Question 8. How should the Local Plan help us achieve net zero carbon by 2050?

2.10 Carbon Neutral Cambridge identifies a number of actions to achieve net zero carbon. It is anticipated that the emerging GCLP will include policies to deliver net zero carbon. It is considered that the emerging GCLP should support the following to achieve net zero carbon: residential development that is located close to employment opportunities; development that is accessible by walk, cycling and public transport; development that provides green infrastructure including wildlife areas; development that prioritises zero carbon power sources and lowers operational and embodied demands; development that prioritises resource efficiency and reduced demand of resource heavy services, and, development that includes high sustainability standards. 2.11 Development should make priority for more sustainable and lower embodied and operational carbon buildings and infrastructure. Schemes should be supplied by electricity only. Buildings should be designed to be as passive as possible, thus reducing operational demands for heating and cooling from the outset. Technologies such as Air Source Heat Pumps and Ground Source Heat Pumps should be investigated and implemented where feasible in order to provide a low impact means of building treatment and on-site energy generation should also be provided. Ideally, all new permanent developments over 500sqm will be required to undertake full operational energy and comfort modelling in line with CIBSE TM54 for operational energy and TM 59 for overheating risk, using 2050 climate data. Projects should demonstrate that they pass future climate data requirements. 2.12 In addition, steps should be taken to ensure the embodied carbon of projects is minimised. Preference should be made for construction materials and processes that are lower in embodied carbon and resource use, such as timber construction, prefabricated elements and requiring projects to use at least >20% GGBS in concrete. It is recommended that a whole life carbon analysis is undertaken on all permanent projects over 500sqm. 2.13 Where eliminating polluting energy sources (such as gas) is not feasible for existing buildings, provision should be made to ensure that they are treated appropriately to minimise energy consumption and heat losses. 2.14 Finally, we support any recommendations to encourage the use of offsetting (where feasible) in order to support the ongoing decarbonisation of projects. Recommendations include tree planting as well as investment in existing building treatments such as insulation application.

· One of the best ways the Local Plan can help us achieve net zero carbon by 2050 is by ensuring a rapid transition to sustainable transport. How and where we plan our new developments and integrate them with existing developments will be critical to enabling that transition at the scale we require. · Every development must prioritise walking, cycling and public transport over private cars (including electric cars). · Developments in Cambridge and the surrounding area should be required to plan for at least 40% of trips by bicycle. · New developments must be planned around dense walking and cycling networks and local transport hubs (not car-reliant park & rides). · Walking and cycling networks must be in place before dwellings are occupied. · New and existing developments should seek to minimise car usage, prevent rat-running, and keep neighbourhood streets compact to reduce their negative impact. · Housing should be on quiet neighbourhood streets that are good for cycling because they have very low levels of car traffic. · Schools should never be on major roads. · All employment, entertainment, shopping and community facilities should be easily accessed by cycling and have accessible cycle parking for all types of cycles.

The development at Land to the South East of Cambridge will support the emerging Local Plan’s aims with regards to the theme of climate change, most notably through its location. It is a highly accessible site that can encourage low-carbon transportation use: building on existing habits in this location and enhancing local cycling and walking networks to limit private car use. CEG would also pursue on site elements to bring forward a scheme where homes are high-quality, energy efficient, and well-designed to promote low-carbon lifestyles. This is all to promote a potentially net zero carbon scheme.

The increased focus on climate change is welcomed. Reducing the Greater Cambridge area’s contribution to climate change, through mitigating impacts on climate change, will require promoting energy efficiency, renewable and low carbon energy generation and encouraging use of sustainable transport. Only development at scale will support the creation of new on-site infrastructure, such as schools and local centres, which could reduce the need for people to travel elsewhere to find these amenities. The proposal for a new community at Six Mile Bottom would be able to incorporate low-carbon and energy efficient design, such as district heating networks. Importantly, the proposal at Six Mile Bottom would provide an integrated and holistic new community, reducing the need to travel for work and for services. Location along a public transport corridor will facilitate the use of public transport for longer distance travel. The potential to provide a new station differentiates Six Mile Bottom from other options in the sub-region The Government has published a challenging timetable for dealing with energy emissions for buildings through the Building Regulations. That includes proposals that local plans should not set energy standards ahead of the Building Regulations. We agree with the government’s proposed approach on this matter. The local plan should focus on locating development in sustainable locations, the layout of development and ensuring that allocations are made where they can deliver low/zero carbon developments. If the Plan is to achieve its ambitious targets on climate change, the most appropriate way to do this is through development of a scale to support the necessary infrastructure to achieve this. The local plan Sustainability Appraisal (SA) should address variable climate change scenarios, as we would expect that different climate change scenarios will be of interest at examination. Lack of rigorous assessment of these scenarios in the SA could lead to the plan being found unsound.

DB Group’s strategy is focused on improving sustainability within the construction sector, and the company seeks to reduce their environmental impact in everything they do. That’s why, in 2015 they introduced Cemfree® ultra-low carbon concrete which was a complete game changer for the construction industry that achieves dramatic embodied carbon savings of up to 88% in concrete. This innovative technology was developed in-house to ensure every detail was exactly as it should be. It has since won multiple awards and continues to excite and impress the industry in equal measure. Local production and use of Cemfree ultra-low embodied carbon concretes can play a part in the Councils plans for more sustainable development across Greater Cambridge, replacing environmentally damaging cement-based concretes and demonstrating its commitment to the low carbon agenda. Ensuring that businesses and employment opportunities within the District are also focussed on achieving net zero carbon by 2050 will be essential to the Council achieving this goal. The Council should be proactively working with DB Group, and companies like them, to ensure that the Council enables them to achieve their full potential in terms of contributing towards this goal.

