Local Development Orders
LANCASHIRE ADVANCED ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING (SAMLESBURY) ENTERPRISE ZONE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT ORDER
In 2011 land at BAE Samlesbury and Warton sites was designated as Lancashire’s first Enterprise Zone (EZ). In order to support the development of the sites a simplified planning regime in the form of a Local Development Order (LDO) and accompanying Masterplan was adopted for each. LDOs automatically grant planning permission for certain forms of development subject to certain conditions.
As the Lancashire Advanced Engineering and Manufacturing (Samlesbury) EZ site lies within Ribble Valley and South Ribble Borough Council areas, both Councils adopted separate but identical LDOs in 2014 along with a Masterplan, following public consultation. These documents had a lifetime of 10 years.
The adopted LDO has to date facilitated delivery of the Master Plan, with much of the basic infrastructure (e.g. main highway improvements, archaeology, ecological mitigation measures, drainage etc) having already been completed. There remains however capacity for continued development of existing and new parcels of land within the EZ boundary. As the current LDO will expire in February 2024, it has been necessary to revise and update the LDO and Masterplan documents to address the current situation.
The LDO, Masterplan and subsequent revisions result from a collaborative relationship between Lancashire County, Ribble Valley and South Ribble Councils. The County Council as lead developer and landlord of the site remains responsible for the development and delivery of the site alongside all related commercial matters. The County Council will also continue to assess each proposed development to ensure that the displacement of existing Lancashire based companies does not occur and that any development is genuine growth in, and support to, the Advanced Engineering and Manufacturing (AEM), science and technology and cyber sectors.
NEW LOCAL DEVELOPMENT ORDER NEEDED
Given that the 2014 LDO has recently expired, a new LDO and revised Master Plan is needed for the Samlesbury Enterprise Zone site. Updated documents have been drafted for public consultation purposes.
The new LDO and revised Masterplan should enable build out on the EZ site to be completed. It should be noted that the level of development will not increase but will remain the same as set out in 2014. The updated Masterplan vision is focused on transformational growth in the Advanced Engineering and Manufacturing (AEM), Sci-tech and Cyber sectors, with potential for further associated technology spin-out businesses, new business starts and small-medium sized enterprises (SME’s).
The new LDO, as drafted, automatically grants planning permission for these uses subject to satisfying relevant conditions, including the need to submit a ‘fast-track’ prior notification application to the respective local planning authority (either Ribble Valley or South Ribble), which is a continuation of the existing provisions made under the 2014 LDO. In addition, as drafted, it allows for some ancillary uses to come forward in the same way to support these significant inward investment opportunities.
CONSULTATION
The following documents are subject to public consultation from Monday 8th July until Monday 5th August 2024:
Local Development Order 3 (2024) (Samlesbury Site)
Supporting Transport Assessment
A hard copy of the above consultation documents can be inspected during the following hours:
• 8.45am – 5pm Monday to Friday at Ribble Valley Borough Council, Council Offices, Church Walk, Clitheroe, BB7 2RA
• 8.30am – 5.15pm (Monday to Thursday) and 8.30am - 4.45pm (Friday) at South Ribble Borough Council, Civic Centre, West Paddock, Leyland PR26 7AD
Anyone who wishes to make a representation in respect of the above documents should e-mail Planningappeals@ribblevalley.gov.uk or write to Development Management Team (Planning), Ribble Valley Borough Council, Council Offices, Church Walk, Clitheroe, Lancashire BB7 2RA by no later than Monday 5th August 2024.
All representations received by Ribble Valley BC will be forwarded to South Ribble BC at the end of the consultation period. This is because the Enterprise Zone site is located within both district boundaries and so South Ribble BC are also undertaking a public consultation exercise.
You may have responded in relation to previous consultations on the LDO, but it is important for you to either confirm that you want your comments to be carried forward or submit a further written response in relation to this LDO and/or masterplan.
Under the provisions of the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985 any representations received will be available for inspection in the planning department by members of the public.
For information on how the Council collects, uses and stores personal information in order to fulfil its planning functions please see the Council’s Privacy Policy for Planning at: https://www.ribblevalley.gov.uk/info/200390/data_protection_and_freedom_of_information/1517/data_protection/8
At the end of the consultation period, Ribble Valley and South Ribble Councils will both collate the responses. Following consultation, all representations received will be carefully considered, and any changes considered necessary will be made to the documents. A summary of the consultation responses will also be published. The intention is that the new LDO and revised Masterplan will then be adopted by both Councils later this year.
PRIOR NOTIFICATION APPLICATIONS RECEIVED TO DATE
Applications for development within the Samlesbury Enterprise Zone site submitted to date under the prior notification procedure can be viewed using the planning application search facility on the Council’s website.
The relevant application numbers for Prior Notifications of development under LDO2 (2014 – February 2024) are as follows: