Town councillors said they will defend Kendal’s boundaries from extra development.
The authority’s planning committee has been considering South Lakeland District Council’s Local Plan – guidance to be used between now and 2040 about how to develop the district – and in particular land identified as potential sites for new housing.
Local plans include sites put forward by owners and developers as land that may be suitable for new housing – and SLDC asks people, organisations and the town council for their views about them.
Doug Rathbone, chairman of the town council’s planning committee, said: “Our communities expect us to defend the integrity of the spaces they call home. Some of the proposed development sites for the new Local Plan just splurge across green fields, without any reference to the neighbouring communities.
“They don’t account for climate change, they don’t account for the pressure on local services, on water or sewerage, traffic and travel, schools or health facilities. We can and must do better than this if our town is to develop, fit for the middle of the 21st century.
“The town council wants to see Kendal thrive in its existing footprint as much as possible. Any breach of the existing settlement boundaries must be for the benefit of all our residents, not just a handful of developers building generic, could-be-anywhere, poorly designed homes and neighbourhoods.”
Of particular concern, the town council said, were the greenfield site to the west of the town up to the bypass, and to ‘fill in’ the open spaces between Kendal and the village of Natland.
However, the Local Plan is not a definitive list of sites that are earmarked for development, but a wishlist of areas that could be built on.
An SLDC spokesman said: “At this early stage, none of these locations has been formally proposed by the council or allocated for development. Although the list may seem long, most of the sites will ultimately not be needed.”
Councillor Helen Chaffey, portfolio holder for housing and the Local Plan, said: “We hope people of all ages will want to help us plan for the future of South Lakeland by taking this early opportunity to tell us what they think of the suggested sites.
“The South Lakeland Local Plan is vitally important for making South Lakeland the best place to live, work and explore. We are reviewing the Local Plan to ensure that our children and grandchildren can thrive and have the homes and jobs they need between now and 2040, as well as making sure we have enough extra-care provision to enable older people to stay living locally in their communities – while protecting the district’s special landscape, historic character and rich biodiversity.
“A key part of this ambition is making sure that sufficient land is allocated for development in the district, outside the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks, which have their own local plans.
“Rest reassured that nothing is set in stone yet and we are still in the early stages of this work. None of these 40 suggested sites – or the 122 sites put forward in the first call for sites in 2020 – have been proposed or allocated for development. Everything is still up for discussion so it’s the ideal time to share your thoughts.
“The list of sites may seem long but it’s likely that many of them will not be needed. A number of them, including several in south-west Kendal, were also put forward in 2020. If you’ve already commented on these during last summer’s issues and options consultation, there’s no need to do so again, unless you would like to make further comments.”
