Push for business respondents in latest public consultations

Cumbria Chamber of Commerce is calling for businesses in the South Lakeland and Eden district areas to make sure their voices are heard with both local authorities reviewing their local plans.

The Chamber feels strongly that business and the region’s economic needs should be a top priority in helping shape the future of these areas in line with local residents and issues such as housing needs and community facilities.

Both authorities are running consultations and surveys which the Chamber is hoping will be answered by as many business leaders who have an interest in Cumbria as possible, whose expertise and insight could make a real positive difference moving forward.

Luke Jarmyn, Business Engagement Manager at the Chamber, is attending a South Lakeland authority event for stakeholder and community organizations this Wednesday to ensure the voice of businesses is heard as part of the Local Plan Review process.

Eden’s consultation ends on Monday 9 August, while South Lakeland’s continues until Thursday 30 September.

If you wish to highlight any queries, issues or concerns then please get in contact and email luke@cumbriachamber.co.uk.

Eden

Eden District Council announced recently that it will be undertaking a partial review of the Eden Local Plan 2014 – 2032, and it has set out some big questions for Eden residents, businesses and stakeholders to answer.

The Council needs views and ideas about how planning decisions in Eden need to change, to help improve design in Eden and protect the local environment.

Key questions being consulted on include:

  • How important is it to reduce the risk of flooding?
  • Should solar panels be installed as standard on all new buildings?
  • What is it about your part of Eden that makes it so special?
  • Should new developments provide Electric Vehicle charging options?
  • How important is it to protect local wildlife habitats?
  • What is it that makes good or bad design?

The Local Plan is a key document used when assessing new planning applications in Eden. It sets out critical planning policies, including where and how many new houses can be built, where employment land is allocated and the design and type of buildings that are encouraged.

The Partial Review is being carried out to incorporate new policies into the adopted Local Plan, especially in relation to addressing climate change and strengthening the design criteria that must be met by new developments.

How to get involved

Eden District Council is inviting residents, businesses and organisations to respond to the consultation through a short questionnaire.

Further details about the consultation, including how to respond to the questionnaire, are available on the Council’s website at www.eden.gov.uk/ELPpartial-review-consultation. The public consultation ends at noon on Monday 9 August 2021.

For this consultation, the Council is hoping to engage with as many people as possible, including residents who wouldn’t normally respond to traditional consultation methods. To help with this, and in addition to the online questionnaire, people are being invited to use VideoAsk to submit their responses.

VideoAsk allows users to quickly record a visual or audio response, send a text or an instant message in response to direct questions posed through the video. It’s hoped that the more personal, one-to-one nature of VideoAsk will help in canvassing the opinions of both the district’s younger and more-senior populations. Find out more at www.videoask.com/fymgdrbn8.

If you have any questions or queries in relation to the Partial Review of the Eden Local Plan 2014 – 2032, or you are unable to respond via the online questionnaire or VideoAsk, you can contact a member of the Council’s Planning Policy Team on 01768 817817 or by email at loc.plan@eden.gov.uk.

South Lakeland

South Lakeland started its second of six phases on 30 June, and is reviewing everything from what employment and housing the area needs to how its historic character and special landscapes can be protected.

The key issues have been grouped under eight themes:

  • Tackling Climate Change
  • Where should new development go?
  • Market towns, villages and rural areas
  • Healthy people and communities
  • Meeting housing needs
  • Supporting a sustainable economy
  • Greener travel, transport and infrastructure delivery
  • Enhancing the natural and built environment

The Local Plan covers the areas of South Lakeland outside the national parks and allocates sites for housing and employment. It also contains the policies that the council will use to decide whether to grant planning permissions for new development and how any development will be managed.

But it doesn’t just set out rules – it also seeks to set the framework for making the area even better, for example by reducing the environmental impact of new development and supporting measures to tackle climate change, plans to improve town centres, building affordable housing, helping protect wildlife and enhancing green open spaces, reducing flood risk and improving infrastructure such as roads and cycleways.

SLDC started reviewing its Local Plan in early 2020, but the revised Local Plan won’t be adopted until 2024 following several more consultation phases, including a full public examination of the proposals.

Last year the council started to ask people how they saw the future of South Lakeland and what they thought was important in planning for the next 20 years.

Building on what people said during that early part of the consultation the council is presenting some of the key emerging themes at the ‘Issues and Options’ stage.

At this stage the council is inviting views on how issues may be addressed, for example how new development might respond to the climate crisis, how many homes need to be built to meet demand and how town centres can manage and adapt, particularly post-pandemic.

The consultation is open until 30th September.

How to get involved

© Cumbria Chamber of Commerce