Planning Policy

Allerdale Borough Council is the local planning authority for the area of the Borough that lies outside of the Lake District National Park. The planning policy team are responsible for the preparation and monitoring of planning development plan documents (DPDs), the protection of the conservation areas and listed buildings, and Neighbourhood Planning. The Allerdale planing policy team are based at Allerdale House, Workington. Contact details for the team can be found on the left of the page.

If you live within the Lake District National Park then any planning matters and/or queries should be referred the Lake District National Park Authority, which is based in Kendal. The map below can be used to check which is your local planning authority if you are unsure.

Current Local Plan

The current planning DPDs for Allerdale Borough Council are the 1999 Local Plan and the 2006 First Alterations document, which updated some of the original policies. More information and the links to download the Local Plan and the First Alterations documents can be found on the Current Local Plan page.

Replacement Local Plan

The planning policy team are currently working on a replacement Local Plan that will set out the planning framework and policies to guide development in the Borough for the period 2011-2026. There are three elements to the replacement Local Plan:

  • The Core Strategy document will be the principal document in the replacement Local Plan and will set out a vision, spatial strategy and core policies to guide development and change in the Borough.
  • The Development Management Policies document will support the Core Strategy and will set out the Council's detailed policies for managing development in the borough. 
  • The Site Allocations document will identify sites for development and protection throughout the Borough to support the delivery of the Core Strategy.

Allerdale Borough Council will be conducting a consultation exercise on the Core Strategy and Development Management Policies preferred options documents from 1 June - 31 July 2012.

Conservation of the historic environment

Allerdale Borough Council is also responsible for the preservation of the historic environment, which includes Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas, Scheduled Ancient Monuments and Sites of Archaeological Significance. Within the planning policy team we have a conservation officer who prepares conservation area appraisals and also gives advice and guidance on works on historic buildings and structures. For more information click on the 'Conservation of the historic environment' link on the left of the page. 

Neighbourhood Planning

The ability for local communities to prepare their own neighbourhood plans has been introduced under the provisions of the Localism Act 2012. The parts of the Act in relation to neighbourhood planning came into force on 6 April 2012 and the planning policy team will be responsible for assisting neighbourhood planning groups in developing their ideas and plans. More information on neighbourhood planning can be obtained from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) .

Cockermouth Town Council has been selected as one of the neighbourhood planning 'Front Runner' pilot projects that are testing the new regulations.

Annual Monitoring Report

The Annual Monitoring Report (AMR) is a document that is produced by the Council annually, looking back at the previous financial year from 1 April to 31 March. The AMR measures various indicators to assess the performance of the individual planning policies set out in the local plan but also to provide a general portrait of the social, economic and environmental conditions in the district and the wider affects of the Local Plan on the district.


Downloadable Documents

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File nameSizeApproximate Download time
Adobe PDF format - download the viewerLake District National Park Boundary in PDF format777 Kb1 min 51 secs @ 56k, 3 secs @ 2mb

Get Adobe Acrobat ReaderDownload Acrobat PDF Reader (external website). Acrobat PDF Reader allows you to view PDF files.

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Contact us

 01900 702702
 01900 702507

Allerdale Borough Council
Allerdale House, Workington, Cumbria,
CA14 3YJ