plan. As a result of these changes, the key has had to be altered slightly in respect to the Allithwaite and Cartmel maps. The Allithwaite and Cartmel maps also include the most to up to date position regarding nature conservation designations