A Local Plan key assumption is that all 44, 400 new homes have to be allocated within Greater Cambridge (GC) area (Ref GCLP - PPSE – SEPTEMBER 2021 P21 Medium “Consume Own Smoke”) and the apparent justification given elsewhere is that this in order to minimise the Carbon Footprint of Travel and congestion. Although agreeing that travel footprint is a reasonable concern, the simplistic conclusion may be unsound because:

Objection 1 – In reality, people will continue to travel from out of area:
a) as should be known from data in the current baseline
b) with a decrease in car numbers crossing the Cam bridges measured in 2019 compared to 10 years earlier. Facts that contradict the Plan’s assumptions should be explored not ignored.
c) as needs to be shown in the future baseline
d) increasingly so as working from home becomes more prevalent so journeys into GC are less frequent for some of these workers (2 or 3 days/week?).
e) with lower carbon footprint for average working day due to c) above
f) increasingly but anecdotally, due to some people wishing to take advantage of lower housing costs and more tranquil, rural surroundings. Further evidence for the drivers for growth of in-commuting from out of the GCP area can be inferred from the Housing Market Bulletins which show that prices/m2 are much greater in Cambridge City than other districts and average and lower quartile prices also show a similar ranking but over a narrower spread.
g) increasingly so by sustainable travel as a consequence of CPCA’s plan to improve public transport which may include connections to rural hubs
h) increasingly so in the case of Rail as Network Rail creates improved connections in area at Cambridge South and Waterbeach new town and out of area, eg Soham, Wisbech, Ely capacity improvements and longer range potential such as East -West Rail and Newmarket line improvements to the east.
The Local Plan assumption does not appear to be compatible with or even tested against Network Rail’s forecasts or evidence for travel patterns from out of the area (see Figure 2 attached, ref Cambridge South Station). This is a step the Local Plan needs.
Recognising potential for more rail commuting from Fenland and East Cambridge and encouraging this in housing allocations might do a lot for the levelling up agenda in the County. Some evidence of what other Districts are planning or might aspire to for commuting to GC should be given. The comment on P26 about lack of “asking” in discussion with neighbouring authorities does not inspire confidence that the right questions have been asked.

Objection 2 – In reality, some people will continue to travel to employment out of the area:
a) The long term desire for NECAAP includes the siting of 8000 plus new houses near Cambridge North station is likely to attract such out-commuters. At the very least, the number could be assessed for the Local Plan by first quantifying then comparing the degree of out commuting from existing new developments near Cambridge Station both pre 2020 and more recently.
This is a separate point to that described in the approach to the Local Plan which predicts that some of the proposed housing near Cambridge North would lead to an increase in commuting by rail as a component of the sustainable travel within the GCP area.