Question 32. Do you think we should plan for a higher number of homes than the minimum required by government, to provide flexibility to support the growing economy?
Yes. As set out in the response to Question 31, upward adjustments to the minimum figure derived from the standard method are required to take into account growth strategies, strategic infrastructure improvements and housing affordability in Greater Cambridgeshire. The National Infrastructure Commission, the Cambridge and Peterborough Combined Authority and the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership acknowledge and support the economic growth potential of the Greater Cambridge area, and consider that there is a need to substantially increase housing delivery in order to support that economic growth and address the significant housing affordability issues that exist.
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Yes, Cambridge is an important educational and economical hub and for economic potential is to be met, a higher level of house building is required.
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Yes. As set out in the response to Question 31, upward adjustments to the minimum figure derived from the standard method are required to take into account growth strategies, strategic infrastructure improvements and housing affordability in Greater Cambridgeshire. The National Infrastructure Commission, the Cambridge and Peterborough Combined Authority and the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership acknowledge and support the economic growth potential of the Greater Cambridge area, and consider that there is a need to substantially increase housing delivery in order to support that economic growth and address the significant housing affordability issues that exist.
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Yes. As set out in the response to Question 31, upward adjustments to the minimum figure derived from the standard method are required to take into account growth strategies, strategic infrastructure improvements and housing affordability in Greater Cambridgeshire. The National Infrastructure Commission, the Cambridge and Peterborough Combined Authority and the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership acknowledge and support the economic growth potential of the Greater Cambridge area, and consider that there is a need to substantially increase housing delivery in order to support that economic growth and address the significant housing affordability issues that exist.
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We do not agree that the number of homes planned should be above the minimum required. Such large numbers of new houses would mean concreting over significant areas of green field land with the loss of rural landscape which is a valued feature of this area. The level of economic growth should be such that the character of our area – a historic city set within a largely rural area – can be maintained. There is virtually no unemployment in this area with the result that the significant amount of potential economic growth envisaged just adds to the need to build large number of houses and urbanise rural areas.
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Yes. As set out in the response to Question 31, upward adjustments to the minimum figure derived from the standard method are required to take into account growth strategies, strategic infrastructure improvements and housing affordability in Greater Cambridgeshire. The National Infrastructure Commission, the Cambridge and Peterborough Combined Authority and the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership acknowledge and support the economic growth potential of the Greater Cambridge area, and consider that there is a need to substantially increase housing delivery in order to support that economic growth and address the significant housing affordability issues that exist.
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Yes. As set out in the response to Question 31, upward adjustments to the minimum figure derived from the standard method are required to take into account growth strategies, strategic infrastructure improvements and housing affordability in Greater Cambridgeshire. The National Infrastructure Commission, the Cambridge and Peterborough Combined Authority and the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership acknowledge and support the economic growth potential of the Greater Cambridge area, and consider that there is a need to substantially increase housing delivery in order to support that economic growth and address the significant housing affordability issues that exist.
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No answer given
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Yes, but there needs to be a corresponding level of employment allocations.
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Yes. As set out in the response to Question 31, upward adjustments to the minimum figure derived from the standard method are required to take into account growth strategies, strategic infrastructure improvements and housing affordability in Greater Cambridgeshire. The National Infrastructure Commission, the Cambridge and Peterborough Combined Authority and the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership acknowledge and support the economic growth potential of the Greater Cambridge area, and consider that there is a need to substantially increase housing delivery in order to support that economic growth and address the significant housing affordability issues that exist.
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Yes, but there needs to be a corresponding level of employment allocations.
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No. Water supplies already overstretched. Stop it.
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6.4 Greater Cambridge is an area with strong economic growth and with an aspiration to maintain that growth. The affordability of housing is also a major issue. The new Local Plan must be able to address both of these concerns. 6.5 To support the Government’s objective of significantly boosting the supply of homes, a sufficient amount and variety of land needs to be identified to meeting housing needs within the Joint Local Plan area. The Cambridge and Peterborough Independent Economic Review (CPIER) (September 2018) suggests that higher housing target numbers are likely to be needed in Cambridgeshire if the potential for higher growth in employment is to be met. As is widely recognised, the economy of Cambridge is too important nationally for the Council to plan for the minimum number of homes required by the standard method. 6.6 The increased demand for housing arising from the economic success of Cambridge also makes the area increasingly unaffordable. In addition to being a concern to residents, affordability will impact upon the businesses looking to locate in the area. There is a danger that if there is an insufficient supply of housing the economic growth plans will not be realised. The role of housing in attracting and retaining skilled employees is widely recognised and should be adequately address in the Plan.
