Westmorland and Furness Local Plan

A new Local Plan for Westmorland and Furness

We are starting work 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 are kicking off the process with an ‘early conversation’ with our communities and stakeholders over summer 2024. We’re at the very early stages of plan making and no decisions have been made. So it’s a great time to get involved in early conversations about 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. 

As part of the early conversation we are also asking people to identify land or sites that are available to be developed for housing, employment, minerals or waste purposes.

Current Consultations - Join the Conversation

Early Conversation

Consultation closes 9 September 2024.

We want to hear your thoughts about where you live, work and visit within Westmorland and Furness, and how you would like to see our area change and develop over the next 20 years. Visit our online survey to share your thoughts, or come along to one of our drop in events to have a chat with a Council officer. 

For more information and to get involved please visit our Local Plan Consultations Page or start the Early Conversation Survey now.

Call for Sites

Consultation closes 30 September 2024.

We are running a Call for Sites exercise, asking people to identify land or sites that are available to be developed for housing, employment, minerals or waste purposes.

For more information and to get involved please visit our Local Plan Consultations Page

Design Code

Consultation closes 9 September 2024.

We are also beginning to prepare a Design Code to set out the design standards we expect from new development. We’d like to understand your views and preferences on local design, the quality of recent development and the different characteristics of places across Westmorland and Furness. 

For more information and to get involved please visit our Design Code Project Page

Drop in Events

As part of our early conversation on the Local Plan, we are holding a number of drop in events across the Local Plan area were we'd welcome you to pop in for a chat with Council officers about the new Local Plan.