Evidence base documents

The Pendle Sustainable Settlements Study (SSS) forms a key part of the evidence base for the Local Plan. It provides a detailed assessment of the rural settlements in Pendle and informs the settlement hierarchy as detailed in Core Strategy.

A settlement hierarchy seeks to arrange settlements within a given area in order of their importance. The range and number of services in a settlement is usually, but not always, proportionate to its size of population. These services do however, determine a settlement's sphere of influence and help to inform decisions about the scale and location of new development across the borough.

As a result, the Sustainable Settlements Study provides an important part of the evidence base used in the preparation of the Local Plan.

What's happening next?

The Sustainable Settlements Study was adopted in November 2008.

 It was refreshed in 2024 to inform the assessment of policies and site allocations in the Pendle Local Plan Fourth Edition. Both documents are available to view in the Documents to download section below.

What have we done so far?

To produce the study an audit was undertaken of the key services and facilities available in each of the rural settlements. This information was then used to help determine which settlements are the key providers of services to a wider area and to help identify potential rural hubs.

In addition the potential capacity of each settlement to accommodate any new development was considered. The physical and social infrastructure together with any environmental constraints and the availability of sites was considered to show which settlements could potentially accommodate further growth and which have deficiencies in the provision of services and facilities that would constrain future growth.

Documents to download

• Settlement Sustainability Review 2024
• Pendle Sustainable Settlements Study 2008
• Appendix 1; Appendix 2; Appendix 3; Appendix 4a; Appendix 4b;
• Appendix 4c; Appendix 4d; Appendix 4e; Appendix 4f; Appendix 4g;
• Appendix 4h; Appendix 4i; Appendix 4j; Appendix 5; Appendix 6