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Yes. There is a pressing need for houses in the Grater Cambridge area and a good supply of new dwellings will bolster and sustain the area’s economy.
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Yes. There is a pressing need for houses in the Greater Cambridge area and a good supply of new dwellings will bolster and sustain the area’s economy. This should particularly be the case with settlements in close proximity to Cambridge and employment opportunities and which are well-connected by public transport networks. This should include buses, trains as well as bicycle and pedestrian links.
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Pigeon strongly agree that the Local Plan should aim to deliver more than the minimum number of new homes defined through the Standard Method. The PPG is clear that the Standard Method provides only the minimum local housing need. It takes no account of economic needs or specialist housing needs including those in need of affordable housing . It is therefore appropriate to ensure that the housing requirement appropriately reflects these factors to ensure that the needs of different groups are addressed as required by paragraph 61 of the NPPF and that conditions are created to support economic growth as required by paragraph 80 of the NPPF. The PPG (2a-010) confirms that it is necessary to take account of other factors and identifies that the need will be greater than the figure identified by the standard method in circumstances including where previous assessments of need have identified that the need is significantly greater as is the case with Greater Cambridge. The Greater Cambridge economy, driven by the world leading hi-tech and life sciences cluster is of significant importance to the UK economy and with Cambridge lying at the centre of three economic growth corridors. It is therefore vital that the National significance of the Greater Cambridge economy is fully recognized by the two Councils and that its growth continues to be supported. In this regard, the CPIER Report noted that “the levels of planned housing are insufficiently high to accommodate the existing, let alone anticipated growth of the economy.” Additional flexibility (and allocations to achieve it) is therefore needed to allow the market to respond to the rapid growth in the jobs market, to improve choice, access and affordability. There also needs to be a sensible buffer to enable additional demand to be taken up and supply on a wide range of sites to be delivered. Whilst we accept that monitoring can be the basis for reviewing the Plan in future the Councils should be ambitious at the outset in addressing the known national recognition of the value of the area to the economy and setting a target which gives confidence and certainty to the community and the development industry. On this basis, Pigeon considers that the Plan should plan for the provision of around 2,900 new homes per annum to ensure sufficient flexibility to support the growing economy.
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Yes. There is a pressing need for houses in the Greater Cambridge area and a good supply of new dwellings will bolster and sustain the area’s economy. This should particularly be the case with settlements in close proximity to Cambridge and employment opportunities and which are well-connected by public transport networks. This should include buses as well as bicycle and pedestrian links.
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Yes. As set out in the response to Question 31, upward adjustments to the minimum figure derived from the standard method are required to take into account growth strategies, strategic infrastructure improvements and housing affordability in Greater Cambridgeshire. The National Infrastructure Commission, the Cambridge and Peterborough Combined Authority and the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership acknowledge and support the economic growth potential of the Greater Cambridge area, and consider that there is a need to substantially increase housing delivery in order to support that economic growth and address the significant housing affordability issues that exist. A Greater Housing Delivery Study (prepared by Barton Willmore on behalf of Endurance Estates) identifies the housing requirements for Greater Cambridge for the period to 2040 and implications for the future distribution of housing. The Study highlights the findings of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Independent Economic Review 2018 (CPIER) which demonstrate the imbalance between employment growth and housing delivery. Barton Willmore support, as a minimum, the indicative housing requirement figure for Greater Cambridge derived from the CPIER which is a total of 66,700 dwellings between 2017 to 2040, which equates to approximately 2,900 dwellings per annum. The Study also includes analysis of housing delivery, existing allocations and commitments and potential strategic allocations to inform how and where the housing requirements should be distributed.
Yes. As set out in the response to Question 31, upward adjustments to the minimum figure derived from the standard method are required to take into account growth strategies, strategic infrastructure improvements and housing affordability in Greater Cambridgeshire. The National Infrastructure Commission, the Cambridge and Peterborough Combined Authority and the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership acknowledge and support the economic growth potential of the Greater Cambridge area, and consider that there is a need to substantially increase housing delivery in order to support that economic growth and address the significant housing affordability issues that exist.
