Cumbria
A vast and scenic county in North West England, encompassing the Lake District National Park, Hadrian's Wall, and the Northern Pennines.
Planning Permission in Cumbria
Planning permission in Cumbria is administered across multiple authorities following the 2023 local government reorganisation. Cumberland Council and Westmorland and Furness Council are the two new unitary authorities covering the county outside the national parks. The Lake District National Park Authority and the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority act as planning authorities within their respective park boundaries.
Cumberland Council's planning service covers Carlisle, Copeland, Allerdale and their rural hinterlands. The council is in the process of developing its own Local Plan following the 2023 reorganisation, and in the interim it applies a composite of the former district councils' adopted policies. Self-builders in the Cumberland area should contact the planning service to establish which legacy policies apply to their specific site and to obtain pre-application advice before committing to a design.
Westmorland and Furness Council covers the former South Lakeland, Barrow-in-Furness and Eden district areas. Similarly, this council is developing its own Local Plan, and legacy policies from the former districts remain the operative framework. The South Lakeland design policies, which address development in the Arnside and Silverdale AONB and the setting of the Lake District National Park, are particularly important for self-builders in the southern part of the county.
The Lake District National Park Authority's Local Plan 2010-2030, supplemented by a suite of supplementary planning documents, is the primary policy framework within the national park. Policy DS1 (Design Quality) requires all development to be of the highest design quality and to use materials that are appropriate to the local area. The park authority's Design Guide provides detailed guidance on the materials, proportions and building forms considered acceptable in the national park's varied settlement types. New residential development in the national park is tightly controlled, and self-builders should seek pre-application advice from the authority before investing in design work.
Community Infrastructure Levy arrangements in Cumbria are in transition following the 2023 reorganisation. Self-builders should contact the relevant planning authority to establish the current CIL position and to understand whether a self-build CIL exemption is available. The self-build exemption requires submission of an exemption claim before development commences, and a completion declaration within six months of occupation.
Flood risk assessments are required for any planning application for a new dwelling in Flood Zone 2 or 3. Given the extensive areas of Cumbria that are at flood risk - particularly along the major river corridors - self-builders should commission a flood risk assessment at the earliest opportunity. The Environment Agency maintains flood risk maps for the area, and its pre-application service can advise on the level of assessment required for any specific site.
Section 106 obligations in Cumbria typically address affordable housing, open space, highways contributions and ecological mitigation. Local occupancy conditions - restricting occupation to people with a local connection to Cumbria - are commonly applied to new dwellings in the national parks and in some rural locations outside the parks. Self-builders should be aware of this possibility and take legal advice on the implications before purchasing a plot subject to such a condition.
Heritage is a significant planning consideration across Cumbria, which contains Hadrian's Wall World Heritage Site, hundreds of listed buildings, scheduled monuments and conservation areas. Self-builders proposing development near any designated heritage asset must engage Historic England and submit a heritage impact assessment with their planning application.
Cumberland Council's planning service covers Carlisle, Copeland, Allerdale and their rural hinterlands. The council is in the process of developing its own Local Plan following the 2023 reorganisation, and in the interim it applies a composite of the former district councils' adopted policies. Self-builders in the Cumberland area should contact the planning service to establish which legacy policies apply to their specific site and to obtain pre-application advice before committing to a design.
Westmorland and Furness Council covers the former South Lakeland, Barrow-in-Furness and Eden district areas. Similarly, this council is developing its own Local Plan, and legacy policies from the former districts remain the operative framework. The South Lakeland design policies, which address development in the Arnside and Silverdale AONB and the setting of the Lake District National Park, are particularly important for self-builders in the southern part of the county.
The Lake District National Park Authority's Local Plan 2010-2030, supplemented by a suite of supplementary planning documents, is the primary policy framework within the national park. Policy DS1 (Design Quality) requires all development to be of the highest design quality and to use materials that are appropriate to the local area. The park authority's Design Guide provides detailed guidance on the materials, proportions and building forms considered acceptable in the national park's varied settlement types. New residential development in the national park is tightly controlled, and self-builders should seek pre-application advice from the authority before investing in design work.
Community Infrastructure Levy arrangements in Cumbria are in transition following the 2023 reorganisation. Self-builders should contact the relevant planning authority to establish the current CIL position and to understand whether a self-build CIL exemption is available. The self-build exemption requires submission of an exemption claim before development commences, and a completion declaration within six months of occupation.
Flood risk assessments are required for any planning application for a new dwelling in Flood Zone 2 or 3. Given the extensive areas of Cumbria that are at flood risk - particularly along the major river corridors - self-builders should commission a flood risk assessment at the earliest opportunity. The Environment Agency maintains flood risk maps for the area, and its pre-application service can advise on the level of assessment required for any specific site.
Section 106 obligations in Cumbria typically address affordable housing, open space, highways contributions and ecological mitigation. Local occupancy conditions - restricting occupation to people with a local connection to Cumbria - are commonly applied to new dwellings in the national parks and in some rural locations outside the parks. Self-builders should be aware of this possibility and take legal advice on the implications before purchasing a plot subject to such a condition.
Heritage is a significant planning consideration across Cumbria, which contains Hadrian's Wall World Heritage Site, hundreds of listed buildings, scheduled monuments and conservation areas. Self-builders proposing development near any designated heritage asset must engage Historic England and submit a heritage impact assessment with their planning application.
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