OBJECT

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 housing for those with a local connection to the village.

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 development by Endurance Estates at land off Old House Road in Balsham would support the existing services and facilities in the village, including the village shop, post office, public houses, 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 off Old House Road in Balsham 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 within Balsham are all accessible by walking and cycling. Balsham is on a bus route, with regular services to Haverhill and Linton and a limited daily service to Cambridge. There is a school bus service from Balsham to the secondary school at Linton Village College. The Greater Cambridge Partnership’s Making Connections project proposes a more frequent rural bus service for Balsham. Balsham will have a direct link to the ‘A11 Travel Hub’. As such, there will be realistic alternatives to the car for travel to and from Balsham once the Making Connections project has been delivered. Balsham is well related to Linton and to employment opportunities at Babraham Research Campus and Granta Park.

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 21 affordable dwellings in Balsham for those with a local connection to the village. This identified need would not be met without allocations in the village. The promoted development by Endurance Estates at land off Old House Road in Balsham would include housing and affordable housing to meet local needs of the village.

For all these reasons, small scale housing allocations should be made in the more sustainable villages within the rest of the rural area, including Balsham, 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 housing in those villages which would not be met via other means.

The Endurance Estates representations to the assessment of the land off Old House Road in Balsham site in the HELAA (Site Ref. 40438) comment on the potential constraints identified with the promoted development and explain how those constraints would be addressed. In summary, there would be negligible impact on landscape character, the hedgerows and trees at the site would be retained and enhanced, and ecological enhancements would be provided as part of the promoted development. As set out above, there is a range of services and facilities available in Balsham, there are additional facilities available in Linton, employment opportunities available nearby, and proposed improvements to the bus services.

As set out in the call for site submission and the supporting technical work for the site, there are no significant constraints to development at land south of Old House Road in Balsham. For example, the site is not in the Green Belt and is not affected by any heritage assets. The site is located in Flood Zone 1 which means it has a low probability of flood risk. The trees and hedgerows would be retained at the site and additional planting would be provided at the site boundary, and as a result there should not be a significant adverse effect on the landscape setting of the village. There is an existing access to the site, which will need to be upgraded to provide footways and junction arrangements for the promoted development and mitigation measures to protect residential amenity. The promoted development would include biodiversity enhancement measures, including additional landscaping with native planting and bird and bat boxes.

For all these reasons it is requested that land south of Old House Road in Balsham is allocated for residential development in emerging GCLP. The Proposed Block Plan and Development Brief (prepared by Saunders Boston Architects) submitted with the call for sites response explained the design and layout of the promoted development, and could be used as a basis for a site allocation.

Requested Change

It is requested that the development strategy for the rest of the rural area includes an additional allocation in Balsham at land off Old House Road.

It is requested that land off Old House Road is allocated with the following policy requirements:

• Site Area of 1.17 Ha
• Capacity for approx. 23 dwellings, including affordable housing
• Delivery of open space and green infrastructure
• Development should address the following constraints:
o Landscaping at eastern and southern boundary
o Upgraded access arrangements from Old House Road