Councillors have discussed what can be done to speed up plans to develop Lancaster’s Canal Quarter, as the scheme remains on hold.
Ever since large-scale housing clearance in the mid-20th century, the Canal Quarter has become under-utilised and isolated in terms of its role within the wider city centre. It’s thought that regeneration of the Canal Quarter area is critical to enhancing Lancaster’s role as a commercial and cultural centre. The aim is that land and buildings within the 6.5 hectare area will be redeveloped for a mix of uses, including housing, commercial, enhanced cultural and leisure opportunities.
This week, the issue of the area, and how to make progress in the scheme, was raised once again.
A full meeting of Lancaster City Council heard that talks with developers are ongoing, but the issue of cost has made progress more difficult. It’s hoped that some important buildings, under-used sites and derelict areas can be regenerated over the next decade.
Green Party Councillor Tim Dant raised the matter, asking: ‘’Perhaps the most eagerly awaited and long overdue project that Lancaster Council is involved with is the redevelopment of the Canal Quarter, where the Council owns a substantial amount of land.
‘’However, I notice that in (documents) presented to Cabinet on the 1st March 2022, the Canal Quarter is ‘on hold’, still awaiting a ‘detailed business case’ – the project has not yet started! Could the portfolio holder please give us a timetable of when we can see some actual development?
In response, Green Councillor Tim Hamilton-Cox, cabinet member for sustainable economic development replied: ‘’Many recent and current elements of work being undertaken at the Canal Quarter have been well publicised. Most recently the planning portfolio holder Councillor Dowding was quoted on the appointment of Masterplan consultants PRP in December to undertake the masterplanning stage.
‘’The council’s Canal Quarter webpages have also recently been updated, to reflect the adoption into the City Council’s Local Plan, of the Canal Quarter Strategic Regeneration Framework as a Supplementary Planning Document and that also summarises next steps.
‘’A further stakeholder and community consultation stage will be initiated following Cabinet member engagement and approval of the overall direction of the proposals. Member engagement is planned to take place in April and May. It is also important to note that the speed of development delivery has many external influences. Inflationary pressures in the wider economy being the most notable and these are impacting on construction and labour costs across the board making projections of development viability difficult.
‘’Last spring, some members were involved in the pre-application discussion for the privately owned former Mitchells brewery site. My understanding is that there are ongoing discussions with the Council over that scheme’s viability. Also last year the Council looked at the viability of combining privately owned and Council owned property to bring forward a discrete development scheme. Progress on that is also subject to discussion over viability.
‘’At the end of last year, Council commissioned Masterplanners PRP to produce a discrete piece of work; this is for a block design a residential scheme for a site in Canal Quarter, which is wholly owned by the City Council and that is currently in the process of being assessed for viability. Last week, I was approached by a developer looking to develop a site adjacent to the Canal Quarter. And I said “you’re not coming forward with another student accommodation scheme are you..?” The developer said “actually, that’s what I do.” I said “have you not looked at the residential element of that scheme?” They said “okay, I will look at it. But I’m almost certain that values in Lancaster do not make private residential viable at the moment.” You can see, I hope, that there is no lack of aspiration to deliver.
Councillor Dant then asked about the make-up of any development, saying: ‘’The Canal Quarter abuts what we might call the student corridor, with accommodation for a large number of young people. Can the portfolio holder assure us that accommodation developed on Council-owned land will not focus on young people, but will instead include a variety of accommodation for older people, including extra-care facility, so that they can enjoy walking to the facilities in the city.
‘’We need to see older people in the bars, shops, restaurants, cinemas and clubs, of Lancaster as well as young people.’’
Councillor Hamilton-Cox replied: Yes, my recollection is that there is an extra care facility identified in the Strategic Regeneration Framework, I’ll have to see what PRP, the Masterplanning consultants make of that idea.’’
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