Greater Cambridge Local Plan: Proposed Submission

We set out our proposed modifications below in red.
Policy H/AH: Affordable housing
Self-contained dwellings and Co-living developments
1.
All major developments for housing will provide at least 40% of the new homes on site as affordable housing, unless: a different requirement is set out within the allocation policy, the development is on land within the Green Belt, or it is a Co-living development where a financial contribution for off-site provision is to be provided, or if it can be demonstrated that it is not financially viable to do so. This requirement applies to all residential developments of self-contained dwellings, including those for Build to Rent or specialist accommodation, and also to Co-living developments for the equivalent of 10 or more dwellings (calculated using the other communal accommodation units to dwellings ratio in the Housing Delivery Test).
2.
Within the affordable housing secured on major developments for housing (except for within Build to Rent and Co-living developments), the proportions of each affordable housing tenure will be provided as set out in Table 6, unless otherwise agreed with the Local Planning Authority. Developments providing a higher overall proportion of social and affordable rented homes, with no or a smaller proportion of shared ownership homes, will be allowed as exceptions.

Juniper is a joint venture partnership between Homes England, Greycoat Real Estate, and Oaktree Capital, and is the master developer of Bourn Airfield. Outline planning permission for the development of Bourn Airfield was granted by South Cambridgeshire District Council on 30 July 2024 (reference S/3440/18/OL) (‘the outline permission’).
The Bourn Airfield development will provide 3,500 new homes and employment, retail, leisure, education, and community facilities, as well as a significant network of green and blue infrastructure.
Juniper supports the overall ambitions of the draft plan including its growth strategy and the inclusion of Bourn Airfield as a site allocation.
The proposed affordable housing requirement is a blanket requirement that will be applied across a large plan area to new developments that will also be liable for a new Community Infrastructure Levy.
Sales values will vary across the area and large strategic sites also give rise to complex issues, which may include significant abnormal costs and major in-kind infrastructure provision. Large sites are also developed out over long periods through different economic cycles which may require flexibility to maintain delivery.
Juniper consider that recognition of the possible need for some flexibility is required within affordable housing policy, with two straightforward amendments, to ensure the plan is deliverable. This will bring it in line with Policy H/HM which does recognise that deviations may be justified from those set out in Table 8.

