Planning

• Archaeology and Heritage
• Beyond LA21
• Countryside
• Community Projects Guide
• Development Control
• Ecology
• Forest of Bowland
• Forestry
• Grants
• Green Tourism
• Lancashire Environment 2002
  • Foreward
  • Executive Summary
  • Introduction
  • Summary - What the indicators show
  • Bathing Water Quality
  • River Water Quality
  • Lead in Drinking Water
  • Radioactivity
  • Waste and Recycling
  • Landscape Character
  • Landscape - Historic Change
  • Landscape - Woodlands
  • Landscape - Ponds
  • Landscape - Farm Size and Type
  • Countryside
  • Heritage Assets
  • Wildlife
  • Traffic Levels
  • Global Atmosphere
  • Air Quality
  • Quality of the Urban Environment - Housing Condition
  • Quality of the Urban Environment - Urban Extent
  • Quality of the Urban Environment - Noise
  • Environmental & Social Deprivation
  • References
  • Appendix - How the indicators have been measured
  • Lancashire Environment 2002: What do you think?
• Landscape
• Minerals and Waste
• REMADE in Lancashire
• Public Rights of Way
• Ranger Service
• Rural Partnership
• School Grounds Development
• Structure Plan
• Waste Management

Lancashire Environment 2002

Quality of the Local Environment - Growth in Urban Extent

The urban areas of Chorley (8.1%), Preston (7.3%), and South Ribble (6.8%) districts experienced the highest growth rates between 1991 and 2000. Overall urban growth in Lancashire was 4.7%. Wyre, Lancaster, Rossendale and Hyndburn all had growth rates below 3%.

89% of Lancashire is rural undeveloped land with only 11% of Lancashire being urban and these increases have resulted in the loss of just 0.5% of rural land to urban use since 1991. Residential use is the largest use for new urban areas.

Urban growth rates can be compared with population growth to see if the two relate to each other. In this case only a very weak relationship between the two was shown and in some districts urban growth far outstripped population growth showing that other factors are more important for urban growth (possibly including housing demand/supply, rate of household formation, changes to household make up, use of land for industrial / commercial and other non residential uses).

Chorley and Preston also had the highest growth rates between 1976 and 1991 as reported in LCC's Green Audit 2 and have now increased their urban extent by 31% and 22% respectively between 1976 and 2000.

What is the role of LCC and other agencies?

LCC measures urban growth in the County on a periodic basis as part of its strategic planning function to inform policies in the Joint Lancashire Structure Plan.

LCC's Green Audit contained an indicator on growth in urban extent between 1976 and 2001.

The figures for growth in urban extent between 1991 and 2000 formed the basis of a technical report for the JLSP.This information provides a measure for assessing the effectiveness of Structure Plan and Local Plan policies on development.