BACKGROUND

The Site

The site extends to approximately 18.2 hectares and is located to the north of Barrow, adjoining the existing urban area. It comprises five parcels of pasture fields and a group of farm buildings in the centre.

To the north and east of the site lie further agricultural fields within the Holker Group’s landholding. The site is separated from these fields by hedges. To the south of the site is the existing built-up residential area and Holker Old Boys AFC football ground. To the west, the site is bound by Rakesmoor Lane. Barrow Golf Club and groups of industrial units along Park Road lie further west.

The site is considered to be an appropriate location for residential development. As part of a future planning application submission, a range of technical reports are currently being prepared. The key site characteristics are included below:

The site is not subject to any national or local landscape designations. The site is allocated for residential development, which is discussed herein.

The site is located within Flood Risk Zone 1, where the risk of flooding is at its lowest.

There are no listed buildings or heritage assets within the site or local area.

Site Sustainability

The site lies in a sustainable and accessible location in relation to the settlement of Barrow and public transport.

Barrow town centre is 2.4 km south of the site and provides a range of amenities such as supermarkets, shops, restaurants, public houses, and salons. It can be reached by bus. Keswick Avenue bus stop, located on Rakesmoor Lane, offers services to Barrow town centre every 15 minutes. Driving from the site to the town centre takes approximately 8 minutes.

The nearest primary school, Dane Ghyll Community Primary School, is 1.3 km south of the site, and the nearest secondary school, Chetwynde School, is located 2.2 km to the southwest. There are several sports grounds and playing fields in the vicinity, including a golf course, a football club, and a children’s play area.

Given the above, the site represents a sustainable location for residential development, providing access to a range of everyday services and public transport connectivity for future residents.

Planning Context

The site was allocated for residential development within the Barrow Borough Local Plan, adopted June 2019 which set out a vision, and policies to support development in the Borough up to 2031.

The site was identified as site SHL082 under policy H3 with an indicative yield of 107 homes, based on housing needs at the time, albeit accepting that this is not a cap, and that higher density development may be achievable.

However in April 2023, Barrow borough became part of the wider unitary authority area of Westmorland and Furness Council (along with the former borough areas of South Lakeland and Eden) and began work on a new Local Plan for the enlarged unitary area, albeit with the adopted plans from Barrow and the other legacy boroughs in place until the new plan is adopted.

This was followed by significant changes to national planning policy in December 2024, which saw Westmorland in Furness Council’s housing requirements increasing significantly, from 503 homes per year within the adopted plans to 1,330 homes per year (an increase of 160%). Accordingly the emerging Westmorland Local Plan is expecting an overall target of approximately 26,000 new homes by 2045.

This has coincided with a wider government commitment to significant investment and jobs growth at BAE’s Barrow Shipyard, linked to the new AUKUS submarine deal (between UK, Australia and US) signed in 2023, with up to 7,500 new jobs expected over the next 15 years, which is well above what was accounted for in previous Local Plans.

This projected growth will need to be supported by new, high quality housing, focussed around Barrow itself, with a mix of tenures and house types to cater for the full range of new jobs from apprentices to executives, a matter with the Council are currently assessing in dialogue with BAE and other key stakeholders.

We are therefore looking to submit an outline planning application to the Council, for up to 370 homes to enable this allocated site to come forward and meet this massively increased housing need, with the detailed housing mix to be confirmed at the later Reserved Matters stage once the Council’s evidence has progressed.