Plans for an £85 million redevelopment of a former brewery site in Lancaster have been submitted to the city council, with a hotel, health centre and new uses for historic buildings among the proposals.
Lanmara Developments wants to transform around three acres off Brewery Lane, within the wider Canal Quarter regeneration area. Its scheme also includes a car park, commercial space, public areas and options for homes or student accommodation.
The £85 million figure is the estimated gross development value of the proposed scheme, not a statement of public spending or a confirmed construction cost. The application has been submitted for consideration; it does not mean the development has permission to proceed.
What is proposed
A 132-bedroom hotel and a mobility hub with 253 car parking spaces form part of the plans. The hub would also have space for bicycles, scooters and mobility scooters, with a café and convenience store proposed at ground level.
The former Mitchell’s Brewery and malthouse buildings would be brought into new use. The proposal includes a food hall and music venue as well as office space. The former brewery is listed, so its historic fabric will be an important consideration in the planning process.
The health centre would include a GP practice and pharmacy under the proposals. Education space and residential development are envisaged in later phases, alongside public spaces. Options for the residential element include homes or student accommodation, but the eventual mix has not been confirmed.
The application is a hybrid, meaning it seeks detailed permission for some elements while putting other parts forward in outline. The detailed proposals include work to the brewery buildings, the hotel and the mobility hub. Later development, including residential and other town-centre uses, is included in the outline part.
The developers also envisage new pedestrian routes through the site and public spaces around the historic buildings. Their plans seek to improve connections towards the city centre and retain the possibility of better links towards the canal in future.
Venue closure and local feedback
The proposed mobility hub would occupy land currently used by Kanteena, a music venue on Brewery Lane. Its team has announced that the venue will close after a final event on New Year’s Eve.
The team said it had wanted to continue at the site and had offered to pay more rent, but could not remain. It also said there was no immediate plan for what would come next. The proposed music space in the old brewery is a separate part of the redevelopment, not a guarantee that the existing venue will continue there.
The developer said a consultation held from 30 June to 14 July received 48 responses. It said 43 of the 47 people who answered a question about investment and redevelopment supported the proposals either fully or with comments.
The developer also recorded concerns about student accommodation, traffic, parking and effects on existing businesses. The responses provide an indication of the views expressed in that exercise, rather than a representative measure of opinion across Lancaster.
Planning and next steps
The Brewery Lane site is one part of a larger area east of Lancaster city centre. The council says its Canal Quarter area covers about 6.5 hectares and is intended for a mixture of housing, commercial, cultural and leisure uses. It adopted a masterplan for the wider area in July 2023.
The council has identified several challenges for regeneration, including the future of historic buildings, traffic and parking, links to the city centre and fragmented land ownership. These relate to the wider quarter, not just the current Brewery Lane application.
The developers anticipate that the application could be considered in February 2027, although that is not a confirmed decision date. Subject to approval, they hope the first phase could begin in summer 2027. The application reference is 26/01074/HYB. People can search for it using Lancaster City Council’s planning application search service.
Featured image: AI-generated illustration.
