Greater Cambridge Local Plan Preferred Options

Greater Cambridge has noted in the First Proposals document that there are two allocations where delivery is currently uncertain:

• S/C/R6: 636-656 Newmarket Road, Holy Cross Church Hall, East Barnwell Community Centre and Meadowlands, Newmarket Road – Currently allocated for 75 residential units.
• S/C/M2: Clifton Road Area – Currently allocated for a maximum of 550 dwellings and 2 ha of employment land.

Huntingdonshire District Council would like assurance that the Councils have additional sites to meet their housing need if these sites are not carried forward.

Huntingdonshire District Council has no comment on this matter.

Huntingdonshire District Council are aware that delivery at Cambridge East will be a long-term allocation and is reliant on the relocation of Marshalls Airport. Relocation is currently anticipated to be in 2030. The mix of uses will enable a sustainable development and it is agreed that focus on high quality public transport connections will be essential to a successful scheme.

In the event that Marshalls Airfield does not relocate it is recommended that alternative sites are made available and identified as reserve sites within the plan.

Huntingdonshire District Council has no comment.

Huntingdonshire District Council has no comment.

With limited space for employment uses in Cambridge, West Cambridge is considered a suitable site to capitalise on the employment uses associated with its aim as an innovation district.

The policy is recommending that it provides additional flexibility by allowing an element of residential, focused on affordable housing and key workers, where it would support making the campus become a more vibrant employment location, and not harm employment availability.

It is essential that the balance of residential to employment use is carefully considered to ensure that the aim of the site as an innovation district is not compromised. It is supported in principle as allowing affordable housing for key workers associated specifically with the uses of the site could enable reduced commuting for those working on the campus and thus reduced traffic congestion and carbon emissions. This would be especially beneficial to those who are most affected by lower wages forcing them to live further away from their place of employment in the surrounding districts.

Huntingdonshire District Council has no comment.

Huntingdonshire District Council has no comment on this matter.

Huntingdonshire District Council agree with the proposal for future development at Cambourne. Careful consideration will have to be given to the timing of delivery in light of a new railway station (part of the East
West Rail scheme to connect Oxford with Cambridge) and the Cambourne to Cambridge public transport scheme being brought forward by the Greater Cambridge Partnership. It is noted that there is currently no identified fall-back position if these infrastructure schemes are not brought forward.
Timely delivery in combination with these schemes will enable increased public transport use, provide a lower emissions scenario for the allocation and minimise the impacts of increased commuting and congestion on the A428. Huntingdonshire District Council agree that the scheme should be a landscape led one to minimise impacts in the wider landscape and to have a focus both on place making for the expanded town and delivery of the wider vision for green infrastructure.

Policy S/NS proposes accelerated delivery at Waterbeach and Northstowe. At Northstowe, supporting documents identify that this will be as a result of using modern methods of construction. Huntingdonshire District Council concur that off-site modular construction can assist in accelerating delivery on sites. The Council would like to ensure that faster delivery on sites does not impact on infrastructure provision and services in the surrounding areas, this would include access to GP surgeries, transport networks etc and recreational pressure on green infrastructure e.g. Fen Drayton Lakes.

Careful consideration should also be given to the impact that faster delivery could have on market absorption rates and tenure diversity to justify that this is achievable.