Greater Cambridge Local Plan Preferred Options

USS owns Grand Arcade & Guildhall Chambers in Cambridge. USS therefore has an active interest in planning policy in Greater Cambridge and has provided comments on the relevant sections and policies in the Local Plan consultation. USS requests to be kept informed on the progress of the Local Plan.

USS supports the overarching vision for Greater Cambridge to be a place where a big decrease in climate impacts comes with a big increase in the quality of everyday life for all communities.
USS strongly supports the Great Places aim, in particular the reference to creating a place where people want to live, work and play.

USS also strongly supports the Jobs aim, in particular the encouragement of a flourishing and mixed economy in Greater Cambridge which includes a wide range of jobs.

USS strongly supports the Local Plan ambitions for 44,000 new homes and 58,500 new jobs across all
employment sectors, including business, retail, leisure, education and healthcare.

USS notes the aim for the proposed climate change policies is to help Greater Cambridge transition to net zero carbon by 2050, by ensuring that development is sited in places that help to limit carbon emissions.
USS strongly supports this proposed approach, noting that the first priority for new development should be to redevelop brownfield land in existing town centres. This is the most effective way of ensuring new development limits carbon emissions as it reduces the need to travel long distances for commuting, education and leisure. Increasing density on brownfield sites and adding residential uses to town centres can be a significant driver of limiting carbon emissions across Greater Cambridge.

USS notes the ambitious target of a minimum of 20% biodiversity net gain for development. As set out in previous representations to the Cambridge Biodiversity Supplementary Planning Document and Biodiversity Strategy, USS is supportive of ambitious targets for biodiversity but notes that this is double the target that was identified in the recently consulted on Cambridge Biodiversity SPD and also the emerging national target which is set by Government.

Any biodiversity net gain requirements should be proportionate to the potential of specific sites. For
example, sites that are in a highly sustainable brownfield location which might have limited potential for increasing biodiversity. If the Local Plan policy is too prescriptive on this issue it may restrict the ability of brownfield sites to provide housing or employment uses in highly sustainable locations.

USS is supportive of the overarching aims of the proposed wellbeing and inclusion policies.

USS recommends that proposed policy WS/CF makes clear that community, sports and leisure facilities are appropriate in mixed-use developments, such as Grand Arcade & Guildhall Chambers. This is vital to ensuring continued vitality in this type of development.

USS supports the overarching ambitions of proposed policy GP/PP. However, USS recommends that as the policy is developed consideration is given to ensuring that there is sufficient flexibility for well-designed and high quality buildings to come forward even if they are taller than the surrounding townscape. High quality taller landmark buildings can have a positive impact on their setting by adding to the townscape and this should be allowed for within the policy.

USS supports the ambition to introduce mixed use proposals in a way that can benefit all occupants where appropriate, avoiding the mixing of incompatible uses.

USS notes that most uses can be sensitively co-located and therefore requests that co-location of uses is supported in policy GP/QD.

USS recognises the importance of high-quality landscapes and public realm. USS is therefore supportive of proposed policy GP/QP.

USS acknowledges and supports the aims of proposed policy GP/HA. USS also acknowledges that in some cases, new development or redevelopment can enhance heritage assets and requests that this is recognised in the policy.