Dear Sir/ Madam,

I am writing in a personal capacity to strongly object to the Draft Local Plan. Please confirm that you have received my objection, and that this individual submission is noted, recorded, counted and made available.

I object on the grounds of inadequate water supply, effect on national food security, failure to minimise climate change, likely irreparable damage to ecosystems, carbon emissions resulting from construction, lack of an integrated public transport system, undermining of the Government's policy of ‘levelling up’, and a democratic deficit in the process and evidence base.

I support the letter of objection sent to you by Friends of the Cam, available here;

https://www.friendsofthecam.org/sites/default/files/ObjectiontoNext%20LocalPlan_0.pdf

I also want to add some general thoughts, that really set the scene of the problems we are facing, and frankly the proposers of the draft plan seem to be ignoring.
Antonio Gutuerres, the Secretary General of the UN has issued many warnings. At the start of his 'state of the planet' speech, 2nd December 2020, he said:
“Dear friends,
Humanity is waging war on nature.
This is suicidal.
Nature always strikes back -- and it is already doing so with growing force and fury.
Biodiversity is collapsing. One million species are at risk of extinction.
Ecosystems are disappearing before our eyes.”
The proposed draft local plan does not seem to take any notice of those words or his recent warning; that we are at ‘code red for humanity’. He’s right; science has been saying very clearly for years that catastrophic climate and ecological chaos is approaching; and its now here. On that basis alone, I cannot see how the draft local plan is at all appropriate.
We have to reduce the use of fossil fuels immediately and most of the carbon emission reduction has to happen between now and 2030. We can’t delay on this, every day matters. In February, Sir David King, the government’s former chief scientific advisor said,"what we do in the next 3-4 years will determine the future of humanity". so we’ve already wasted a quarter of that precious time – we are running out of time. the IPCC in their 2018 special report on limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees stated that ‘rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented’ action has to needed in all aspects of society. All this means that ‘business as usual’ can’t continue – otherwise we are facing disaster. The draft local plan seems to be ‘business as usual‘ to me, perhaps with a little greenwashing thrown into the mix.
On March 15 2021 the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Independent Commission on Climate Change released its first report on addressing transport, buildings, energy and peat, highlighting the need to take “urgent action,” and outlining suggested policies to reduce emissions.
• The report said greenhouse gas emissions in the county are “high”, approximately 25 per cent higher per person than the UK average.
• It also said, at this rate “we have only about six years remaining before we will have exhausted all of our ‘allowed’ share of emissions to 2050, if we are to play an equal part in delivering the UK’s critical net-zero target”.
• The report found the area is at a “high risk from the changing climate”, and that many of the feared effects in the UK are “particularly severe” in our region.
• These include an increased risk of flooding, high summer temperatures, water shortages, and damage to the natural carbon stores in the deep peat of the Fens.
The Commission released its second report on water, waste, and a just transition this October.
• The report calls for an in integrated water management plan to account for future water restraints in the region. Without this, economic, housing, and population growth will be difficult.
There is much in both of these reports that the draft local plan fails to address.
Under Dr Nik Johnson, the Combined Authority has committed to acting on the Commission’s recommendations. Many city, district and county councils in the area have declared a climate and ecological emergency. They need to act in accordance with that emergency.
Please confirm that you have received my objection, and that this individual submission is noted, recorded, counted and made available.

Yours faithfully,