Greater Cambridge Local Plan Preferred Options

The unique and protected Chalk Hills and river systems are a serious concern with regards to protection and management and any large scale development will exacerbate these difficult issues. Stapleford has suffered flooding and the river run dry. A length of cycle/footpath alongside the A1301 was replaced when the river broke its banks causing flooding on the the A1301, putting cyclists in danger. Water management is a key local concern. The village has declared a Climate Emergency and we are embracing climate change policies in all our decisions. Building on the Green Belt meets does not meet our policy statements.

Cambridge is known for its green spaces, open agricultural land, the unique landscape of the Magog Hills, its chalk hills and the Wandlebury Historic Site. The Green Belt between the City and Stapleford Parish has been and is proposed to be eroded already, ultimately destroying our village status. Your policy is to enhance biodiversity, geodiversity, river corridors and protect open spaces. Building in open spaces with a development that is in the Green Belt cannot possibly be seen to meet these policies. We agree that tree cover is an important issue and have taken advantage of some of the tree offers that have been around but fail to see that Chalk Hills will support the planting of numerous trees in our near area. Wandlebury have a strong policy for tree planting and maintenance and therefore we believe we are moving towards meeting this need in our area.

100 houses on the outside edge of a small village cannot be considered as a development needing community, sports and leisure facilities. However it would stretch our existing facilities beyond their limits, in particular the two local primary schools and the Granta Medical Practice. Residents would therefore need to use their cars to access both these facilities elsewhere. Building 100 houses does not build community and certainly, in this case, will not meet the needs of this community in terms of future expansion. We need infill brown sites to be developed with truly affordable housing, not add on cluster development which cannot bring inclusion or develop wellbeing

The Stapleford proposed site destroys the Landscape Character of the village.
It goes totally against the statement for protection and enhancement of the Green Belt.
It does not establish the conservation of high quality landscape or the public realm

This is the designation of the village of Stapleford.
The building of a new village at Hinxton has been approved providing housing and infrastructure for the employees at this Campus.
The A1307 has already been redesigned by the GCP to provide for expansion and travel needs to the Babraham Research Centre.
The proposal for 100 houses on a 10 hectare site in Stapleford is put forward as an exception site due to its excellent transport links! There is one train per hour from the Great Shelford Station to the next proposed stop at Cambridge South! The CBC is a 5 minute cycle away from the site so it is difficult to imagine why anyone would use the train to commute to work.
The proposed site is in Green Belt land, is very small compared to the site size and extends the village boundary to make it almost link to the City (especially once the new developments between the A1307 and Wort’s Causeway are built.). At the moment the village has unique landscape character assessments which include the Magog Hills and Wandlebury. This development destroys our relationship with both these valuable assets in our Parish environ and destroys the long views from Mingle Lane to the rolling chalk hills to the north. ( see sections 4.2 and 4.6.5 of the Stapleford draft conservation area appraisal and management plan )

Where the proposal is to develop prime agricultural land in the green belt it cannot be deemed to be ‘protecting the best agricultural land or supporting the rural economy.

The Stapleford site is being promoted on ‘good transport links’ with one train per hour from the Great Shelford Station! The village is within a ten minute cycle distance from all the local Campus sites. The connectivity problems arise from the A1307 (which connects these sites) and the lack of rail route from Haverhill where many employees live due to the affordable housing there. Reopening the Haverhill train line would remove much of the traffic from the A1307 and alleviate the traffic problems we have through the village

These documents are very sound. The problem is that many of the above policies don’t fully meet these documents statements.

We have a genuine need for more affordable housing, but as we are one of the most expensive parts of South Cambs, we recognise that the 80% price cap does not make new houses affordable! 100 houses built on a 10 hectare site will not produce the truly affordable houses we need and no developer will find it financially acceptable to build them. We are a very green open village and the proposal to cluster 100 houses on one side of the site changes the design and feel of the village completely. It is also proposed to make the rest of the site open space, but this is not a use for the Green Belt! We don’t want ‘cluster building’. We want the village community we all desire to be enhanced by expansion and future needs. As regards the final 7 statements in this section, we would ask that the Plan considers these important areas but they are not applicable to our Parish.

This is the designation of the village of Stapleford.
The building of a new village at Hinxton has been approved providing housing and infrastructure for the employees at this Campus.
The A1307 has already been redesigned by the GCP to provide for expansion and travel needs to the Babraham Research Centre.
The proposal for 100 houses on a 10 hectare site in Stapleford is put forward as an exception site due to its excellent transport links! There is one train per hour from the Great Shelford Station to the next proposed stop at Cambridge South! The CBC is a 5 minute cycle away from the site so it is difficult to imagine why anyone would use the train to commute to work.
The proposed site is in Green Belt land, is very small compared to the site size and extends the village boundary to make it almost link to the City (especially once the new developments between the A1307 and Wort’s Causeway are built.). At the moment the village has unique landscape character assessments which include the Magog Hills and Wandlebury. This development destroys our relationship with both these valuable assets in our Parish environ and destroys the long views from Mingle Lane to the rolling chalk hills to the north. ( see sections 4.2 and 4.6.5 of the Stapleford draft conservation area appraisal and management plan )