The purpose of this policy will be to protect employment land from loss to other uses and in this context, Marshall wishes to comment in respect of its existing business at Cambridge Airport and its relocation proposals. As identified, Cambridge East is one of the largest and most sustainable brownfield sites in Greater Cambridge. Its location and the scale of the opportunity make it an important part of Greater Cambridge’s growth strategy over the next 20+ years.

Marshall has recently announced that its preferred site for relocation of its aerospace and defence business is at Cranfield Airport. The evidence prepared confirms that there is no obvious commercial, planning, technical or regulatory impediment to a move to Cranfield, a position which will further crystalise through the preparation of the Outline Planning Application. Marshall is confident that the proposed site at Cranfield can meet its current space and operational requirements. As such, Marshall has begun the process of preparing an outline planning application, with submission planned in Autumn 2022. Marshall is aiming for the planning permission to be issued in early 2023. Planning permission would give the GCSP and Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities further confidence that Cranfield is a deliverable option for Marshall and that this in turn would enable Cambridge East to be delivered.

Whilst the aerospace and defence parts of the business need to be relocated due to reliance and need for an accompanying, there are other parts of the business that are able to function without a runway. On that basis, Marshall are considering options for retaining elements of the business in either Greater Cambridge or wider Cambridgeshire, which would align with the positive intention of Policy J/PB.

Therefore, the development of Cambridge East has two consequences of strategic importance. As well as unlocking the development of a world class anchor development at Cranfield that builds on significant synergies with Cranfield University, the relocation to Cranfield would significantly contribute to sustainable economic growth in the East. The relocation then paves the way for the delivery of a truly mixed-use scheme in Cambridge East that optimises the use of the land and will provide the range and mix of jobs Cambridge needs.