Chorley Borough Council, Preston City Council and South Ribble Borough Council have together launched a ‘Call for Sites’ as they look to meet Central Lancashire’s housing and infrastructure needs over the coming decades. During this first stage of public consultation, individuals, developers or any interested parties are being invited to submit details of any sites across the three authority areas that may be available for development over the next 15 years.
The consultation opened for a twelve week period on Friday 17th August and closes at 11:59pm on Friday 9th November 2018. Sites can be any size or type; including occupied; vacant, derelict or undeveloped land and proposals can be for any type of land use, including residential, commercial, retail, leisure or recreation.
The aim of the ‘Call for Sites’ exercise is to help inform future decisions on planning and development in the area. Although Chorley, Preston and South Ribble Councils all have their own existing Local Plans in place, adopted in 2015, the launch of the consultation sees the three councils collaborating to refresh their plans in a joined up and complimentary way. The resulting new ‘Central Lancashire Local Plan’ will form an overarching document covering the whole cross-borough housing market area.
David Bailey, Partner and Chartered Planning & Development Surveyor at Lea Hough commented:
“This consultation is a fundamental step in shaping the future of the Central Lancashire area. As well as giving the public the chance to have their say on which areas of land should and shouldn’t be developed, there is also a clear opportunity here for landowners themselves that may want to consider selling all or part of their land for development.
“Whether the land was acquired with development aspirations in mind – or else is simply available land that the owners may not have previously considered selling, this could be the ideal opportunity.”
Identifying a potential site does not infer that the Councils in any way support the development of the site. Sites will be assessed through the local plan making process and will be subject to normal planning procedures. One way in which a landowner can improve their chances of their land being acquired for development, either by a local authority or a private construction company, is to have the relevant planning permissions in place.
David Bailey and his team specialise in getting land allocated for planning permission, thus making it much more valuable and attractive to developers. In light of the new Call for Sites across Central Lancashire, David would be happy to take calls from landowners for an initial conversation without charge or obligation.
To speak to a member of the Lea Hough team about our services for both landowners and developers concerning planning and development, please contact us.
More information about the Central Lancashire Local Plan and the Call for Sites can be obtained here.
