Draft Greater Cambridge Local Plan for consultation

Comment

Representation ID: 211615

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Bloor Homes Eastern

Agent: Carter Jonas

Policy S/DE of the draft GCLP set out the approach to development within and outside the defined development extents of villages. Bloor Homes Eastern do not object to the principle of settlement boundaries being defined around villages. However, the existing defined settlement boundaries for most villages in South Cambridgeshire have remained largely unchanged since the Local Plan 2004. The settlement boundaries were adjusted in some cases to take into account allocations at some villages through the Site Specific Allocations DPD 2010 and the South Cambridgeshire Local Plan 2018.

Object

Representation ID: 211616

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Bloor Homes Eastern

Agent: Carter Jonas

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? Not specified

Duty to co-operate? Not specified

Policy S/GB of the draft GCLP sets out the Green Belt policy for Cambridge. Paragraph 143 of the NPPF sets out the five national purposes for Green Belts. The second purpose listed in Paragraph 143 states “b) to prevent neighbouring towns merging into one another;”. The third purpose for the Cambridge Green Belt in Policy S/GB states “1c. prevent communities in the environs of Cambridge from merging into one another and with the city”.

Purpose 1c in Policy S/GB is inconsistent with the second purpose in NPPG Paragraph 143 i.e. it refers to communities and not towns. Consistency with national policy is one of the soundness tests for local plan policies. The reference to communities rather than towns could have implications for how inappropriate development in the Green Belt is assessed and the implementation of grey belt policy at planning application stage.

It is requested that Purpose 1c in Policy S/GB is amended to refer to towns and not communities. The amended text should be as follows: prevent towns in the environs of Cambridge from merging into one another and with the city.

Object

Representation ID: 211617

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Bloor Homes Eastern

Agent: Carter Jonas

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? Not specified

Duty to co-operate? Not specified

Bloor Homes object on the basis that Land East of Ridgeway and Old Pinewood Way, Papworth Everard (Site Ref. 40439) has not been allocated in the Local Plan.

The site's suitability as an allocation has been set out in the accompanying attachments.

Object

Representation ID: 211618

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Bloor Homes Eastern

Agent: Carter Jonas

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? Not specified

Duty to co-operate? Not specified

Given the absence of any Neighbourhood Area designation, there is no specified housing requirement for Papworth Everard contained in Appendix D of the Draft Plan in relation to the period between 2024 and 2045. It is considered that additional policy support is required in the draft GCLP to ensure that the additional housing is actually delivered in Papworth Everard during the plan period. In addition, we suggest that the housing requirement for neighbourhood plan areas should take into account the affordable housing needs of a village.

There is no policy in the draft GCLP that would ensure the identified housing requirement for Papworth Everard is delivered during the plan period if the Papworth Everard Neighbourhood Plan is not progressed and made. A new policy is requested to deal with this potential scenario, in order to ensure that the identified housing requirements are met.

There is limited capacity within the defined settlement boundaries to meet the identified housing requirement for Papworth Everard. It is considered that the only realistic option for meeting that identified housing requirement is for land on edge of the village to be released for development.

It is requested that the draft GCLP includes a new policy to deal with the potential scenario where a neighbourhood plan is not updated or does not allocate land to meet the identified housing requirement identified in Appendix D. This requested change would ensure that the identified housing requirement for villages are met during the plan period.

Object

Representation ID: 211619

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Bloor Homes Eastern

Agent: Carter Jonas

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? Not specified

Duty to co-operate? Not specified

It is requested that the draft GCLP includes a policy requirement that allows relevant neighbourhood plans to release land from the Green Belt to meet the identified housing requirement for villages.

Object

Representation ID: 211620

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Bloor Homes Eastern

Agent: Carter Jonas

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? Not specified

Duty to co-operate? Not specified

Appendix D explains how the housing requirement for neighbourhood plan areas has been calculated. In summary the housing requirement is based on the overall housing target for the draft GCLP divided proportionately to each neighbourhood plan area according to the size of their population. It is considered that an adjustment should be made to the housing requirement to reflect the affordable housing needs of villages and that indicative housing numbers be set out in respect of villages that
lack any designated Neighbourhood Area.

It is requested that the identified housing requirements in Appendix D include an adjustment so that affordable housing needs of villages are met during the plan period. The housing requirement for Papworth Everard should also ensure that the affordable housing needs of the village are met.

Object

Representation ID: 211621

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Bloor Homes Eastern

Agent: Carter Jonas

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? Not specified

Duty to co-operate? Not specified

Bloor Homes object on the basis that Land North of Cambridge Road, Linton (Site Ref. 51654) has not been allocated in the Local Plan.

The site's suitability as an allocation has been set out in the accompanying attachments.

Comment

Representation ID: 211622

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Bloor Homes Eastern

Agent: Carter Jonas

Linton is defined as a Minor Rural Centre in the settlement hierarchy. Minor Rural Centres have an indicative maximum scheme size of 30 dwellings within the defined development extents of those villages.

However, there has been no review of the capacity of settlements to accommodate additional development for draft GCLP, or whether the development threshold limits remain relevant if no sites are available. There appears to be no major residential development opportunities within the development framework boundary of Linton, indeed Policy S/PA/LN: South of the A1307 at Linton in the Draft Plan states that within the area defined on the Policies Map, windfall residential development will not be permitted other than improvements to existing properties.

Any development opportunities that do exist would be small scale and would not deliver affordable housing or provide any meaningful support to existing services and facilities. In these circumstances, the indicative maximum scheme size of 30 dwellings for Minor Rural Centres is irrelevant to Linton.

If the indicative maximum scheme size limits are no longer relevant, they should be deleted. If the capacity assessment identifies no suitable sites to meet identified affordable housing needs then additional allocations should be made on the edge of those villages.

Object

Representation ID: 211623

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Bloor Homes Eastern

Agent: Carter Jonas

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? Not specified

Duty to co-operate? Not specified

The housing requirement for Linton and Hildersham in Appendix D is 96 dwellings between 2024 and 2045. It is positive that a housing requirement is identified for Linton and Hildersham, but it is considered that additional policy support is required in draft GCLP to ensure that the additional housing is actually delivered in Linton and Hildersham during the plan period. It is suggested that the
housing requirement for neighbourhood plan areas should take into account the affordable housing needs of a village.

There is no made Linton and Hildersham Neighbourhood Plan that allocates any land for development. It is noted that Paragraph 104 (Id.41: Neighbourhood Planning) of the Planning Practice Guidance indicates that any housing requirement provided for a neighbourhood plan is not binding, and it is for the neighbourhood plan group to decide the scope of the document and whether to allocate land for development.

Object

Representation ID: 211624

Received: 30/01/2026

Respondent: Bloor Homes Eastern

Agent: Carter Jonas

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? Not specified

Duty to co-operate? Not specified

It is also noted that the Government is no longer providing funding support for neighbourhood plans. In these circumstances, it is very unlikely that the Linton and Hildersham Neighbourhood Plan will be made in order to address the housing requirement identified in Appendix D for the village. There is no policy in the draft GCLP that would ensure the identified housing requirement for Linton and Hildersham is delivered during the plan period if the Linton and Hildersham Neighbourhood Plan is not progressed and made.

A new policy is requested to deal with this potential scenario, in order to ensure that the identified housing requirements are met. There is limited capacity within the defined settlement boundaries to meet the identified housing requirement for Linton. It is considered that the only realistic option for meeting that identified housing requirement is for land on edge of the village to be released for development.