Carlisle District Local Plan.indd - Carlisle City Council

Carlisle District Local Plan 2001 - 2016 Revised Redeposit draftPlanning Context1.8 Carlisle District is the northernmost District in the County of Cumbria adjoining Scotlandand is an important sub-regional centre for business, shopping and tourism. It isstrategically located on the main west coast communications route. The City of Carlisle issited at a major bridging point of the River Eden at the western end of the route throughthe Tyne gap from Newcastle. The District covers 103,174 hectares (398 square miles) andhas attractive varied scenery which includes two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, theSolway Coast and North Pennines and the river valleys of the Eden, Petteril, Caldew andLyne. Hadrian’s Wall, a World Heritage Site, crosses the District from Burgh by Sands in thewest to Gilsland in the east and is followed along most of its route by the Hadrian’s WallPath, a national trail. In addition, the Northumberland National Park borders the district tothe north east.1.9 The population of the District fell marginally in 2001 to 100,739, of which almost 75%live in Carlisle. A further 7% of the District’s population live in the Key Service Centres ofBrampton and Longtown, with the rest in the sparsely populated rural area.1.10 The District provides almost 47,000 jobs and has an expanding sub-regional role witha regional investment site at Kingmoor Park in the north of the City. Employment in thetransport/storage and construction sectors is expanding whilst manufacturing is declining.The service sector is still the largest employer, including finance, health and LocalGovernment.1.11 The regional context for the Plan is contained in the Regional Planning Guidance forthe North West (RPG 13) published in March 2003. The overriding aim is to promotesustainable patterns of development.1.12 At the sub-regional level the Cumbria and Lake District Joint Structure Plan 2001-2016provides the context for the Local Plan Review. The Structure Plan provides a broadframework for the preparation of the Local Plan and contains general strategic policies toguide changes in land use. The County Council has also prepared a Minerals and WasteLocal Plan.1.13 The Local Plan must conform to the Structure Plan as it applies strategic policy at the locallevel.The Consultation Process1.14 Much effort was expended in involving citizens and organisations in the discussion of issuesfor the Local Plan Review with the distribution of 42,000 leaflets. The Issues Paper of Spring2003 generated 73 responses and 525 comments. A Statement of Community Participationhas been prepared and accompanies the Plan.1.15 Consultation was undertaken on a Deposit Draft version of the Local Plan between the 2ndJuly and 13th August 2004. Over seven hundred comments were received during this time.Following consideration of the comments this Redeposit Plan has been produced for furtherconsultation.1.16 Consultation was undertaken on the Redeposit Draft version of the Local Plan between 8thAugust and the 16th September 2005. A further 300 comments were received. These willcarry forward through the Local Plan process to Inquiry.10 September 2006