New homes at former riding school would harm 'peaceful' Lancaster Canal, says report

Proposals to build up to 70 new homes at a former horse riding school would harm the 'peaceful retreat' of Lancaster Canal, says a council report.

The report by Lancaster City Council planning officers has recommended the new houses at a former equestrian stables near Ashton Road in Lancaster be refused planning permission.

The council has received more than 75 objections to the proposals from members of the public.

But developers said the plans would provide "much needed new family housing within Lancaster" and a "sustainable and attractive extension to the southern edge of the city".

Warren Cadman of WVC Lancaster Limited said he was "very disappointed" that the scheme was being recommended for refusal.

The Canal Bank Stables site was formerly home to a livery business and riding school, and currently includes small paddocks and stable buildings.

A council report published this week said: "The proposed site is located within a valued landscape, designated as an Urban Setting Landscape (USL), alongside Lancaster Canal that forms an important green space network in the district.

"The character of the area is open, rural, and tranquil and provides an important visual frame to the existing urban area and offers a peaceful retreat along the canal from the urban area.

"The proposal for residential development fails to preserve the open nature and character of the area resulting in significant harm to the landscape character of the site, the visual amenity of the area and the value and integrity of the canal corridor as an important green space."

The scheme by WVC Lancaster Limited is asking for outline planning permission on the 3.36 hectare greenfield site, north of Ashford House, for up to 70 homes with public open space and creation of a new T-junction on the A588 (Ashton Road) to access the development.

It also proposes 30 per cent affordable housing (21 of the 70 homes).

Aldcliffe with Stodday Parish Council have objected, saying the single access onto Ashton Road is "wholly inappropriate and dangerous".

"The development will add more traffic to an already busy road, close to existing access points, and will add more traffic to the rural lanes through the parish, as drivers chose to rat-run through the country lanes to avoid the congested city centre," they said.

There have been no objections from County Highways, on condition that £512,423 is received towards improving the local roads network.

The reasons for public objections include traffic concerns, the proposed access road will directly face property on Viscount Drive, and fears of harmful visual impacts, loss of character, increased noise and substantial impacts on the enjoyment of walkers and cyclists using the canal towpath, noise and traffic fumes, air pollution, dust, and lighting disturbances, risk of the canal being polluted, increased risk of flooding and loss of valuable wildlife habitats.

Two objections from Dynamo Cycle Campaign said the development "makes no provision for sustainable transport...and cycling is already hazardous on Ashton Road".

The application says: "The proposals provide an opportunity to deliver a comprehensive sustainable housing scheme delivering much needed new family housing within Lancaster.

"The site will deliver up to 70 high quality, new family homes providing a sustainable and attractive extension to the southern edge of the city of Lancaster. The site would deliver a mix of new homes to suit a range of needs, new high quality green spaces for people to enjoy and new pedestrian and cycle links, which would integrate the site into the surrounding active travel network.

"The scheme embraces good design and placemaking principles to create an accessible, sustainable, high-quality place where people want to live. The site is well located adjacent to new residential development and can help contribute to meeting local housing needs.

"The site will provide a range of high quality family homes where people will live and take pride in their environment. The site will also offer new publicly accessible open space, including new recreational routes and green spaces to promote health and wellbeing, picnic areas and children’s play space benefiting both new and existing residents."

The council report says: "This is a very finely balanced case as the provision of up to 70 new homes weighs strongly in favour of the proposal. 

"The provision of affordable housing, open space and education contributions ensures the proposal is policy compliant.

"Given the particular characteristics of this site and wider Urban Setting Landscape and canal corridor, it is considered that the substantial harm identified would in this case significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits of the proposal."

You can read the council's report in full here.

Mr Cadman said: "We are very disappointed to note that the application is going to committee with a recommendation for refusal. As an applicant team we have worked closely with the Local Planning Authority to overcome all technical issues and are delighted to have received support from all statutory consultees, including, the canal and rivers trust who have commented that the proposed public open space provision ‘provides a positive engagement and animation of the waterway corridor’. 

"The applicant has committed to providing all requested section 106 financial contributions towards improving local schools and for improvements to the pitch and associated changing facilities at Royal Albert Fields. In addition, the scheme is committed to providing the policy compliant affordable housing provision. The only reason for refusal is predicated on a landscape designation which we believe holds limited weight, especially in the context of the council’s woeful housing land supply position of approximately 2.1 years.

"A landscape and visual appraisal was submitted with the application which found that the proposal would cause no undue harm to the landscape character and would in fact enhance the canal side character and settlement edge and create a softer transitional edge between the urban area and countryside.

"We are aware of several recent housing developments that have been allowed at appeal in similar landscape designations and considering Lancaster City Council’s housing land supply position, we believe this application would have a very good chance of being overturned at appeal. Therefore, if the scheme is refused at committee on Monday this will have a direct cost to the taxpayer in defending a decision which is contrary to the governments aims to build 300,000 homes every year and which further limits the availability of local affordable housing in an area which is in dire need.

"We also feel after the shock announcement that the Bailrigg Garden Village is to be put on hold, this will only put more pressure on the LPA to deliver much needed market value and affordable homes to the area, the question here is “if this site is not suitable where can they deliver this much needed housing and when.” This is described as a finely balanced case in the committee report, so has the announcement today tipped the balance?"

Lancaster City Council planning regulatory committee, a group of elected councillors, is expected to make a final decision on planning permission at a meeting on Monday June 19. It will start at 10.30am at Morecambe Town Hall and is open to the public.

Representatives of the committee are scheduled to visit the site on Monday ahead of the meeting.