Draft Greater Cambridge Local Plan for consultation

Comment

Representation ID: 209051

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Fowlmere Parish Council

Fowlmere Parish Council (FPC) considered policy S/RRA/CA submit a series of comments. The civil parish of Fowlmere is to the east of Melbourn. It adjoins the parish boundary of Melbourn. Residents of Fowlmere use the facilities in Melbourn, such as the shops, village
college and leisure centre. Access to Melbourn from Fowlmere is from the east along Cambridge Road. The proposal site is on Cambridge Road.

Comment

Representation ID: 209052

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Fowlmere Parish Council

The proposal states that “any employment uses must be integrated with the existing Science Park”. There is no indication why this should be the case. One effect will be to make the development dependent on the consent of the owners of the existing Science Park; access will have to be across their land. FPC has no information about who owns the site. Whilst planning is not concerned with ownership, ownership and commercial advantage can create a monopolistic situation which is generally undesirable. The requirement of integration will give the Science Park owners a ransom strip. They may currently be the owners of the site, but should they not be, or should that change, the requirement will make the development less likely to occur.

Comment

Representation ID: 209053

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Fowlmere Parish Council

The proposal is for a mixed development of approximately 120 homes and 8,000 square metres gross internal area of floorspace for employment uses. The area of the site available for each use is not specified FPC has not been able to find any density standards in the draft plan. FPC simply observes at this stage that housing density should be appropriate for village dwellings and recognise the beneficial effects of private outdoor space and the spaciousness which people expect and seek in villages.

Comment

Representation ID: 209054

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Fowlmere Parish Council

FPC recognises the importance of commercial development, particularly science and technology, and generally supports such development where sensibly located. It should be recognised that there will also be increases in traffic along Cambridge Road, the A10 and other nearby parts of the road network. Meldreth railway station is over a mile away from the site so rail access unless supported by shuttle-bus and bicycle parking on site is unlikely to be desirable. There will be a commercial incentive to providing shuttle-bus and cycle parking. However the policy could usefully specify the need to address that aspect. Shuttle-buses can be made available to the wider public on the route and FPC strongly suggests that the policy includes a requirement to do so. Other commercial developments envisaged by the draft local plan should also have such a requirement.

Comment

Representation ID: 209055

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Fowlmere Parish Council

The policy includes a requirement to screen the development from sight. The southeast boundary is in fact Cambridge Road, the other side of which at this point is already partly built up with some post-war housing. In the view of FPC this part of the policy is an unnecessarily pessimistic view of the design of the development and opportunities presented by the site. Rather than requiring the development to be hidden, the policy should require a high standard of appropriate design. The buildings and their setting should be something the site owners, its developers and the residents of Melbourn would be proud to see and to be seen and the proposal in the plan gives the opportunity to create a sense of entry and setting which could reflect the presence of science, homes and rural life.

Comment

Representation ID: 209056

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Fowlmere Parish Council

Residents of Fowlmere use the facilities in Melbourn, such as the shops, village college and leisure centre. Access to Melbourn from Fowlmere is from the east along Cambridge Road. The proposed site is reached from Cambridge Road. FPC draws attention to the fact that the site has no other access to the highway network. Vehicles to and from the site would pass Melbourn Village College (which is also on The Moor) and Melbourn Leisure Centre (which is part of the college).

Comment

Representation ID: 209057

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Fowlmere Parish Council

The supporting information in the draft plan states that the site is “close to a number of village services and benefits from public transport connections offered by Meldreth Railway Station”. Obviously, closeness is a relative and subjective concept. But FPC observes that the distance to
the railway station is about 1.1 miles and the route runs through the centre of Melbourn and the four way traffic light controlled junction formed by Cambridge Road, High Street, Mortlock Street and Station Road. In terms therefore of access to public transport links it is buses rather than trains which are truly proximate and preferable for those not using cars. Buses are of course much less frequent than trains, are more susceptible to variation and cover shorter distances.

Comment

Representation ID: 209058

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Fowlmere Parish Council

The supporting information also states that the site “is bounded by development on three sides, with screening provided by existing vegetation”. The existing development appears to FPC only to be on two sides, namely on the south-east boundary and across the road on the south-west. On the north-west boundary there are allotments (not traditionally referred to as “development”) and whilst the science park is on the north-east boundary it is open green land rather than buildings across the boundary.

Comment

Representation ID: 209059

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Fowlmere Parish Council

The proposal is for about 20 dwellings on 1.08 hectares. That would give 54 square metres per dwelling. To make that area easier to visualise, it is only slightly bigger than a square whose sides are the length of a cricket pitch. But from that must be deducted the land needed for roadways, public open space and land for public utilities and services. The policy also requires landscaping to the southern and eastern boundaries which will further reduce the area per dwelling. FPC has not been able to find any density standards in the draft plan. FPC simply comments at this stage that the density envisaged appears to be high, particularly for housing in a village. It ignores the beneficial effects of private outdoor space and the spaciousness which people expect and seek in villages.

Comment

Representation ID: 209060

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Fowlmere Parish Council

SCDC have omitted comments regarding any impact on the A505 running through to Junction 10 and beyond. The additional encroachment from the expansion of operations at the site needs careful consideration. Any development at this site should minimise any negative impact on the A505 which it boarders to the north as an important thoroughfare from east to west & its junction (10) of the M11. These should include:
- Safety, access and capacity improvements to junctions on the A505
- Improve connectivity to and from public transport
- Extended network of dedicated cycle links connecting local transport and villages and safe crossings for pedestrians (look at existing active travel networks)
- Implementing improvements from the Granta Park Strategic Transport Study