Section 2.6: Rest of Rural Area

It is considered that the growth of the more sustainable villages must be part of the development strategy for emerging GCLP, and particularly those villages that contain a good range of services and facilities, are accessible by a range of modes of transport, and where there is an identified need for affordable and community land trust housing.

Paragraph 79 of the NPPF seeks to promote sustainable development in rural areas and acknowledges that housing can enhance or maintain the vitality of rural communities and support local services. The promoted developments by Cambridge District Oddfellows at land at Two Mill Fields and at land north of Oakington Road in Cottenham would support the existing services and facilities in the village, including the supermarket and convenience stores, post office, library, public houses, restaurant/takeaway, and existing and future bus services.

Paragraph 69 acknowledges the role that small and medium sized sites can make towards meeting the housing requirements, and that such sites are often built-out relatively quickly. Small and medium sized sites typically only require limited new physical infrastructure and amendments to the access arrangements. The housing monitoring data from Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire confirms that small and medium sites are delivered quickly i.e. within two to three years. It is considered that small and medium sized sites make a significant contribution towards the short term housing land supply and the five year housing land supply position in Greater Cambridgeshire. It is requested that small/medium sized sites such as land at Two Mill Field and land north of Oakington Road in Cottenham are allocated to meet the requirement for a mix of sites including those that are easily deliverable.

Paragraph 104 of the NPPF expects transport issues to be considered at the earliest stages of plan-making. Those issues include opportunities created by existing or proposed transport infrastructure in terms of the scale, location and density of development, and opportunities to promote walking, cycling and public transport use. Paragraph 105 expects significant development to be focused on locations which are or can be made sustainable. The services and facilities and businesses within Cottenham are all accessible by walking and cycling. Cottenham is currently connected to Cambridge by frequent bus services. The Greater Cambridge Partnership’s Making Connections project proposes substantial improvements to the bus services for Cottenham, including a bus every 10 minutes to Cambridge via Histon, a more frequent service to Oakington (including the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway stop), and a more frequent rural service to Chatteris via Wilburton, Haddenham, Sutton and Mepal. As such, realistic alternatives to the car for travel to and from Cottenham exist, and bus services will be improved in the future once the Making Connections project has been delivered.

Paragraph 62 of the NPPF expects the size, type, and tenure of housing needs of the community to be assessed and reflected in planning policies, including for example those with an affordable housing need, students, renters, and self-builders. South Cambridgeshire District Council's 'Housing Statistical Information Leaflet' (December 2019) identified a need for 52 affordable dwellings in Cottenham for those with a local connection to the village. It is acknowledged that most of the current need for affordable housing would be met by recent planning permissions, but there will be future affordable housing needs that arise in the future and sustainable villages such as Cottenham should seek to meet district-wide affordable housing needs too. It is noted that Cottenham Community Land Trust have not yet brought forward a scheme and may be having difficulty finding a suitable site. The promoted developments by Cambridge District Oddfellows at land at Two Mill Field and land north of Oakington Road in Cottenham could include a proportion of land for a community land trust scheme, in conjunction with a development for housing and affordable housing if the site is allocated in emerging GCLP.

For all these reasons, small scale housing allocations should be made in the more sustainable villages within the rest of the rural area, including Cottenham, because those villages are accessible by sustainable modes of transport, there is a need to support the existing services and facilities within those villages, and there is an identified need for affordable and community land trust housing in those villages.

The Cambridge District Oddfellows representations to the assessments of the land at Two Mill Field (Site Ref. 40419) and land north of Oakington Road (Site Ref. 40417) comment on the potential constraints identified with the promoted developments and explain how those constraints would be addressed. In summary, and for both sites, the promoted developments would include additional landscaping at the site boundaries, green infrastructure, and biodiversity enhancement measures. It is noted that land adjacent to both sites have been promoted through the call for sites process of the emerging GCLP, and it should be possible to deliver a coordinated development if a number of neighbouring sites were allocated too e.g. strategic landscaping, open space, access arrangements, footway provision etc. The planned improvements to the bus services in Cottenham as part of Greater Cambridge Partnership’s Making Connections project should provide realistic alternatives to the car for some journeys and reduce the impact on the strategic highway network.

Requested Change

It is requested that the development strategy for the rest of the rural area includes additional allocations in Cottenham.

It is requested that land at Two Mill Field in Cottenham is allocated with the following policy requirements:

• Site Area of 3.24 Ha
• Capacity for approx. 90 dwellings, including affordable housing, self/custom build plots and a proportion of community land trust housing
• Delivery of open space and green infrastructure
• Landscaping at boundaries
• Northern boundary compatible with permitted residential development (Ref. S/2876/16/OL)

It is requested that land north of Oakington Road in Cottenham is allocated with the following policy requirements:

• Site Area of 2.36 Ha
• Capacity for approx. 90 dwellings, including affordable housing, self/custom build plots and a proportion of community land trust housing
• Delivery of open space and green infrastructure
• Landscape buffer at northern and western boundaries