Canal Corridor
The Green Alternative Plan
The area between Moor Lane, St Leonards Gate and the Canal has been run down and blighted for too long. It was once a place where many people lived and worked. Much of the area was demolished several decades ago to build an ‘Eastern Relief Road’. The road did not get built and most of the land has since been used for car parking. Successive developers have put forward plans that have been dominated by large shopping centres. They have offered far too little for the local community and for the residents of the district. We believe that the current ‘Castle View’ proposal from Centros Miller is more of the same and not only threatens the viability of shops in the city centre, but does nothing to preserve the character of Lancaster.
A different approach is needed.
Details of the Green Plan. + canal-corridor-layout.pdf
A different approach is needed. One that looks to conserve the best parts of the area. One that provides a high quality architectural setting for the Grand & Dukes theatres. One that complements and supports the current shopping centre, rather than competing with it. And one that looks to the needs of the local community instead of those of out-of-town developers. We put forward our Green Plan for the canal corridor as one possible alternative to show what such a development might look like.
More than one option
Lancaster deserves better than to be turned into another clone town. Mimicking everywhere else with the same chain stores in a look-alike shopping centre - Which is what will happen to the canal corridor if Centros Millers proposals go ahead. Labour,LibDem and Conservative councillors have rushed into ill thought out arrangements with the developers without taking into account the views of local people. We will fight the current proposals because we believe that there is an alternative.
John Whitlegg - Bulk Ward Green Party
How this plan evolved
Over the past few years there have been a number of community based initiatives and consultations that have looked at what local people wanted to see developed in the area. In 2005 Real Planning for Lancaster carried out a comprehensive consultation of residents and more recently Its Our City have been consulting people on the current Centros Miller proposals. 
The Council Planning department also has a planning brief for the area which highlight issues that any proposals need to address.
In drawing up our Green Plan we have drawn on these documents and used neighbourhood planning techniques developed from the work of Architect Christopher Alexander and which are currently being used by Medway Council to plan an area of the town of Strood.