Draft Greater Cambridge Local Plan for consultation

Support

Representation ID: 209102

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Cambridge United Football Club

The Government’s commitment to supercharge sustainable growth in Greater Cambridge is well understood and reflected in the emerging GCLP. Cambridge United fully supports this and has played a constructive and active role in helping Cambridge collectively make its case to Government over the last year.

Comment

Representation ID: 209103

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Cambridge United Football Club

It is widely recognised by everyone that to grow successfully Cambridge needs to do so in a way that widens opportunity for the poorest parts of the city - and its young people in particular - as well as deepening Cambridge’s artistic, cultural and sporting capital. To support this, there will need to be an expansion of social, recreational and cultural facilities together with other services the community needs.

Cambridge United wants to continue to be an active partner in the GCLP and the wider conversation about how the city can grow. We want to step forward and play the most active part we can to ensure that sport- alongside culture, and entertainment - are at the heart of the new plan, and that the Club’s social and cultural role is both fully recognised and used fully in the most positive way possible for the Cambridge of the future.

Comment

Representation ID: 209104

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Cambridge United Football Club

We were very pleased that civic leaders have given their public support to Cambridge United's vital role in Cambridge.

However, Cambridge United is capacity constrained. At the moment we are able to meet fan demand but on current trends that will likely soon become a bigger challenge. Over the last 10 years there has been a 31% increase in attendance, and the occupancy has been over 90% in the last two seasons.

In this context, the Club would like the Draft GCLP to provide planning policy support for the Club to improve the Cledara Abbey Stadium, potentially in phases, to increase the capacity and facilities on matchdays, but also to ensure that the stadium is used on non-matchdays as an
important facility for the local community.

However, if, as seems likely, the Cledara Abbey Stadium cannot be improved in a way that is financially viable, to safeguard the Club’s long-term future, the Club will work with the Council and others to identify potential alternative sites to ensure that its current capacity does not constrain both the Club’s and the city’s wider ambitions.

Comment

Representation ID: 209105

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Cambridge United Football Club

The Club supports the designation of the Cledara Abbey Stadium as an Area of Major Change and is supportive of the Draft Policy’s recognition that development on the site would be supported.

However, to be effective and to facilitate the improvement of the stadium, the policy needs to be flexible. The Club is concerned about the restrictive nature of some elements of the draft Policy. There is a need to add more flexibility to the draft Policy to ensure that the Club can make the very best use of the site in a way that is viable and sustainable.

The key aim of any potential stadium redevelopment would be to increase the capacity and number of fans able to attend games, while also enhancing the matchday experience through an improved hospitality offer, and encourage wider non-matchday use by the local community. These aspirations should be explicitly referenced and supported in the wording of the draft Policy.

Comment

Representation ID: 209106

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Cambridge United Football Club

We have provided alternative wording at Appendix A of the accompanying attachment.

Comment

Representation ID: 209107

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Cambridge United Football Club

Comment on criterion a)

While a masterplanned vision for future development on the site is appropriate, there needs to be recognition that a degree of flexibility is required, and that this masterplan may not be delivered all at once, owing to viability and time constraints. As such, while reference to a wider masterplanned vision of the site is understood, there should recognition and allowance for flexibility built into the criterion to allow a phased development.

Comment

Representation ID: 209108

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Cambridge United Football Club

Comments on criteria b) - e)

Cledara Abbey Stadium is already well served by existing
transport infrastructure, and the Stadium also has access to Park & Ride services and is well connected to the wider transport system via established pedestrian and cycle routes.

It is recognised that the movement of people on matchdays can cause disruptions. The Club would, therefore, be committed to bring forward further measures as part of any planning application to address this issue. However, it should be recognised that there are wider factors that impact the highways network, and any impact associated with the Club is typically restricted to a limited period of time on matchdays (circa. 25 days per annum).

Therefore, rather than a blanket policy requiring any redevelopment to solve issues that go beyond the Club, we believe a nuanced approach should be taken. The Club believes that improvements to matchday traffic can be made through soft interventions, and would commit to delivering these through a Matchday Management and Travel Plan associated with a redeveloped stadium (and the associated capacity uplift). These interventions would focus on promoting active travel, encouraging behavioural change to reduce private vehicle use at peak times, and improving overall travel planning for supporters. The Club would also commit to working proactively with the local authority to manage and enforce appropriate parking controls in the surrounding area, ensuring that matchday operations minimise impacts on nearby residential streets and deliver a more sustainable and coordinated transport strategy.

Comment

Representation ID: 209109

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Cambridge United Football Club

Comment on criterion f)

The Club want to protect all trees on the site, but that simply might not be possible were the stadium to be improved. This should be explicitly recognised. The reality is that the stadium is adjacent to open space. Tree planting will not ‘soften ’the impact. Seeing the stadium from the open space will not be a surprise to anyone as it has been there for nearly 100 years.

Comment

Representation ID: 209110

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Cambridge United Football Club

There is also a greater need for flexibility in the policy wording in relation to where development can take place, and the policy boundaries. Draft Policy S/AMC/AS explicitly recognises that the Cledara Abbey Stadium site is constrained to the west and south (through ecological assets, open space and allotments). However, there is little flexibility in the policy wording that allow encroachment into these areas if, on planning balance, the benefit of ensuring delivery outweighs the harm (which would be mitigated or compensated wherever possible).

If there is limited encroachment on land that is protected by other Plan policies, the encroachment must be justified in accordance with those policies, and this does not need to be re-stated in the Policy. However, it should be recognised in this allocation that improving the Abbey Stadium and safeguarding the long-term future of the Club and its role in Cambridge will be given significant weight in assessing the impact of development.

Comment

Representation ID: 209111

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Cambridge United Football Club

The design led approach should not seek to limit development, but to make the best use of the site and ensure operational requirements of the Club can be fulfilled.