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Yes. As set out in the response to Question 31, upward adjustments to the minimum figure derived from the standard method are required to take into account growth strategies, strategic infrastructure improvements and housing affordability in Greater Cambridgeshire. The National Infrastructure Commission, the Cambridge and Peterborough Combined Authority and the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership acknowledge and support the economic growth potential of the Greater Cambridge area, and consider that there is a need to substantially increase housing delivery in order to support that economic growth and address the significant housing affordability issues that exist. A Greater Housing Delivery Study (prepared by Barton Willmore on behalf of Endurance Estates) identifies the housing requirements for Greater Cambridge for the period to 2040 and implications for the future distribution of housing. The Study highlights the findings of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Independent Economic Review 2018 (CPIER) which demonstrate the imbalance between employment growth and housing delivery. Barton Willmore support the indicative housing requirement figure for Greater Cambridge derived from the CPIER which is a total of 66,700 dwellings between 2017 to 2040, which equates to approximately 2,900 dwellings per annum. The Study also includes analysis of housing delivery, existing allocations and commitments and potential strategic allocations to inform how and where the housing requirements should be distributed.
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If you don't build a significant number more then you will always be battling affordability. The affordable housing that is built currently is anything but affordable.
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Yes. The 2018 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Independent Economic Review (CPIER) identified that recent employment growth has been faster than anticipated, and the aim of doubling GVA in the area by 2040 was realistic. The predicted economic growth could be achieved by attracting knowledge-intensive businesses that would not locate elsewhere in the UK, by delivering new housing, and by prioritising infrastructure projects. The economic success of Greater Cambridge is of national significance. These factors support a significantly higher number of homes than would be derived from the use of the standard method. A Housing and Economic Development Needs Assessment has been prepared by Iceni Projects Ltd on behalf of North BRLOG and is submitted with these representations. The Report has examined the inter-related issues of economic growth, affordability and housing need in Greater Cambridge. The National Infrastructure Commission, the Cambridge and Peterborough Combined Authority and the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership acknowledge and support the economic growth potential of the Greater Cambridge area, and consider that there is a need to substantially increase housing delivery in order to support that economic growth and address the significant housing affordability issues that exist. The evidence in the Iceni Assessment identifies a fundamental imbalance between rates of economic growth and housing delivery, which is leading to acute housing affordability issues. It is noted in the Report that median house prices are more than 11 times average earnings across the Greater Cambridge Area (with a higher ratio in Cambridge City). The undersupply of homes presents a fundamental challenge to the area’s future economic growth because workers are being priced out of the area and firms in the Greater Cambridge area finding it increasingly difficult to recruit. It is recommended in the Assessment that planning for housing should be based on a blended economic growth rate of 2.8% per annum i.e. based on short-term economic trends to 2031 and longer-term economic trends thereafter; this recommendation is consistent with the findings of the Cambridge and Peterborough Independent Economic Review (CPIER), the Cambridge and Peterborough Devolution Deal, and the Local Industrial Strategy for the area. It is common planning practice to seek to align housing and economic strategies. Cambridge and Peterborough Independent Economic Review Iceni’s analysis demonstrates that 101,200 dwellings are required in the Greater Cambridge area between 2017 and 2040, which equates to 4,400 dwellings per annum. It is acknowledged that this level of growth in housing is transformational, but so is the economic growth potential of Greater Cambridge and the scale of planned infrastructure investment.
We should question the assumption that Greater Cambridge either will inevitably need to grow in the way predicted. We should not put housing growth ahead of protecting environmental resources (including water), or sustainability and biodiversity.
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Absolutely not. Our environment needs protecting.
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Meeting the demand for housing near jobs in essential to bring down the cost of housing in the area. Also, building near existing facilities, or building densely in new areas, enables having shops, doctors, schools and other facilities which are close enough for walking and cycling.
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A key issue is to ensure optimal use of current housing, and new developments. Local plan policy should ensure that current and planned new housing is inhabited by local people, not used for speculative investment.
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No. It is not explained in the consultation how providing an additional 30,000 homes “provides flexibility”. Having such a high target surely means that it is more likely that a five-year housing land supply will not be met at some time or times during the life of the Plan, at which point the GCP area would be vulnerable to speculative proposals from developers. To deliver such large numbers also suggests concentration on developing new settlements in order to ensure provision of adequate infrastructure, which could be contentious depending on potential locations. Development of the North East Cambridge or Cambridge Airport sites are not likely to be opposed by much of the GCP area outside Cambridge. The higher target is likely to result in the disappearance of many greenfield hectares and the urbanisation what are currently rural locations in the GCP area.
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There is already contention that existing developments are rapidly outstripping available water resources without providing for an even greater number of homes which exacerbates these problems.
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Yes, as long as they offer a good range of pricing options.
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We have a water shortage. We should not build homes for more people than we have water for. If we do not know where the water is coming from, we should tell government we cannot build more homes until there is a plan in place. It may not be technically possible to get enough water for lots and lots more people. Once we have reached the carrying capacity of the land, we should stop increasing the poplulation on it. In this area, water is likely to be the limiting factor.
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