Question 2. Please submit any sites for employment and housing you wish to suggest for allocation in the Local Plan. Provide as much information and supporting evidence as possible.

Form ID: 40078
Respondent: Bidwells
Agent: Bidwells

Land to the north, east and south of Six Mile Bottom

1772

Site 40078 map

No uploaded files for public display

Agriculture

N/A

N/A

Greenfield

Residential, employment, mixed use (e.g. retail, café, community facility, care home etc.), secondary school, four primary schools, infrastructure, improvements to the A11/A14 junction and railway station. Site area within SCDC 625.57 hectares Site area within ECDC 1146.8 hectares

Market and affordable housing , Key worker housing , Older persons housing , Residential care home , Student accommodation , Employment (B1) office , Employment (B1b) research and development , Employment (B1c) light industrial , Employment (B8) storage and distribution

Schools and education , Public open space , Community facilities , Recreation and leisure , Healthcare , Retail , Other

Development of the site would boost the local economy through the provision of jobs, therefore supporting the high tech cluster to the south and east of Cambridge. The extent of residential development would assist in ensuring that there are enough dwellings in the region to support the District's expected population growth. The proposed infrastructure improvements to the A11/A14 junction would deliver significant highway benefits, including reducing journey times. A potential new railway station would take advantage of the existing under-utilised rail infrastructure to the east of Cambridge (which is on the Cambridge to Ipswich line), and thus provide access to high quality public transport. This provides a significant opportunity to deliver cross-boundary working as required by the NPPF. The areas within which the site is located is outside the greenbelt on the administrative boundary between South Cambridgeshire and East Cambridgeshire District Council.

Approximately 5,000 dwellings initially with potential to grow to circa 10,000 dwellings. It should be noted, however, that the site falls within both the South Cambridgeshire and East Cambridgeshire Districts. It is therefore proposed that approximately 2,000 dwellings will be delivered in South Cambridgeshire. Further land is available as required. Approximately 14.4 hectares of employment land could be made available in South Cambridgeshire.

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Yes (Please give details)

A number of vehicular accesses will be improved and proposed in order to access the development. Considering the strategic scale of the development, it is too early to confirm where the proposed accesses will be at this stage. The development is, however, likely to result in improvements to the existing highway network, with a particular focus on an upgrade to the existing A11/A14 junction.

Yes (please give details)

The topography of the land slopes downwards from the south-east to the north-west. Any proposed layout will therefore need to be sympathetic to the site's contours, in order to reduce any amenity issues, e.g. overlooking. Landscape buffering will also assist in reducing the visual impact in terms of long views into and out of the site.

Yes (Please give details)

Small portions of the site are located in Flood Zone 3. However, the flood zones are narrow in nature and follow existing drainage channels. Should the site be developed it is anticipated that extensive upgrades to the existing drainage system will be made, therefore resulting in the risk of flooding on-site being reduced, to ensure that all building development is delivered on land within flood zone 1. There is no known contamination on the site. Any future planning application would be accompanied by a Phase 1 Contamination Assessment, which would assess the likelihood of contamination and recommend mitigation measures (if necessary). The northern and south-western portions of the site are located in SSSI Impact Risk Zones. The SSSI's that could be impacted by the development are Fleam Dyke and Newmarket Heath. It is unknown as to whether protected species are present on-site. Any future planning application would be accompanied by a Phase 1 Ecology Assessment, which would assess the likelihood of protected species on-site, then further surveys would be undertaken and mitigation measures would be proposed e.g. the provision of bat/bird boxes. The site comprises three Grade II listed buildings (Barn About 60 Metres West of Westley Lodge; St George's Church; and Milestone to South West of Six Mile Bottom Post Mill at NGR 585 580). Four Schedule Ancient Monuments are located in the northern portion of the site (Three bowl barrows 640m north west of Hare Park Stud; five bowl barrows 270m north of Hare Park Stud; Romano-British settlement 200m west of Allington Hill; and four bowl barrows at Allinton Hill, 420m south west of Allington Hill Farm). In addition to the aforementioned heritage assets, number of Grade II listed buildings are located in close proximity to the site. These include Milestone to South East of Lower Hare Park Farm at NGR 596 593; The Thatches; Milestone 5 Metres East of Spring Hall Farm; Barn at Spring Hall Farm; The Folly; Orchard Cottage; and Barn to North East of Underwood Hall. Two Grade II* listed buildings are also located in close proximity to the site - Six Mile Bottom Windmill; and Parish Church of St Mary The Less, Westley Waterless. Any proposed development of the site will ensure that the character and significance of these heritage assets is respected. This could be achieved through appropriate landscape buffering and setting back development a suitable distance from any heritage assets. A number of Rights of Way are located on site. These include a byway running along the site's southern boundary (REF: 254/19) and traversing across the centre of the site to the east, west and north (REFS 260/11; 260/12; 251/11; 260/10; 30/1; and 250/2), with a further footpath in the northern portion of the site which intersects the A11 (REF: 223/8). A railway line runs through the centre of the site. Any future planning application for development of this part of the site would be accompanied by a Noise Assessment. Whilst it is likely that the built environment would need to be set back from the railway line in order to minimise the impact on residential amenity, should the development result in the provision of an additional railway station then there is an opportunity to provide higher density residential development close to this public transport facility. The northern portion of the site is intersected by the A14/A11 junction. As part of the development, however, an upgrade to this junction could be delivered if necessary. Such a proposal could improve the capacity and safety of the existing highway network.

Available now

The landowner is keen to develop the site and is now taking an active role i.e. through appointing a developer.

Site is under option by a developer

Proximity to existing regional transport links; relatively low land values despite proximity to Cambridge; available in the short term; and all constraints are considered to be minor and/or easily overcome.

No

N/A

2024/25

2040

15

No

See below

Yes