Agenda item

Bailrigg Garden Village - Vision Masterplan

(Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Dowding)

 

Report of Director for Economic Growth & Regeneration (report published on 4 February 2022) 

 

Minutes:

 

(Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Dowding)

 

Cabinet received a report from the Director for Economic Growth & Regeneration to determine whether the Vision Masterplan for the Bailrigg Garden Village prepared for the council in 2021 by JTP consultants and informed by extensive community engagement and close working with stakeholders would be the basis for the council’s planning of the garden village and specifically work to prepare the Lancaster South Area Action Plan.

 

The options, options analysis, including risk assessment and officer preferred option, were set out in the report as follows:

 

Option 1: To endorse the Vision Masterplan as the basis for the council’s planning of the Bailrigg Garden Village and specifically in work to prepare the Lancaster South Area Action Plan.

Advantages: This will help give certainty as to the council’s ambitions for growth in South Lancaster with the community and stakeholders and with the county council with whom the city council is collaborating closely to realise these growth ambitions. The option will provide robust directions for and very significantly inform the statutory planning work required going forward to prepare the Lancaster South Area Action Plan.

Disadvantages: None.

Risks: None.

Option 2: Not to endorse the Vision Masterplan as the basis for further planning work

Advantages: No advantages are identified.

Disadvantages: This option would mean that the Vision Masterplan is either set aside, reviewed or work on such start afresh. This will make for many significant uncertainties. It will not inform, support or assist the statutory planning work necessary going forward to prepare the Lancaster South Area Action Plan, will undermine the credibility of the council in its ambitions for sustainable growth in South Lancaster and further will render largely void many months of work and so make costs incurred abortive.

Risks: This option means delay and risks further costs to the council if further work on the Vision masterplan is sought or the work is to be re-done. The uncertainties attendant with this option will undermine the council’s growth ambitions for South Lancaster and make for uncertainties with how the council is to progress in preparing the Lancaster South Area Action Plan. Further, it may risk the collaborative work by the two councils to secure major government investments into South Lancaster and for the city via the Housing Infrastructure Fund.

 

The officer preferred option is Option1 for the reasons in the analysis above.

 

Councillor Dowding proposed, seconded by Councillor Heath:-

 

“That the recommendations, as set out in the report, be approved.”

 

By way of an amendment Councillor Lewis proposed, seconded by Councillor Whitehead:

 

“That Cabinet requests that the Director for Economic Regeneration & Planning write to all landowners who are intended to be caught within the roof tax, highlighting Lancaster City Council’s desire to partner with them to meet the strategic priorities of the council, while respecting the financial imperatives landowners may be operating within.”

 

This was not accepted as a friendly amendment and Cabinet then voted on the amendment.

 

3 Members (Councillors Lewis, Thornberry & Whitehead) voted for the amendment and 6 Members against (Councillors Brookes, Dowding, Frea, Hamilton-Cox, Heath & Matthews) whereupon the Chair declared the amendment to be lost.

 

Councillors then voted on the original proposal:

 

Resolved unanimously:

 

(1)        That the Vision Masterplan be endorsed as the basis for the council’s planning of the Bailrigg Garden Village and specifically in work to prepare the Lancaster South Area Action Plan.

 

(2)        That Cabinet acknowledge that the Vision Masterplan is a material consideration in the determination of planning proposals.

 

Officer responsible for effecting the decision:

 

Director for Economic Growth & Regeneration

 

Reasons for making the decision:

 

The Vision Masterplan anticipates a very high standard of urban design and development attaining to the latest thinking meeting best practice standards. Certain aspects will be substantively worked through at plan authorisation and construction stages.

 

The decision is consistent with all key elements of the councils Policy Framework including for

· A Sustainable District

· An Inclusive and Prosperous Local Economy

· Healthy and Happy Communities

· A Cooperative, Kind and Responsible Council

 

Further it is in full alignment with the Local Plan and local plan policy including policy for the Broad Area for Growth in South Lancaster.

 

 

 

 

Supporting documents: