Castle View Lancaster

Following extensive discussions between the partners of this project (Lancashire County Council, Lancaster City Council and Homes England), a decision was made in June 2023 to suspend further work to deliver new transport and other supporting infrastructure for development in south Lancaster in order to re-evaluate the proposals.

This decision was made amid increasing costs driven by extraordinary construction inflation in recent years, combined with other factors that have increased the pressure on and risk to the public purse, and other circumstances that would impact on the final delivery.

Overall, the aim is to continue to develop plans for this part of south Lancaster through the re-evaluation of the current plans and in the context of a full review of the Local Plan by Lancaster City Council.

We'll let people know more about our plans as they are developed.

Find out more in our news release about the decision.

About the suspended project

Known as the South Lancaster Growth Catalyst, this would have involved a significant investment in measures to encourage bus use, cycling and walking, to make these much more attractive travel options in future.

As well as helping Lancaster's economy to continue to grow, this represented an opportunity to solve some of the existing problems at certain times with congestion and pollution in and around the city centre and in Galgate.

The project would also include new education, health, utilities and active travel and bus provision to support new housing and jobs.

Funding for the road scheme and a wider programme of supporting infrastructure included an award of £140 million from the government's Housing Infrastructure Fund. This was returned to the government following the decision to suspend further work.

Development in south Lancashire

As the local planning authority for the south Lancaster area, Lancaster City Council work out how much development, including housing and employment, is needed for the district. 

They adopted a Local Plan for the district in July 2020 setting out how and where the development needed would be achieved until at least 2031. This identified a "broad location of growth" to the south of Lancaster.

Following the decision to suspend the South Lancaster Growth Catalyst, the city council decided in autumn 2023 to stop work on the Lancaster South Area Action Plan. The city council is currently reviewing the Local Plan for the district, which will set out how much development is needed in the district, including where and how this can be achieved.

The city council will continue to work with the county council on how development sites can be connected to roads, cycle paths and footpaths.

Get involved and latest updates

We'll keep people updated when any plans for the area are developed, including opportunities to be part of future consultation and engagement, although there are currently no timings for this.

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