Greater Cambridge Local Plan: Proposed Submission

Land at Buckingway Business Park – Ref. S/RRA/BBP

SUPPORT

Cambridgeshire County Council as landowner has promoted land at Buckingway Business Park for employment development. The site is located adjacent to Buckingway Business Park, which provides units for general industrial and storage and distribution units. Buckingway Business Park is located at Junction 24 of the A14, and is suited to businesses that need good access to the strategic highway network. There is demand from businesses for units at Buckingway Business Park. Cambridgeshire County Council supports this proposed allocation. The site has been assessed against suitability, availability, achievability and deliverability criteria in the HELAA. The findings of the site assessment has informed the decision to identify the site as a proposed allocation in draft GCLP.

There are no significant constraints to development at the site. The policy requirements in Policy S/RRA/BBP seeks to ensure that any identified constraints would be addressed at planning application stage. Criteria 1(a) requires an odour assessment to be undertaken to taken into account the nearby Uttons Drove Water Recycling Centre. Criteria 1(b) requires the site access to be from Anderson Road. Criteria 1(c) seeks to ensure that the building height, scale and massing are similar to the existing business units. Criteria 1(d) requires a landscape and visual impact assessment to be prepared for the promoted development to address potential landscape and heritage impacts. Criteria 1(e) requires landscaping on the northern and eastern boundaries of the site. Criteria 1(f) would require an archaeological impact assessment to be undertaken to determine the archaeological interest at the site and identify mitigation measures if required. Criteria 1(g) seeks to ensure that development does not preclude construction of or route of the Grafham Pipeline to accommodate water infrastructure.

The preferred allocation at land at Buckingway Business Park and the associated policy requirements are supported, and no changes are required. It is requested that this allocation is retained in draft GCLP.

Requested Change

It is requested that land east of Glebe Way in Histon is allocated with the following policy requirements:

• Site Area of 10.3 Ha
• Capacity for approx. 250 to 300 dwellings, including affordable housing and self/custom build plots
• Retain trees and hedgerows at site boundary
• Provide new strategic landscape buffer at northern and eastern boundary
• Provide green infrastructure
• Landscape and visual impact assessment required
• Archaeological impact assessment required

Policy S/RRA – Additional Allocation - Land east of Glebe Way in Histon (Ref. 40192)

NOT SOUND – NOT JUSTIFIED AND NOT CONSISTENT WITH NATIONAL POLICY

OBJECT

As set out elsewhere in these representations, it is considered that upward adjustments are required to the housing target, the development strategy should direct development to the more sustainable villages, and there are exceptional circumstances to release land from the Green Belt. All these factors indicate that additional allocations should be made in draft GCLP to meet development needs.

Cambridgeshire County Council as landowner has promoted land east of Glebe Way in Histon (Ref. 40192) for residential development. It is requested that this site is identified as an additional allocation in draft GCLP.

The land east of Glebe Way in Histon is located in the Green Belt. As outlined in the March 2025 update to the call for sites submission, it is considered that this site would meet the definition for grey belt land. The site does not strongly contribute towards Green Belt purposes (a), (b), or (d) i.e. it would not lead to the unrestricted sprawl of a large built-up area, it would not result in the coalescence of neighbouring towns, and it would not affect the setting and special character of a historic town. The ‘Greater Cambridge Green Belt Assessment Review following changes to National Policy and Guidance’ Report (July 2026) identified the land east of Glebe Way in Histon, including the site promoted by Cambridgeshire County Council, as potential grey belt land. The site is not designated as a protected area, other than being within the Green Belt. The site is accessible by sustainable modes of transport.

The promoted development would include open space, green infrastructure and strategic landscaping to take into account the edge of settlement location. A new primary school has been built adjacent to the site, which would enable children from the promoted development to walk to school. The site is accessible to the services and facilities in Histon and Impington by walking and cycling. It is accessible to Cambridge and to employment opportunities by the guided busway, bus and by bicycle. An agricultural land survey, flood risk assessment, drainage strategy, landscape and visual impact assessment, landscape strategy, ecological assessment, archaeological assessment, heritage assessment, contamination assessment, and transport assessment would be prepared for the promoted development at planning application stage. It is requested that this site is identified as an additional allocation in Policy S/RRA: Rest of Rural Area.

Requested Change

It is requested that land east of Glebe Way in Histon is allocated with the following policy requirements:

• Site Area of 10.3 Ha
• Capacity for approx. 250 to 300 dwellings, including affordable housing and self/custom build plots
• Retain trees and hedgerows at site boundary
• Provide new strategic landscape buffer at northern and eastern boundary
• Provide green infrastructure
• Landscape and visual impact assessment required
• Archaeological impact assessment required

Requested Change

The following changes are requested.

The principle of identifying a housing requirement for neighbourhood plan areas should be retained in draft GCLP.

The delivery mechanism for identified housing requirements for neighbourhood plan areas should be clearly explained in Policy S/JH and Appendix C.

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 C. The new policy should support additional housing in circumstances where a neighbourhood is not updated or does not allocate land for housing. 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 C include an adjustment so that affordable housing needs of villages are met during the plan period. The housing requirement for Histon and Impington should be subject to an upward adjustment so that the affordable housing needs of these villages are met.

Appendix C - Housing Requirements for Neighbourhood Areas within Greater Cambridge

NOT SOUND – NOT JUSTIFIED AND NOT CONSISTENT WITH NATIONAL POLICY

OBJECT

This response is submitted by Cambridgeshire County Council as landowner only. The County Council has promoted a site in Histon which has a made neighbourhood plan.

