Draft Greater Cambridge Local Plan for consultation

Amendments should be made to the development strategy for draft GCLP to direct development to the more sustainable villages including Great Shelford.

Policy I/ST: Sustainable Transport and Connectivity

Object

Policy I/ST of draft GCLP seeks to ensure that development promotes sustainable transport in order to reduce reliance on the car. Paragraph 110 of the NPPF expects the planning system to actively manage patterns of growth to support transport objectives. It is expected that significant development would be focused on locations which are or can be made sustainable, by limiting the need to travel and offering a genuine choice of transport modes. Paragraph 115 identifies factors that should be considered when assessing sites to be allocated for development, including that sustainable transport modes are prioritised, safe and suitable access can be provided, and the impacts on the transport network and highway safety can be mitigated. Policy I/ST is broadly consistent with this national policy.

Shelford Investments Ltd has promoted a site in Great Shelford. The principle of directing development to locations that are accessible by sustainable modes of transport is supported, but land should be allocated in the more sustainable villages including Great Shelford to implement this approach. The promoted development by Shelford Investments in Great Shelford is accessible by walking, cycling and public transport to the services and facilities within the village and in nearby Trumpington, and to the employment opportunities at Cambridge Biomedical Campus and within Cambridge. Great Shelford Station, the proposed Cambridge South Station, Trumpington Park & Ride, Cambridgeshire Guided Busway, the proposed Cambridge South East project, and existing bus services along Shelford Road are all available within close proximity of the promoted development off Cabbage Moor and realistic alternatives to the car are available. Great Shelford is a sustainable location in transport terms, and additional development in this location would be consistent with Policy I/ST of draft GCLP and with national policy.

As set out elsewhere in these representations, amendments should be made to the development strategy for draft GCLP to direct development to the more sustainable villages including Great Shelford.

Requested Change

The following changes are requested.

It is requested that 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.

It is requested that 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.

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 Stapleford and Great Shelford should be subject to an upward adjustment so that the affordable housing needs of the village are met.

Appendix D - Housing Requirements for Neighbourhood Areas within Greater Cambridge

Object

Appendix D of draft GCLP identifies a housing requirement for the period 2024 to 2045 for those designated neighbourhood plan areas. Shelford Investments Ltd have promoted a site in Great Shelford. There is a recently made Stapleford and Great Shelford Neighbourhood Plan (made October 2025), which makes no allocations for housing. Great Shelford and Stapleford are surrounded by land designated as Green Belt. The Stapleford and Great Shelford Neighbourhood Plan could not release land from the Green Belt for development because there is no policy in the adopted South Cambridgeshire Local Plan 2018 that would have allowed this to happen.

The combined housing requirement for Stapleford and Great Shelford in Appendix D is 134 dwellings between 2024 and 2045. It is positive that a housing requirement is identified for Great Shelford, but it is considered that additional policy support is required in draft GCLP to ensure that the additional housing is actually delivered in the village 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.

The Stapleford and Great Shelford Neighbourhood Plan was made in October 2025. It does not allocate any land for development. It was not able to release land from the Green Belt because the adopted South Cambridgeshire Local Plan 2018 does not include a policy that would have allowed that to happen. 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. 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 Stapleford and Great Shelford Neighbourhood Plan will be updated to address the housing requirement identified in Appendix D for the village. There is no policy in draft GCLP that would ensure the identified housing requirement for Stapleford and Great Shelford is delivered during the plan period if the Stapleford and Great Shelford Neighbourhood Plan is not updated. A new policy is requested to deal with this potential scenario, in order to ensure that the identified housing requirements are met.

Great Shelford and Stapleford are surrounded by the Green Belt, and there is limited capacity within the settlement to meet the identified housing requirement for these villages. 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. Paragraph 145 of the NPPF states in part that “Strategic policies should establish the need for any changes to Green Belt boundaries, having regard to their intended permanence in the long term, so they can endure beyond the plan period. Where a need for changes to Green Belt boundaries has been established through strategic policies, detailed amendments to those boundaries may be made through non-strategic policies, including neighbourhood plans”. There is no policy in draft GCLP that would allow an updated Stapleford and Great Shelford Neighbourhood Plan to release land from the Green Belt to meet the identified housing requirement for these villages. As set out above, it is very unlikely that the Stapleford and Great Shelford Neighbourhood Plan would be updated. As set out elsewhere in these representations, allocations should be made in Great Shelford through draft GCLP to meet the identified housing requirement for the village. Shelford Investments Ltd have promoted a site in Great Shelford.

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 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 the evidence of housing needs included in the Stapleford and Great Shelford Neighbourhood Plan. For example, South Cambridgeshire District Council’s ‘Housing Statistical Information Sheet for 2022 (published September 2022) identified an affordable housing need of 35 dwellings in Great Shelford and 24 dwellings in Stapleford for those with a local connection to these village. The Stapleford and Great Shelford Neighbourhood Plan referred to 115 households registered on the Housing Register in need of social/affordable rented housing in January 2023. The 2023 Housing Needs Assessment undertaken for the Stapleford and Great Shelford Neighbourhood Plan did provide a calculation for affordable housing needs, but this was based on data in a report that has been superseded. It is requested that the housing requirement for Stapleford and Great Shelford is subject to an upward adjusted to also meet affordable housing needs. The promoted development by Shelford investments Ltd in Great Shelford would include housing and affordable housing to meet local needs of the village.

Requested Change

The following changes are requested.

It is requested that 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.

It is requested that 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.

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 Stapleford and Great Shelford should be subject to an upward adjustment so that the affordable housing needs of the village are met.