Draft Greater Cambridge Local Plan for consultation

Comment

Representation ID: 210331

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust

EEAST requests:
• Permeable surfaces that can be used by wheelchairs, mobility scooters, pushchairs, walking aids) and reduce localised flooding.
• Lighting designed to reduce crime and improve perceived safety whilst supporting nocturnal habitats.
• The needs of adults, children and older people with disabilities but not wheelchair users should also be considered. This might include provision of seating at regular intervals to allow people to sit and rest before continuing with their journey, provide mental health benches and benches at different height levels for children and those who have difficulty lowering/rising.
• EEAST would encourage the development of dementia friendly streets, shared space design to promote inclusive access and safety. Street play areas should integrated facilities for disabled children (physical and/or mental health) and be accessible for adults who may be disabled (physical and/or mental health) who are supervising children.
• Consideration that not all disabled people are wheelchair users but may still have difficulty negotiating stairs/accessing outdoor or communal spaces.

Comment

Representation ID: 210332

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Fully support policy and would seek further strengthening of the policy to ensure accommodation is designed with ergonomics in mind and garages/storage facilities meets principles for that can support a wide variety of wheelchairs and mobility scooters. Lifts should be fire insulated to enable effective entry and egress.

Comment

Representation ID: 210334

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust

As part of the NHS Plan is to enable people to live in their own homes for longer,
where new homes or apartments are being built, consideration should be given
to those who maybe already be disabled or have difficulty climbing stairs so
people can live in their home for longer (eg due to aging or acquired
injury/disability). Ensuring new builds have some ground floor bedrooms as standard or have sufficient space to retro fit an internal lift (rather than a stair lift) so upper floors can be accessed would support residents remaining in their home for longer.

Comment

Representation ID: 210335

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust

The council should consider developing dementia ready housing as
part of its IDP. West Yorkshire Combined Authority has created a guidance
document on dementia ready housing: Dementia-ready housing

Comment

Representation ID: 210336

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Whilst the EEAST understands affordable rented housing should be prioritised,
we think identifying NHS and emergency services staff (both clinical and
administrative) as key workers. Key worker housing is a very important part of
staff retention in and around NHS properties.

Comment

Representation ID: 210337

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust

HEMS support EEAST in delivering high level critical care and transportation to specialist hospitals for patients that have severe or life-threatening injuries and medical conditions. To accommodate the different airframes that operate in this region, an equivalent size of a football field would be required to support both day and night landings. This space needs to be free of overhead and ground level obstacles eg trees and overhead cables and ideally be centrally located within the development with easy road access to and from. It would be preferable if ground lighting was available for the helicopter to land, but is not essential. As a minimum helicopter landing could easily be included in developers existing plans for open, leisure or sport space. Ambulances and critical care vehicles are often used to transport patients to the helicopter landing site.

Comment

Representation ID: 210338

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust

EEAST welcomes the proposal to work with the health sector, and this should include emergency ambulance services. The ICS Estates Strategy does not provide many details of the estate and other requirements for emergency ambulance hubs as this is managed by the lead commissioning ICS. Therefore, direct communication with EEAST is required. EEAST would request:
• A full Health Impact Assessment covering all NHS services including ambulance capacity
• Assessment of travel time from ambulance stations to the site during peak congestion, as this directly affects Category 1 and 2 compliance.

Comment

Representation ID: 210339

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Given that emergency service access is highly dependent on a safe road environment, EEAST supports Vision Zero principles. Health infrastructure resilience depends partly on safe transport routes, which flooding and poor design can disrupt. EEAST requests:
• Clear sightlines at junctions and crossings
• Sufficient road width to enable emergency vehicles to pass parked vehicles
• Designing road/rail infrastructure to reduce incidents and
• Speed-reducing design features (gateways, lighting, junction tightening)
• Safe, accessible cycle parking for all cycle types (e-bikes, trikes, reclining, mobility scooters) and also need that disabled or older people may not have the strength to lift cycles onto racks
• Secondary streets: provide sufficient road width to enable emergency vehicles to pass parked vehicles.
• Car-free Zones: provide easy access and egress for emergency services in pedestrianised areas which include sufficient space for public to stand clear of moving emergency vehicles.
• EEAST would advise speed humps/cushions can create issues for emergency ambulance services when responding under blue light conditions. This includes issues such as hindering delivery of clinical care and may contribute to damage to emergency ambulance vehicles and staff.

Comment

Representation ID: 210340

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Congestion is one of the most significant contributors to ambulance delay.
EEAST requests:
• A transport assessment explicitly modelling blue-light travel times
• No design element should obstruct emergency access (eg parked vehicles, pinch points, shared surfaces, traffic calming measures as these impact time taken to traverse a speed hump - each hump can add 8–16 seconds, driver behaviour to divert avoid Interfere with CPR and life-saving treatments, Increase pain and risk for patients with spinal injuries, fractures or trauma)
• Full swept-path analysis demonstrating unrestricted ambulance movement for all ambulance types including bariatric, multi-victim and standard van ambulances.
• Connectivity between locations – any pedestrianised areas need to ensure there are refuge places for pedestrians to safely stand to allow transit of emergency vehicles. Connectivity between housing and industrial estates for emergency services is also vital as every seconds delay could adversely affect life, long-term health outcomes and property.

Comment

Representation ID: 210341

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Universal Studios site in Bedfordshire
EEAST would recommend consideration of the impact of additional car travel arising from visitors travelling to the proposed Universal Studios site in Bedfordshire. More traffic is expected on major routes, including A14, A421/A428. Increased rail usage may also arise as a result of this development.