A NEW museum on the shores of Windermere, and a plan to protect the Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, have both won a prestigious planning award.

Windermere Jetty: Museum of Boats, Steam and Stories won best large scheme in the North West at the Royal Institute of Town Planning's North West Awards for Planning Excellence 2019.

Meanwhile, the development plan document for the Arnside and Silverdale AONB won the spatial planning category, for its "positive approach" to finding sites for affordable housing, while conserving green spaces.

The overall North West winner will be announced on Friday, October 18, 2019, at a dinner at Manchester hotel The Principal.

The Royal Institute of Town Planning's awards are designed to "celebrate outstanding projects that demonstrate the power of planning in our region".

The Windermere Jetty museum was submitted for an award by the Lake District National Park Authority. Prince Charles opened the £20 million visitor attraction in April this year. One of the first contemporary buildings to be built on the lake shore for 50 years, it gives an in-depth look at the picturesque area's steamboat history.

Lakeland Arts worked on the development with award-winning London architects Carmody Groarke.

The Arnside and Silverdale AONB plan document was entered into the awards by South Lakeland District Council and Lancaster City Council.

Local people were consulted at all stages of the plan, with many suggestions put forward for possible sites for development and green spaces to be protected.

The plan has been described as the first of its kind for an AONB in this country, representing "a huge amount of commitment, collaboration and hard work" by the two councils and the AONB Partnership.

The awards judges said they were impressed by the "plan's positive approach to affordable housing provision, supported by a comprehensive evidence base including a household needs survey form which was sent to every household within the AONB area".

They said the "innovative and ground-breaking" plan had achieved "the delicate balance of preserving the natural beauty of the area, while providing for the specific housing needs of the community".