GSPC has serious concerns regarding the proposed expansion plans of the Cambridge Biomedical Campus (CBC).

Great Shelford Parish Council is extremely concerned that any further expansion of CBC and related developments threaten the individual, rural and distinct nature of our village. The combination of these plans and the traffic infrastructure plans for the area, including but not limited to CSET and East West Rail, could rapidly see Great Shelford absorbed into Cambridge city. We oppose any plans that increase this threat.

On this basis, we are pleased that the plan called ‘Cambridge South’ by the developers that was linked to CBC and would have overwhelmed the north area of Great Shelford have not been put forward in the First Proposals. (See: http://cambridgesouth.azurewebsites.net). We opposed those plans strongly.

CBC is situated on the edge of very sensitive ecological areas that would be irreparably harmed by further expansion. This includes Nine Wells, the chalk stream of Hobson’s Brook, the edge of the Gog Magog downs and a Scheduled Monument within Great Shelford.

GSPC opposes the proposal to allow CBC to expand further into the green belt up to the boundary with Great Shelford along the A1307 and up to Granhams Road. Indeed, we are opposed to any proposal that would result in green belt land in or around Great Shelford being released for development. Further, we believe that the plans do not meet the requirements for green belt land to be released for development.

South Cambridgeshire has a world-leading cluster of life sciences companies and one of the main characteristics of this cluster is that it is distributed around many of the villages in the region. Notable and successful examples include Babraham, Hinxton, Melbourn and Harston. This means that the benefits and the drawbacks of this development is spread around the region; in particular, it brings quality jobs to villages that may otherwise be struggling for high quality employment and ensures that the resulting transport requirements aren’t concentrated in one small area. There is very little evidence that the continued success of this industry within South Cambridgeshire requires additional expansion of the CBC site.

In addition, the increased expansion of the CBC site can only increase pressure on the local transport network which is already overloaded. The road network is often close to gridlock at times during the day and the bus network is insufficient to cope with demand. Further, we note that the proposed expansion of the CBC site is distant from the planned site of Cambridge South station and the CSET route. Should the expanded site for CBC be allowed, GSPC believes that an alternative busway along the route of the A1307 would better serve CBC whilst minimising the significant ecological damage that CSET would create. It would also be quicker and cheaper to deliver. Schemes such as the light rail concept proposed by Cambridge Connect also demonstrate some attractive aspects that could benefit the whole of the Greater Cambridge Shared Planning area, including villages such as Great Shelford, and should be examined in the context of the draft Local Plan.