QUESTION: We think we should be very limited about the development we allow in villages, with only a few allocated sites in villages, with good public transport connections and local services. Which villages do you think should see new development of any kind?
Growth should be focused in villages, such as Histon & Impington, which benefit from having an established employment areas and excellent links to public transport. Histon & Impington is one of 5 Rural Centres which should be the focus of housing and employment growth.
It is considered very important that the Local Plan makes provision for a proportion of growth to be delivered from villages such as Histon & Impington to avoid them becoming dormitory villages where residents have to travel into Cambridge or further afield for work and leisure. It is therefore considered that additional growth should be provided within the most sustainable villages, such as Histon & Impington.
The allocation of the Villa Road site would provide an economic boost to the local area which would enable existing services and facilities to remain. The site is also located within close proximity to existing housing which the employment opportunity would be attractive to.

QUESTION: What housing, jobs, facilities or open spaces do you think should be provided in and around these villages?
It is important that a range of housing, jobs and facilities are provided within larger villages as part of new allocations to allow them to thrive and remain vibrant. NIAB Trust is responsible for the promotion of the Villa Road, Impington site, and have a track record of delivering high quality developments in Cambridge. NIAB are fully committed, to engagement with the GCSPS and Parish Council regarding the potential allocation of employment uses to be delivered on the Villa Road site.
The Villa Road site is located adjacent to an established employment area and within close proximity to local facilities and services in the village. It therefore essential to the local economy that there is space to cater for and attract the small to medium size firms to the area by providing an attractive location, close to sustainable transport links. The Villa Road site achieves both these objectives. The feasibility study demonstrates how the site could be laid out to respond to its context without impacting the uses on each of the site’s boundaries.
It is important that the GCSPS growth strategy includes provision that caters for all needs and requirements. The Villa Road site is located adjacent to an established employment base which is vital to the local economy and so should be the focus of a new allocation to allow some expansion. The site could also provide much-needed lab space in the Cambridge area. Therefore, it is considered that the Villa Road site should be allocated for B2 and E use class employment uses in the emerging Greater Cambridge Local Plan as it meets the objectives of the economic growth strategy.