Castles & Coasts Housing Association (CCHA) are pleased to announce our revised plans for a new housing development on land east of Lansdowne Close / Lansdowne Court in Carlisle, which is allocated for housing in the Carlisle District Local Plan 2015-2030.
Following our previous planning application, which was refused at planning committee in June 2024, Castles & Coasts have considered all feedback received regarding the previous proposals, resulting in a careful redesign of the scheme to address the issues noted by Cumberland Council’s Planning Committee.
The key changes presented in the new application are summarised below:
- Removal of any development within the Hadrian’s Wall buffer zone
- Removal of any development within root protection areas of trees with a potential ‘veteran’ status
- House sizes increased to meet the Government’s nationally described space standards
Located in the Stanwix area to the north of Carlisle, the proposed development will provide 91 high quality, affordable homes for the community through a mixture of 2-bedroom bungalows and 2, 3 and 4 bedroom houses.
CCHA’s Head of Development, David Brown, said:
“There is an acute need for new affordable housing in Carlisle and across Cumberland, evidenced by applications on the Cumbria Choice Based Lettings system exceeding 1,000 applicants for Carlisle alone. Increasing the availability of affordable housing options is identified as a key priority in Cumberland Council’s new draft 15-year Housing Strategy. In addition, due to the government’s proposed new methodology under changes to the National Planning Policy Framework, annual housing targets for the Cumberland area are also set to increase by close to 400%."
David continued: “Castles & Coasts are proud to be working with local stakeholders to support these priorities through the delivery of new housing developments that provide 100% affordable housing. Our development proposal at Lansdowne Close/ Lansdowne Court will provide an important contribution to help meet some of this need by providing a mixture of affordable/social rent, Rent to Buy and Shared Ownership homes.”
The site is located in an area with a range of local amenities in close proximity including, primary schools, nurseries, local shops, restaurants and supermarkets as well as easy access to both the M6 and city centre in what is expected to prove a hugely popular development that brings much needed affordable housing to the area.
Before submitting a revised planning application to Cumberland Council, CCHA are keen to hear the views of the public on our new proposals and are launching a public consultation tomorrow, 20 May 2025. Details can be found on our website here. Our planning consultants, Lichfields, have written to neighbouring residents with this information. The closing date for comments is 6th June 2025 – comments received after this date may not be taken into account.
Once CCHA have the publics’ feedback it will be collated into themes which will be used to review whether any further amendments to the scheme are needed, before submitting a new planning application to Cumberland Council in the coming months.