We set out our proposed modifications below marked in red. Some paragraph renumbering will be required within the residual text. Figure 72 should be deleted from the plan. If it remains it should be amended to address
the inaccuracies and inconsistencies set out in section 3 above, which are not repeated here. We explain why each modification is required to make the Local Plan sound in section 3 above.
Policy S/BA: Bourn Airfield New Village
Objectives and place identity
1. Bourn Airfield New Village will be a well-connected, rural centre of approximately 3,500 homes, with a distinct character that respects its countryside setting. The
settlement will be set around a vibrant village centre, providing key services, facilities and employment spaces to support the local community, including retail, leisure, education and community facilities.
2. The village will be embedded in a network of multi-functional green infrastructure, and support walking, cycling and public transport as the preferred mode of choice for travel within the village and beyond. Through an innovative approach to planning, design and construction, the village will be a move towards net zero carbon lifestyles including a strong heart providing a healthy, active and inclusive community.
3. Deletion of part 3.
Use
4. Bourn Airfield New Village is allocated for mixed use development, reflecting the outline planning permission granted by South Cambridgeshire District Council on
30 July 2024 (reference S/3440/18/OL), comprising:
a. Approximately 3,500 homes (all to be delivered within the plan period) in a wide range of dwelling types and tenures, including:
i. Affordable housing and self/custom build homes; and
ii. Deletion of part ii
Approximately 250 units for residential institution use (Class C2), particularly for older people or those with disabilities.
b. Employment uses of approximately 1,400 square metres gross internal area for office, research and development and industrial processes (Classes E(g)(i), E(g)(ii) and E(g)(iii)). Proposals in excess of this amount
would need to demonstrate that they can be satisfactorily be incorporated into the design and layout of the new settlement;
c. Retail and main town centre uses of approximately 4,000 square metres gross internal area, with no single outlet being larger than 1,500 square metres gross internal area (Use Classes E(a), E(b) and E(c));
d. Indoor and outdoor leisure provision, play spaces and sports pavilions;
e. Education facilities to include two primary schools and a secondary school;
f. Community facilities including a mixed-use community hall;
g. Open space including parks and landscaping;
h. Allotments;
i. Ecological areas, woodland and orchards;
j. Engineering for foul and sustainable drainage systems;
k. Healthcare facilities to meet the needs of the development;
l. Burial ground of 0.85 hectares (providing for 2,625 burials); and
m. Faith space of not less than 0.23 hectares.
5. These uses are required to support the development of a sustainable new community, and the developer will be required to prepare and submit for approval a Delivery Strategy for these uses and facilities.
6. Temporary community and healthcare facilities will be required from early occupation until sufficient capacity has been reached for permanent provision. The size and nature of these facilities will need to be considered throughout the build period of the development, ensuing the buildings have sufficient flexibility to be able to expand or be repurposed as each phase of the development comes forward.
The development of Bourn Airfield New Village must do the following:
Context
7. Respect and enhance surrounding landscape features which contribute to the rural setting of the site, maintaining separation with other nearby settlements, by:
a. Providing high quality strategic including early delivery of structural planting along boundaries with Highfield Caldecote;
b. Providing a high-quality landscaped setting around the northern boundary
of the settlement to avoid it appearing as part of a ribbon of urban
development south of the A428;
c. Maintaining the rural nature of the Broadway, ensuring the new village
remains distinct from neighbouring Cambourne;
d. Ensuring physical separation from Bourn and Highfield Caledecote; and
e. Retaining existing woodland buffers, particularly on the eastern edge of the site.
8. The adjacent ‘Bourn Quarter’ is an important and successful employment site in this area, offering a separate but complementary employment offer to Bourn
Airfield New Village. The two sites will need to be well integrated with each other, with a satisfactory relationship of land uses and built form achieved in order to support good placemaking outcomes.
9. Protect and, where possible, enhance the setting of the Grade II listed Barns and Great Common Farmhouse as well as the Bourn Village and Hall Conservation
Area.
10. Development proposals, including new or enhanced connections, must not conflict with, or prejudice the delivery of, East West Rail proposals.
Built form
11. Ensure the developable area of the new settlement is contained within the site allocation boundary as shown on the policies map.
12. Be comprehensively planned and delivered within the site allocation boundary shown on the Policies Map to ensure that development proposals do not prejudice the creation of a successful new community.
13. Ensure delivery of:
a. A Village Centre, focused around a new square, providing a mix of uses including retail and community facilities; and
b. A neighbourhood hub, comprising of other local facilities, which should be well located to support the homes further away from the Village Centre.
14. Optimise the scale, height and density of development and create a soft edge around the settlement by limiting buildings in these areas to a maximum of two
residential storeys in height.
15. Provide appropriate mitigation for homes that would be affected by noise from the A428, in the form of soft landscape measures as well as acoustic barriers if
appropriate.
Public space
16. Incorporate a network of multifunctional public spaces within the design, including:
a. A village square as a focal point of the Village Centre;
b. Sports, open space and play areas, in accordance with a Sports and Open Space Strategy to be approved by the Local Planning Authority;
