A new Local Plan for Westmorland and Furness
We are working on a new Local Plan for Westmorland and Furness (excluding the National Parks). When this is adopted, it will replace all the existing Local Plans that were adopted by the former Councils.
The Local Plan will:
- set out how much new development (e.g. homes and employment sites) is needed to support our communities
- make sure new development is built in the right places and in a way which is best for people and the environment
- allocate sites for new housing and other development
- protect some areas and green spaces from development
- include policies that are used to decide planning applications
- plan for development relating to minerals and waste
We kicked off the process with an ‘early conversation’ with our communities and stakeholders in 2024. It is important that we get everyone involved to identify what kind of place we want to live and work in and how we want to see Westmorland and Furness change over the next 20 years.
We have run a number of 'Call for Sites', where we asked people to identify land or sites that are available to be developed for housing, employment, minerals or waste purposes. More information on this can be found here.
May 2026
New legislation published in March 2026 updates the way in which Local Plans should be prepared, beginning with a Notice of Intention to start the Local Plan and a Scoping Consultation. Following approval at Council on 7 May 2026 we intend to give notice of intention to start plan making by 30 June 2026 and run a scoping consultation in July and August. Details will be made available here.
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