Draft Greater Cambridge Local Plan for consultation

Object

Representation ID: 203463

Received: 29/01/2026

Respondent: Hopkins Homes

Agent: Savills

Legally compliant? Yes

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? Yes

Savills (UK) Ltd Planning Team are instructed by Hopkins Homes to promote Land East of Bush Close, Comberton (HELAA: 40501). We support the increase in jobs being planned for in the Draft Local Plan. There has though not been a corresponding increase in the proposed housing requirement. It is evident that the housing land identified in the Draft Local Plan for consultation (Regulation 18
stage) is insufficient to meet the real-world need in and around Cambridge for two further key reasons: the continuing reliance on in-commuting; and the reliance on strategic sites.

Object

Representation ID: 203465

Received: 29/01/2026

Respondent: Hopkins Homes

Agent: Savills

Legally compliant? Yes

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? Yes

Hopkins Homes' full comments are set out in the uploaded 29th January letter and accompanying Preliminary Ecological Assessment.

Comment

Representation ID: 211438

Received: 29/01/2026

Respondent: Hopkins Homes

Agent: Savills

A strategy that includes a particular focus, and reliance, on strategic sites in Greater Cambridge is logical and supported in principle. The current buffer of 6.5% is insufficient and fails to recognise the delivery challenges which have historically held back early delivery on the large-scale strategic sites and should be certainly over 10%, circa 15-20%. As part of a robust sustainable housing supply to meet the needs of all, it is clear that medium sized sites, including sustainable Grey Belt sites, are needed as part of a blended development strategy to ensure that dwellings are delivered throughout the Plan period to meet all needs. Land East of Bush Close, Comberton (HELAA: 40501) can help to meet the objectives of the Plan.

Comment

Representation ID: 211532

Received: 29/01/2026

Respondent: Hopkins Homes

Agent: Savills

The Greater Cambridge Housing Delivery Study Addendum October 2025 includes a Trajectory for the draft Local Plan as its Appendix E, which assumes the Local Plan is adopted in the 2028/29 monitoring year, and the five-year housing land supply calculations period is 1st April 2028 to 30th April 2033.

Even by the Councils’ own calculations, the land supply would only be 5.34 years at that stage, and completions are predicted to fall in 2030/31 and fall further in 2031/32. If the Local Plan was adopted in the 2028/29 monitoring year, the land supply would be only 5.15 years. The land supply is relatively fragile and any delay to the delivery of the newly allocated sites, or the pace of delivery on the previous allocations, could mean the Council falling below the required 5 years.

Additional identified supply through small and medium sized sites coming forward in the first five years post adoption would provide the necessary contingency to ensure the five-year supply is maintained, and the plan remain up to date.

Comment

Representation ID: 211533

Received: 29/01/2026

Respondent: Hopkins Homes

Agent: Savills

The ‘Supporting information’ to Policy S/DS states that “We made sure to consider the sustainability impacts of focusing growth outside the green belt in comparison with alternatives of releasing green belt land, as we are required to do by national planning policy”. It is not evident though that the Councils have given sufficient weight to the climate crisis and housing crisis we now face (which were not material factors when the green belt policy was originally established), and these are exceptional circumstances which would justify a more flexible and permissive approach to grey belt release in particular. We understand that the Councils are undertaking a Grey Belt review which is due to be published after the Draft Local Plan consultation. It will be important to ensure that this review is published, and the opportunity provided for it to be reviewed and commented upon in advance of the consultation on the Proposed Submission Consultation (Regulation 19) scheduled for Summer / Autumn 2026.

Comment

Representation ID: 211534

Received: 29/01/2026

Respondent: Hopkins Homes

Agent: Savills

Growth within villages, including villages within the Green Belt, is essential to ensure they continue to be vibrant, inclusive communities with new opportunities for residents to stay in those communities. Such sites are necessary as part of a blended, robust housing land supply to meet needs across the whole of Greater Cambridge, and to deliver a spatial development strategy that is positively prepared, justified, effective and consistent with national policy.