Draft Greater Cambridge Local Plan for consultation

Comment

Representation ID: 204152

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Endurance Estates

The site can be extended westwards, utilising the remaining land between the A428 and the East West Rail corridor up to the new junction between the A428 and the A1198. Endurance suggest that the Spatial Framework and associated Development Area is duly adjusted in line with the proposed expansion areas and the proposed new junction arrangement are shown on the plans attached to these representations:

• Masterplan Spatial Framework Strategy (Drawing Ref: 19-237-SGP-STE-XX-DR-A-011003-P03) which shows potential additional development areas to the west which Endurance consider to be suitable for development as part of the Cambourne North proposals.
• Employment Development Access Off Proposed Northern Dumbbell Roundabout General Arrangement Plan (Drawing Ref 48168-P005-001) showing a potential additional access from the new A428 / A1198 Junction currently under construction and utilising land under Endurance Estates’ control.

This will provide additional flexibility to deliver the overarching objectives and principles for the new town.

Comment

Representation ID: 208362

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Endurance Estates

Agent: DLP Planning Ltd

The Policy states that a minimum of 48,195 new homes meeting the needs of the population including affordable housing and specialist accommodation is required based on the Standard Method in the PPG and that this has been based on the needs of Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire jointly.

This is a considerable increase in new homes need under the Standard Method compared to the previous requirements in the adopted Local Plans. Before the introduction of the new Standard Method for calculating housing need introduced in 2024, the Councils’ position was that they could demonstrate a six-year housing land supply. This was then reduced to below 5 years using the Standard Method. This uplift provides a significant pressure for the Councils to deliver new housing not only during the Plan Period but also to allocate sites that can enable early delivery to ensure a five year land supply can be demonstrated on adoption. There is a question of soundness if the plan is not effective in delivering housing (NPPF 2024 paragraph 36) and this must be addressed.

Object

Representation ID: 208363

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Endurance Estates

Agent: DLP Planning Ltd

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? Not specified

Duty to co-operate? Not specified

Of the new allocations 9,950 dwellings are to be delivered on sites of 1,000 or more dwellings of which 6,450 of those dwellings are part of larger sites which are due to continue delivering after 2045. Therefore only 3,513 dwellings are on sites of less than 1,000 units, and in fact those sites are all 150 dwellings or below. There is therefore a heavy over-reliance on large scale sites in the new allocations. This poses a significant delivery risk as any delay on any of the larger sites would have a significant impact on the overall delivery of dwellings in the
Plan Period.

This should be addressed through the allocation of more medium scale sites capable of delivering in the region of 150-250 dwellings which allow for the delivery of housing and local infrastructure as part of existing settlements/communities on a quicker basis, as the infrastructure and set up requirements for delivery of housing are lesser allowing earlier delivery and occupation of new dwellings.

Object

Representation ID: 208364

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Endurance Estates

Agent: DLP Planning Ltd

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? Not specified

Duty to co-operate? Not specified

Serious consideration should be given to ensuring that the draft Local Plan delivers more homes earlier in the plan period and is not so heavily reliant on large strategic scale allocations. Examples such as Northstowe, Waterbeach and Bourn Airfield and now North East Cambridge (Water Treatment works) development show how slippage of large sites have serious impacts on the timely delivery of houses and the Council’s ability to maintain a five year supply as required by national policy. Allocation of more sub-strategic level sites adjacent to existing settlements would counteract that risk. The impact on housing delivery of one such site not coming forward would be significantly less than the overall impact on housing delivery of a larger scale site being delayed or not coming forward.

The HDTP analyses the windfall allowance and concludes an allowance of 425dpa is justified and realistic with 240-255dpa for South Cambridgeshire (paragraph 2.9). This is a higher windfall allowance for the Plan than would normally be expected. Greater certainty in the efficacy of the plan would be if further sub-strategic level allocations are made rather than an allowance on windfall sites. This would be best achieved through increasing the amount of housing supported in Minor Rural centres on sites which are “well-connected” on a “policy off” basis.

Object

Representation ID: 208365

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Endurance Estates

Agent: DLP Planning Ltd

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? Not specified

Duty to co-operate? Not specified

There is an over reliance on large sites of 1000+ dwellings in both the adopted Plans and the draft Plan. The Council’s own Housing Delivery Topic Paper itself highlights that planning permissions for larger sites are taking more time to be obtained, and that the market and delivery of these sites is not currently strong. It states that it does not expect that this will be the case for the 20 year life time of the Plan, however failure to consider more modest sites around 200 dwellings on the edge of existing, sustainable settlements such as Comberton means that there is a risk of not having a five year land supply upon adoption, or early into the Plan Period as required by national policy.

Comment

Representation ID: 208366

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Endurance Estates

Agent: DLP Planning Ltd

There is currently a lack of five-year land supply, and this should be addressed as soon as possible. There is a general weakness in the draft Plan as the five-year land position is not particularly strong upon adoption of the plan and relies on making up previous shortfall within the five year period despite a continuing reliance on new settlements and strategic level sites which have been slow to deliver to date.

The delivery rates of the Councils remains good to date due to the consented schemes of smaller scale sites from 2015-2019. In order to retain the delivery rates and a five year land supply this approach should be adopted to allocations, all the more so with the increased housing need under the standard method. Therefore, more sites which are well related to existing settlements should be allocated.

Comment

Representation ID: 208367

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Endurance Estates

Agent: DLP Planning Ltd

The actions set out in Appendix E are not quick delivery options, unlike allocating more sites which fall under the SUE threshold.

Comment

Representation ID: 208368

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Endurance Estates

Agent: DLP Planning Ltd

While the monitoring monitors specialist housing uses, the monitoring also fails to monitor the delivery of affordable housing which should be rectified. Again, there should be levers in the local plan which can be pulled to create a timely difference in housing delivery. Sites which are in the Green Belt which come forward as Grey Belt sites have to have a higher percentage of affordable housing and therefore allocating sites at a more modest scale would enable there to be clear and specific delivery of new affordable housing.

Support

Representation ID: 209976

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Endurance Estates

(S/CBN: Part 1 and 2) Endurance strongly support and welcome the identification of Cambourne North as a New Settlement proposal with scope to contribute significantly to Greater Cambridge’s long term housing needs over the Plan period and beyond. Endurance consider that the development of a large, residential-led new settlement at Cambourne North should be part of the solution to help to address Greater Cambridge’s long-term growth requirements in a highly sustainable manner, drawing on and supporting the planned delivery of new public transport infrastructure in the form of East West Rail and the Cambridge to Cambourne Busway (C2C). Taken together with the existing Cambourne settlement, the combined new town will have sufficient critical mass to enable it to support a wide range of employment, retail, leisure, cultural and other services and facilities that will ensure it can become a desirable, vibrant and sustainable place to live and work.

Comment

Representation ID: 209977

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Endurance Estates

(S/CBN: Part 1) The proposed provision of approximately 13,000 homes at Cambourne North is supported and welcomed and it is considered that there is sufficient land available for development to deliver this, though further consideration of density assumptions is advised. Nonetheless, the scale of the site should ensure that this ambitious plan is achievable, enabling the development of a highly sustainable new town. Further work is required to test the site constraints, proposed development mix, typologies, and phasing to arrive at a more precise estimate of site capacity.