Civic group welcomes suspension of plans for south Lancaster

The planned road project between south Lancaster and the M6 which would provide access to the proposed Bailrigg Garden Village was suspended last week due to rising costs.

Lancaster City Council originally agreed to sign a Collaboration Agreement with Lancashire County Council in August 2021 to draw down huge amounts of Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) which potentially opened the doors to a further 9,000 plus new homes in south Lancaster.

Lancaster Civic Vision addressed the council meeting at the time, arguing that while they recognised the need for further housing in south Lancaster there had been insufficient opportunity for a proper and robust engagement with the community on a proposal of such magnitude.

David Morgan, deputy chair and communications lead, said: "Whilst we recognise that the HIF business case for 9,000 plus homes did not override or bind the independent plan-making role of Lancaster City Council’s local planning authority, the return of the HIF grant to Government by Lancashire County Council now appears to remove any linkage or influence between the two.

"Civic Vision also welcome the comments of Coun Phillip Black, leader of Lancaster City Council, who has described the decision of the county council and Homes England as sensible.

"We are particularly reassured by his commitment that 'We will work with our partners and our local community to develop this new vision' and we would urge Lancaster City Council to ensure that strategic vision of housing developments in our district is in future dealt with through the normal open and transparent local planning processes, unencumbered by stringent and inflexible criteria that often arise from external funding opportunities such as HIF, which may not always be in the district’s best interests.

"From this standpoint Civic Vision look forward to participating in the development of this new vision and feel that the decision to rethink the transport plans for south Lancaster also points to the need for a new dialog to address the overall transport needs of the district from a coordinated community perspective, which Lancaster Civic Vision would be prepared to help facilitate."