4.5 The increased focus on climate change is welcomed. Climate change policy and good practice is changing quickly, and the plan will need to build in suitable flexibility to accommodate these changes within the lifetime of the plan. Climate change scenarios predict extensive changes by Page 10 2050, much of which is dependent on government and human action so there is substantial uncertainty over outcomes. 4.6 A needlessly stringent policy may inadvertently impede progress towards later years in the plan, or undermine results by not allowing for site-specific refinement. For example, policy for electric vehicle charging points should be sufficiently flexible to accommodate that quickly changing technology, as well the current grid challenges in implemented EV charging places. Energy policies should include flexibility for changing legislation, and technology, as well as the opportunity to refine a plan-wide policy for site specifics. As the Zero Carbon Futures Symposium Report (2019) submitted within the evidence base notes on page 10: where targets are too limited, and without consideration of project contexts, policy can drive dysfunctional behaviour such as photovoltaic solar panels being installed on North facing roofs merely to achieve policy compliance not to produce effective carbon reductions. 4.7 Allowing for changing technologies and approaches should also help with viability as technology and approaches improve and are more widely adopted, thereby reducing costs. Escalating targets and policies may be able to accommodate these changes, while providing clarity to developers on the costs of development over time. 4.8 The local plan Sustainability Appraisal (SA) should address variable climate change scenarios, as we would expect that different climate changes scenarios will be of interest at examination. Lack of rigorous assessment of these scenarios in the SA could lead to the plan being found unsound. 4.9 The Travis Perkins site is a brownfield site in a highly sustainable location with access to key transport links including the train station (which is 650 metres south of the site), the Chisholm Trail link and numerous other public transport connections including local bus services and the proposed metro connections. The proposed mixed-use development on the site, in a highly desirable location for residential and commercial development offers real opportunities to deliver low carbon, or even net zero carbon development due to the high value of the area.

4.3.1 The increased focus on climate change is welcomed. Climate change policy and good practice is changing quickly, and the plan will need to build in suitable flexibility to accommodate these changes within the lifetime of the plan. Climate change scenarios predict extensive changes by 2050, much of which is dependent on government and human action so there is substantial uncertainty over outcomes. 4.3.2 A needlessly stringent policy may inadvertently impede progress towards later years in the plan, or undermine results by not allowing for site-specific refinement. For example, policy for electric vehicle charging points should be sufficiently flexible to accommodate that quickly changing technology, as well the current grid challenges in implemented EV charging places. Energy policies should include flexibility for changing legislation, and technology, as well as the opportunity to refine a plan-wide policy for site specifics. As the Zero Carbon Futures Symposium Report (2019) submitted within the evidence base notes on page 10: where targets are too limited, and without consideration of project contexts, policy can drive dysfunctional behaviour such as photovoltaic solar panels being installed on North facing roofs merely to achieve policy compliance not to produce effective carbon reductions. 4.3.3 Allowing for changing technologies and approaches should also help with viability as technology and approaches improve and are more widely adopted, thereby reducing costs. Escalating targets and policies may be able to accommodate these changes, while providing clarity to developers on the costs of development over time. 4.3.4 The local plan Sustainability Appraisal (SA) should address variable climate change scenarios, as we would expect that different climate change scenarios will be of interest at examination. Lack of rigorous assessment of these scenarios in the SA could lead to the plan being found unsound.

4.4 The increased focus on climate change is welcomed. Climate change policy and good practice is changing quickly, and the plan will need to build in suitable flexibility to accommodate these changes within the lifetime of the plan. Climate change scenarios predict extensive changes by 2050, much of which is dependent on government and human action so there is substantial uncertainty over outcomes. 4.5 A needlessly stringent policy may inadvertently impede progress towards later years in the plan, or undermine results by not allowing for site-specific refinement. For example, policy for electric vehicle charging points should be sufficiently flexible to accommodate that quickly changing technology, as well the current grid challenges in implemented EV charging places. Energy policies should include flexibility for changing legislation, and technology, as well as the opportunity to refine a plan-wide policy for site specifics. As the Zero Carbon Futures Symposium Report (2019) submitted within the evidence base notes on page 10: where targets are too limited, and without consideration of project contexts, policy can drive dysfunctional behaviour such as photovoltaic solar panels being installed on North facing roofs merely to achieve policy compliance not to produce effective carbon reductions. 4.6 Allowing for changing technologies and approaches should also help with viability as technology and approaches improve and are more widely adopted, thereby reducing costs. Escalating targets and policies may be able to accommodate these changes, while providing clarity to developers on the costs of development over time. 4.7 The local plan Sustainability Appraisal (SA) should address variable climate change scenarios, as we would expect that different climate changes scenarios will be of interest at examination. Lack of rigorous assessment of these scenarios in the SA is could lead to the plan being found unsound.

As part of its sustainability framework, Grosvenor is committed to helping reduce the impacts of climate change by understanding and reducing its carbon footprint across their portfolio. By 2030, Grosvenor will achieve net zero carbon operational emissions from all its directly managed buildings. Grosvenor and USS are committed to working with the Councils to help them achieve net zero carbon by 2050. The Local Plan provides the opportunity to plan in a way which focuses on achieving this target. This requires bold decision making and innovative methods to produce a coherent spatial strategy that performs well in sustainability terms. Developments which help meet these targets should be supported. The Sustainability Workshop Summary Report prepared by BuroHappold in support of these representations demonstrates Grosvenor’s commitment to this agenda and explains ways in which Trumpington South will address it.