Appendix C of draft GCLP identifies a housing requirement for the period 2025 to 2045 for those designated neighbourhood plan areas. Cambridgeshire County Council as landowner has promoted a site in Histon. There is a made Histon and Impington Neighbourhood Plan (made May 2021), which makes no allocations for housing. Histon and Impington are surrounded by land designated as Green Belt. The Histon and Impington 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.

Appendix C is related to Policy S/JH, but there is no clear mechanism as to how those identified housing requirements for neighbourhood plan areas would be delivered.

The housing requirement for Histon and Impington in Appendix C is 164 dwellings between 2025 and 2045. It is positive that a housing requirement is identified for Histon and Impington, but it is considered that additional policy support is required in draft GCLP to ensure that the additional housing is actually delivered in these villages 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 Histon and Impington Neighbourhood Plan was made in May 2021. It does not allocate any land for development, although it does include policies for land allocated in the adopted South Cambridgeshire Local Plan 2018 and seeks to retain some existing sites for employment and community uses. The Histon and Impington Neighbourhood Plan 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 Histon and Impington Neighbourhood Plan will be updated to address the housing requirement identified in Appendix C for the village. There is no policy in draft GCLP that would ensure the identified housing requirement for Histon and Impington is delivered during the plan period if the Histon and Impington Neighbourhood Plan is not updated. A new policy is requested to deal with this potential scenario, in order to ensure that the identified housing requirement for Histon and Impington are delivered during the plan period.

Histon and Impington is 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 the 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 Histon and Impington 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 Histon and Impington Neighbourhood Plan would be updated. As set out elsewhere in these representations, allocations should be made in Histon and Impington through draft GCLP to meet the identified housing requirement for the village. Cambridgeshire County Council as landowner have promoted land at Buxhall Farm in Histon for residential development.

Appendix C 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. For example, South Cambridgeshire District Council’s ‘Housing Statistical Information Sheet for 2022 (published September 2022) identified an affordable housing need of 2 dwellings for Histon and 108 dwellings for Impington for those with a local connection to these villages. It is requested that the housing requirement for Histon and Impington seeks to also meet affordable housing needs. The promoted development in Histon by Cambridgeshire County Council as landowner would include housing and affordable housing to meet local needs of the villages.

It is considered that the housing requirement figure for Histon and Impington in Appendix C is not sound, in that the proposed approach is not justified as an appropriate strategy, and is not consistent with national policy in terms of not being deliverable (NPPF Paragraph 16b) and not meeting local housing needs (NPPF Paragraphs 61 and 82).

Requested Change

The following changes are requested.

The principle of identifying a housing requirement for neighbourhood plan areas should be retained in draft GCLP.

The delivery mechanism for identified housing requirements for neighbourhood plan areas should be clearly explained in Policy S/JH and Appendix C.

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 C. The new policy should support additional housing in circumstances where a neighbourhood is not updated or does not allocate land for housing. 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 Histon and Impington should be subject to an upward adjustment so that the affordable housing needs of these villages are met.

Requested Change

It is requested that land east of Glebe Way in Histon is allocated with the following policy requirements:

• Site Area of 10.3 Ha
• Capacity for approx. 250 to 300 dwellings, including affordable housing and self/custom build plots
• Retain trees and hedgerows at site boundary
• Provide new strategic landscape buffer at northern and eastern boundary
• Provide green infrastructure
• Landscape and visual impact assessment required
• Archaeological impact assessment required

Policy S/RRA – Additional Allocation - Land east of Glebe Way in Histon (Ref. 40192)

NOT SOUND – NOT JUSTIFIED AND NOT CONSISTENT WITH NATIONAL POLICY

OBJECT

As set out elsewhere in these representations, it is considered that upward adjustments are required to the housing target, the development strategy should direct development to the more sustainable villages, and there are exceptional circumstances to release land from the Green Belt. All these factors indicate that additional allocations should be made in draft GCLP to meet development needs.

Cambridgeshire County Council as landowner has promoted land east of Glebe Way in Histon (Ref. 40192) for residential development. It is requested that this site is identified as an additional allocation in draft GCLP.

The land east of Glebe Way in Histon is located in the Green Belt. As outlined in the March 2025 update to the call for sites submission, it is considered that this site would meet the definition for grey belt land. The site does not strongly contribute towards Green Belt purposes (a), (b), or (d) i.e. it would not lead to the unrestricted sprawl of a large built-up area, it would not result in the coalescence of neighbouring towns, and it would not affect the setting and special character of a historic town. The ‘Greater Cambridge Green Belt Assessment Review following changes to National Policy and Guidance’ Report (July 2026) identified the land east of Glebe Way in Histon, including the site promoted by Cambridgeshire County Council, as potential grey belt land. The site is not designated as a protected area, other than being within the Green Belt. The site is accessible by sustainable modes of transport.

The promoted development would include open space, green infrastructure and strategic landscaping to take into account the edge of settlement location. A new primary school has been built adjacent to the site, which would enable children from the promoted development to walk to school. The site is accessible to the services and facilities in Histon and Impington by walking and cycling. It is accessible to Cambridge and to employment opportunities by the guided busway, bus and by bicycle. An agricultural land survey, flood risk assessment, drainage strategy, landscape and visual impact assessment, landscape strategy, ecological assessment, archaeological assessment, heritage assessment, contamination assessment, and transport assessment would be prepared for the promoted development at planning application stage. It is requested that this site is identified as an additional allocation in Policy S/RRA: Rest of Rural Area.

Requested Change

It is requested that land east of Glebe Way in Histon is allocated with the following policy requirements:

• Site Area of 10.3 Ha
• Capacity for approx. 250 to 300 dwellings, including affordable housing and self/custom build plots
• Retain trees and hedgerows at site boundary
• Provide new strategic landscape buffer at northern and eastern boundary
• Provide green infrastructure
• Landscape and visual impact assessment required
• Archaeological impact assessment required