Parking spaces addressed in plans for new affordable homes in Lancaster’s Canal Quarter

Lancaster City Council has long held ambitions to develop the Canal Quarter, with a masterplan for the area setting out how the derelict and underused site will be transformed into a vibrant new neighbourhood.

The first of the sites to be made available, the Nelson Street car park, is now set to be redeveloped with South Lakes Housing and Tyson Construction given exclusive rights to draw up proposals for a new affordable housing and mixed tenure development.

The project has been developed with the support of the Brownfield Land Release Fund (BLRF2) from the One Public Estate programme.

But with it likely to be at least a year before the development gets underway and the car park closes, motorists and businesses have been reassured that temporary and long-term measures will be in place to make up for any loss of parking spaces.

Work is already underway to increase the available spaces on other car parks and the Castle car park is also set to reopen in April 2026, providing a boost to the city’s parking spaces.

More extensive parking on Kingsway is also being explored, which would provide overspill capacity and extra spaces for busy times such as when festivals and events are taking place.

By April 2026, despite losing Nelson Street, it’s planned that the total number of spaces will increase to 1,554, rising to 1,654 with Kingsway. This exceeds the current availability of 1,329.

In the long-term, the potential for multi storey car parking or the use of decking to increase the capacity of current car parks in the city is also being investigated.

Councillor Caroline Jackson, leader of Lancaster City Council and portfolio holder for housing, said: “The development of the Nelson Street car park will make an important contribution to the supply of new housing within the city centre, including the provision of affordable homes.

“We’ve listened to the city’s businesses and understand their concerns over the loss of these valuable car parking spaces.

“That’s why, by the time the car park has to close for development, we will have measures in place that should lead to an overall net increase across the city compared to what we have currently.”

The council is also looking to introduce a new car park vehicle counting system to make it easier for motorists to find a space at busy times.

This system will provide motorists with real time occupancy data, meaning they will be able to see where there is capacity available. It is currently out to procurement with a view to being installed later this year.

The development of 49 affordable homes is set to be built by South Lakes Housing (SLH) to help meet the urgent need for affordable housing throughout the area.

SLH is an independent, not-for-profit housing association and has previously worked with the city council on the award-winning Lune Walk development at Halton.

Martha Shields, Head of Development at South Lakes Housing, said: “As a local housing association committed to addressing the acute need for affordable housing in Lancashire, South Lakes Housing is delighted to have secured this opportunity.

“As part of our ongoing investment in existing and new build housing, the site will integrate with the canal environment and will provide high quality, eco-friendly homes for local people. We are committed to the highest standards of environmental design and performance and meeting the challenge the city council has set in declaring a Climate Emergency.

“We are intending to deliver a Passivhaus build, which is a performance standard enabling drastically reduced energy requirements for heating and cooling while maintaining comfort for occupants.”

More information on the Canal Quarter Masterplan can be found at https://www.lancaster.gov.uk/sites/canal-quarter