The proposed development strategy for Greater Cambridge directs the vast majority of growth to the Cambridge Urban Area, the edge of Cambridge and new settlements.

Of the allocations proposed, the majority of these are existing commitments (adopted allocations, sites with planning permission etc.). The Council are only proposing a need for an additional 11,640 homes to be allocated through the emerging Local Plan.

Within the Cambridge Urban Area, one new housing allocation is proposed, which has the capacity to deliver approximately 12 new homes. The remaining allocations are brought forward from the 2018 Local Plan and many of these were previously allocated in the 2006 Local Plan. As such, there is a view that if the sites have not been brought forward successfully in the last 15 years, given the increased demand for housing in the City, then it is questionable whether they will be in a position to deliver much needed housing during the next Plan period.

The remaining housing delivery is allocated to areas of major change and larger urban extensions on the edge of Cambridge at North East Cambridge, Cambridge East and North West Cambridge. Whilst the approach to these sites again is supported by Clare College, it is considered that these larger sites need to be complemented with a selection of sustainable small and medium scale sites which have the prospect of being delivered early within the Plan period, such as those within the ownership of Clare College and identified at the beginning of these representations.

Such housing delivery would help meet local housing needs over the Plan period, providing a greater variety in the type and location of development delivered. It is important to highlight that the NPPF is clear in paragraph 69 that ‘small and medium sized sites can make an important contribution to meeting the housing requirement of an area, and are often built-out relatively quickly’ and that local planning authorities should ‘promote the development of a good mix of sites’.

It is considered that the Councils strategy focuses on the delivery of very large sites with few smaller allocations. Clare College would suggest that this approach may mean that particularly in the earlier years of the Plan period, the Council will struggle to deliver the required levels of housing, because it takes longer for larger sites to begin completing new homes. Therefore, Clare College would like to suggest that the Council consider an approach whereby these larger sites are complemented by a range of sustainable smaller and medium scale sites, both within the City Centre as well as in rural area of South Cambridgeshire such as their sites at Bentley Road and Great Chesterford.

As part of their strategy, the Council have stated that their top priority is to reduce carbon emissions and to that end provide jobs and homes in close proximity to one another and major public transport routes. Land at Bentley Road (HELAA Ref: 48066) is adjacent to the Guided Busway and associated pedestrian and cycle route, providing direct access to Cambridge Station, the City Centre and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. As such, it is a highly sustainable location, close to services and facilities, a wide range of employment opportunities and public transport connections to London and other regional centres. Likewise, Land at Great Chesterford (HELAA Ref: 47934) is in very close proximity to the railway station at Great Chesterford, with direct connections to London, Cambridge and Bishop Stortford/Stansted Airport. The settlement of Great Chesterford itself benefits from a wide range of services and facilities as well as employment opportunities. Furthermore, it is well connected to the research and development institutes at Babraham, Great Abington and Hinxton. As such, Clare College would suggest that both of these sites are well placed to assist the Council in achieving their top priority to reduce carbon emissions. They should both be considered further in the next stage of the Local Plan and as smaller sustainable sites, which could be allocated to deliver much needed housing early in the Plan period.