Comment
Greater Cambridge Local Plan Preferred Options
Representation ID: 57545
Received: 10/12/2021
Respondent: Stapleford Parish Council
The proposed development on Mingle Lane Stapleford would severely impact the Green Belt, Magog Hills, Wandlebury, and the rural landscape with little or no benefit to local people. The land proposed for development is meadowland. Landscape and biodiversity cannot be replaced once lost. The coalescence of villages with Cambridge cannot be condoned. Infrastructure is insufficient to support more development. There are massive developments proposed in the East, West and CBC areas which begs the question as to the need for this small development of 100 houses on green belt land, totally separated from these other developments.
This is the designation of the village of Stapleford.
The building of a new village at Hinxton has been approved providing housing and infrastructure for the employees at this Campus.
The A1307 has already been redesigned by the GCP to provide for expansion and travel needs to the Babraham Research Centre.
The proposal for 100 houses on a 10 hectare site in Stapleford is put forward as an exception site due to its excellent transport links! There is one train per hour from the Great Shelford Station to the next proposed stop at Cambridge South! The CBC is a 5 minute cycle away from the site so it is difficult to imagine why anyone would use the train to commute to work.
The proposed site is in Green Belt land, is very small compared to the site size and extends the village boundary to make it almost link to the City (especially once the new developments between the A1307 and Wort’s Causeway are built.). At the moment the village has unique landscape character assessments which include the Magog Hills and Wandlebury. This development destroys our relationship with both these valuable assets in our Parish environ and destroys the long views from Mingle Lane to the rolling chalk hills to the north. ( see sections 4.2 and 4.6.5 of the Stapleford draft conservation area appraisal and management plan )