It is proposed in the Draft Local Plan that the village of Melbourn remains a Minor Rural Centre rather than being upgraded to a Rural Centre.
Rural Centres are described in the adopted South Cambridgeshire Local Plan as the most sustainable villages of the district and are described as having:
“….good access to a secondary school (either within the village or accessible by good public transport), employment opportunities, a variety of services and facilities and have good public transport services to Cambridge or a market town”
In terms of population, the 2011 Census confirmed the population of Melbourn to be 4,689.
Melbourn has a wide range of services and facilities, including schools at both primary and secondary level, a health centre, a community hub, two garden centres, cafes, restaurants, takeways, pubs and two convenience stores.
In terms of promoting sustainable modes of transport, Melbourn has excellent bus links, with the Intalink 915 providing a direct hourly service to Royston and Cambridge. The village is also within a 30 minute walk/7 minute cycle of Meldreth Train Station, which is on the mainline between Cambridge and London Kings Cross. There is dedicated public footpath linking Melbourn village with the train station. Journeys by train into Cambridge are half hourly and take 16‐18 minutes. Journeys to London’s Kings Cross take approximately 1h 10m.
In addition to being within a reasonable distance of a wide range of employment opportunities in Cambridge the village has historically had a positive work population: employment ratio. This includes the Melbourn Science Park, a growing science and tech cluster, specialising in combined life sciences and engineering.
In conclusion, Melbourn scores highly on the factors assessed and should not reasonably fall within the category of Minor Rural Centre. Such villages are described as having ‘a lower level of services, facilities and employment than Rural Centres’. The high service provision, high quality public transport and the employment opportunities clearly demonstrates that Melbourn should be re-classified as a Rural Centre.