Draft Greater Cambridge Local Plan for consultation

Object

Representation ID: 204956

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Wates Developments (and Landowners)

Agent: Boyer Planning

Legally compliant? Yes

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? Yes

Please see accompanying statement and Vision Document for Land West of London Road, Fowlmere. It is suggested that the strategy should plan for a higher level of employment and housing growth, in order to realise the full potential of the area, with a greater land supply buffer, given uncertainty over delivery of key sites. Ensuring further growth at suitable settlements and villages in the rural area will capitalise on existing facilities and support on-going investment in both new and existing services that will enhance accessibility.

Object

Representation ID: 205002

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Wates Developments (and Landowners)

Agent: Boyer Planning

Legally compliant? Yes

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? Yes

Please see accompanying statement and Concept Masterplan for Land East of Cambridge Road, Melbourn. It is suggested that the strategy should plan for a higher level of employment and housing growth, in order to realise the full potential of the area, with a greater land supply buffer, given uncertainty over delivery of key sites. Ensuring further growth at suitable settlements and villages in the rural area will capitalise on existing facilities and support on-going investment in both new and existing services that will enhance accessibility.

Comment

Representation ID: 211037

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Wates Developments (and Landowners)

Agent: Boyer Planning

Land west of London Road, Fowlmere is being promoted for residential development (HELAA reference: 40116). The land that is being promoted, is approximately 10.33ha in size and the site is of a Greenfield nature. The site’s location within Fowlmere provides a location with access to key amenities such as a Primary School and Bus Services, whilst nearby towns and villages such as Shepreth, Melbourn and Royston provide a full range of required jobs, services, leisure and cultural facilities.The site is proposed to include considerable provision of public open space to enhance the quality of the site for new and existing Fowlmere residents. This is considered to be a key benefit to the future scheme and also meets the Councils’ aspirations to delivery high quality open space to new and existing residents. This site is considered to be suitable, deliverable and achievable, and there are no known significant constraints that should prevent the development of the site.

Comment

Representation ID: 211038

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Wates Developments (and Landowners)

Agent: Boyer Planning

It is noted that the plan period encompasses a total of 21 years, from 2024 through to 2045. Whilst, on the face of it, this appears to be a reasonable timeframe, it is important to consider whether this would meet the NPPF requirement (set out at para. 22) for strategic policies to look ahead over a minimum 15 year period from adoption, and for policies to be set within a vision that looks ahead at least 30 years, where larger scale developments such as new settlements and significant urban extensions are proposed.

Comment

Representation ID: 211039

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Wates Developments (and Landowners)

Agent: Boyer Planning

Whilst the supporting text of the Plan acknowledges the need for flexibility to allow for potential achievement of higher job growth, so as not to restrict employment growth, it is unclear that this has been reflected in the wording of Policy S/JH itself, given application of the lower, central scenario and acceptance of the standard method on the basis that its housing levels would meet this. As such there is a potential risk of restricting job growth and failing to meet the economic objective of sustainable development included in the NPPF (para 8a).

Comment

Representation ID: 211040

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Wates Developments (and Landowners)

Agent: Boyer Planning

Whilst it is acknowledged that the Councils propose allocation of enough sites to provide a buffer to enable flexibility to deal with unforeseen circumstances (under Policy S/DS, on which we provide separate comments), flexibility to support higher jobs growth should also be incorporated in the Local Plan. To provide for appropriate flexibility for unforeseen economic growth, a range of additional contingency site allocations should be included within the housing trajectory. This will ensure the Local Plan is positively prepared, justified and effective in accordance with the NPPF tests of soundness. Land West of London Road, Fowlmere offers a sustainable location for development and is immediately available for development, therefore able to contribute to the Councils’ short to medium housing delivery rates.

Comment

Representation ID: 211041

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Wates Developments (and Landowners)

Agent: Boyer Planning

It is noted that the ‘Overview’ section of the supporting text, at para. 2.55 refers to a blended strategy to meet a variety of needs which responds to opportunities provided by different sources of supply. This general approach is supported, although we have comments on the balance of supply from different sources, as well as on specific identified sites with regard to deliverability concerns. It is supported that (at para. 2.55d) sites should be developed that can be well-integrated with existing communities to reinforce the distinctive character of the city, towns and villages, having regard to development at densities and in forms which make best use of land whilst creating well-designed, characterful places.

Comment

Representation ID: 211042

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Wates Developments (and Landowners)

Agent: Boyer Planning

The site at Cambridge East comprises land at Cambridge Airport that was safeguarded from the previous plan, which was also identified as a growth area as part of the Cambridge Local Plan (2003). As set out in greater detail below, noting the significant amount of time that this allocation has been identified within previous Local Plans, we raise significant concerns over the delivery of this site within the timescales anticipated, particularly noting larger sites by their very nature can take longer to be delivered.

Comment

Representation ID: 211043

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Wates Developments (and Landowners)

Agent: Boyer Planning

To encourage a more reliable delivery rate across the plan area we propose that additional sites are allocated to ensure the consistent delivery of dwellings to significantly boost the supply of homes as required by Paragraph 61 of the NPPF. Only 17 of these 19 sites are strictly ‘new’. In total the 17 sites will provide 7,013 dwellings (equating to approximately 12.69% of the total supply). It is therefore clear that the Plan continues to make provision for a very limited number of new sites. There is a heavy reliance on existing and previously identified sites rolled forward from the adopted Local Plans and many of these sites are on a large scale which also means they typically take longer to be brought forward.

Comment

Representation ID: 211044

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Wates Developments (and Landowners)

Agent: Boyer Planning

The draft Local Plan illustrates within Table 4 that with the inclusion of capacity at North East Cambridge a 14.7% buffer, in excess of the minimum housing requirement, would be provided. However, with insufficient certainly over deliverability of this site it should be excluded from the calculation and therefore a resultant buffer of just 6.5% would remain. This is insufficient and therefore additional site allocations should be included at this stage in the plan making process to ensure the plan is effective (deliverable over the plan period) as required by the NPPF.