Infrastructure policies

4.61. Significant infrastructure is being brought forwards in the Greater Cambridge area, including EWR. Additional Park and Ride provision is also planned, together with the C2C. MGH supports the proposed policy direction, including Policy I/ST which seeks to deliver sustainable and inclusive communities by minimising the need to travel and reducing travel distances. We agree that new development should be located appropriately to maximise the benefits of investment in this new strategic infrastructure, which has the ability to increase the availability and use of more sustainable modes of transport and thereby address the environment and on quality of life impacts of car use.
4.62. Local infrastructure such as schools, health facilities and leisure facilities should be key elements of new development if it is to be sustainable and contribute to the creation of robust, mixed-use communities. Such infrastructure is best delivered where its effectiveness is maximised across both existing and new communities.
4.63. The MGH proposals at North Cambourne would deliver new infrastructure that serves the new community, but also serves the existing community at Cambourne. New residents would benefit from the existing services and facilities provided at Cambourne, with new infrastructure broadening choices. The extension of Cambourne will deliver new options for education, additional community facilities with opportunities for cultural facilities, and a broader leisure offer that could include for example a swimming pool or local cinema. Smaller developments, for example in many of the surrounding villages, are not able to deliver such opportunities because neither the existing community or the new development provide sufficient critical mass to support them.
4.64. Utilities will need to be carefully considered alongside new development proposals. As the move to electric cars takes place, the burden on the electricity grid (for vehicle charging) becomes much greater. New developments will need to consider new ways of generating electricity to enhance and supplement grid supply. Options to generate renewable energy on site will be fully investigated to maximise the output potential in a compatible manner with the proposed masterplan. This is currently likely to include rooftop photovoltaic panels, but other sources of energy, such as heat sharing, may become apparent as the masterplan is developed. Such an investment in new infrastructure can best be achieved on larger, mixed use developments that allow heat to be used efficiently by transfer from employment buildings, which need heat during the day, and homes that require maximum heating during the evenings.
4.65. Delivery of the Local Plan, and its ability to be found sound, is contingent on water supply being adequate without causing f environmental harm, including excessive demand on the chalk aquifer. A number of measures are being explored – including water transfers and imports. However, current evidence says that the planned reservoirs and improvements to supply will be too late in the plan period to meet the need of the preferred trajectory.
4.66. An ‘Integrated Water Management Study’ is part of the evidence base, with inputs from Stantec. At the Regional level we understand that the water companies are looking at the co-creation of a regional plan – that will be the subject of consultation next year (albeit the final document may not be available for the GCP Examination in Public).
4.67. We note that, on water supply and wastewater treatment, the Stantec supplementary paper states that specific constraints which require management and/or further investment associated with the preferred spatial option (Option 9) are connected to growth at Cambourne. At Cambourne there are local wastewater treatment capacity constraints although opportunities to supply Cambourne with fresh water from outside the area easing likely short term local supply shortages.
4.68. Usage in Cambridge Water Area is also notably high (143 litres per person per day) compared to standard national requirement for new homes – so the area is at risk of serious water stress without significant measures to improve supply. The proposed approach to reduce / re-use would be a move towards 80 litres per person per day, which the Councils say doesn’t add much more to the cost of development according to the LPA. The scheme will aim to target this lower value with a combination of low flow fittings, and potentially rainwater harvesting systems, either on an individual building level or as a centralised system, incorporated within the development SuDS strategy.