c. A linear park on the alignment of the former runway;
d. Open space as part of the northeastern gateway park to provide clear separation between the new village and Highfields Caldecote.
17. Balance the need for sensitive ecological assets to be protected and enhanced, with the opportunities provided by the rural setting to promote access to the natural environment, by:
a. Protecting and enhancing sensitive ecological assets, in particular Bucket Hill Plantation Grassland County Wildlife Site;
b. Encouraging access to existing natural environments including the woodland around the eastern edges and the wider countryside via footpaths and bridleways, being careful to avoid or minimise impacts on ecological habitats and species;
c. In addition to retaining existing woodland along the eastern part of the site, planting new woodland at the open area backing onto residential properties in West Drive to form a continuous woodland belt;
d. Through Bat Surveys, determine the individual and cumulate impacts of development associated recreational pressures to identify and implement necessary mitigation measures;
e. Providing a Sensitive Lighting Strategy and dark habitats/corridors where possible, linking to those being delivered as part of Cambourne North (Policy S/CBN), and around the outer edge of the settlement; and
f. Providing orchards where their ecological value can be demonstrated.
Movement
18. Deliver a comprehensive and legible movement and connectivity network within the site extent for the new village, connecting key locations of activity including
the new Village Centre, schools, employment areas, and Cambourne. The network design must facilitate a low car living approach, where walking and wheeling are the first choice for most residents, workers and visitors from the outset, supported by residential, school and workplace travel planning.
19. This outcome will be delivered by:
a. Ensuring the design of the site:
i. Focuses the movement network on the key areas of activity within the village, ensuring they are highly accessible and permeable by non-private modes;
ii. Provides a series of well connected ‘walkable neighbourhoods’, each capable of meeting everyday needs, supported by clear and legible routes and effective wayfinding within and between neighbourhoods;
iii. Includes a clear road hierarchy, including primary routes, secondary streets and local access roads, which prioritise sustainable movement; and
iv. Promotes low car ownership, including through restrained parking provision and innovative approaches such as off-plot car barns and shared parking solutions;
b. Setting aside land for and/or directly delivering at least the following physical transport measures within the site, commensurate with the phasing of development:
i. Provision of a segregated public transport corridor from Cambourne to Bourn Airfield new village across the Broadway, and through the development to the junction of the St Neots Road with Highfields Road.
ii. Public transport stops must include the necessary active travel connections, which form part of the wider site wide active travel network, as well as supporting; and
iii. Provision of convenient vehicular access, with at least two separate access points to the north-west and north-east of the site; and
20. Ensuring the new junction to the Broadway does not provide for direct private vehicular access to the Broadway for southbound traffic from the new village, with
direct access provided only for buses and bicycles.
21. Commensurate with the phasing of development, making financial contributions towards and, as appropriate, enabling the following transport measures external to the site:
a. Provision of direct, segregated high quality pedestrian and cycle links to West Cambridge, Cambourne, Caldecote/Highfields, Hardwick and Bourn;
b. Necessary measures to ensure that a bus or rapid mass transit journeys between Highfields Caldecote and the junction of the A428 and the A1303 are direct and unaffected by any general traffic congestion;
c. Provision of high-quality bus or rapid mass transit on or parallel to Madingley Road (the A1303) between its junction with the A428 and Grange Road, Cambridge; and
d. Measures to mitigate the traffic impact of the new village on surrounding villages and roads.
Resources
23. Make appropriate arrangements for foul drainage and sewage disposal, to be explored and identified through a Foul Drainage Strategy.
24. Ensure the provision, management and on-going maintenance of sustainable surface water drainage measures, to control the risk of flooding on site and
reduce the risk of flooding to areas downstream and upstream of the development.
Lifespan
25. The delivery of Bourn Airfield Village must be in accordance with design codes, prepared and submitted by the applicant as part of reserved matters application(s) This must describe the stage of design coding, its content, the level of detail for each stage, and the area of the site to which that stage applies.
26. Identify a proposed approach to the long-term management, maintenance and stewardship of any infrastructure, services and facilities to meet the needs of the village that are not provided by statutory undertakers.
28. At all phases of development, applicants must:
a. Consider and propose appropriate measures to assist the development of a new community;
b. Undertake meaningful engagement with local people and relevant stakeholders.

Juniper is a joint venture partnership between Homes England, Greycoat Real Estate, and Oaktree Capital, and is the master developer of Bourn Airfield. Outline planning
permission for the development of Bourn Airfield was granted by South Cambridgeshire District Council on 30 July 2024 (reference S/3440/18/OL). The Bourn Airfield development will provide 3,500 new homes and employment, retail, leisure, education, and community facilities, as well as a significant network of green and
blue infrastructure.

Juniper supports the overall ambitions of the draft plan including its growth strategy and the inclusion of Bourn Airfield as a site allocation. Policy S/BA should support the
delivery of a new community at Bourn Airfield and maintain some flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances over the plan period. The inclusion of a number of our comments and amendments from the Reg 18 plan is welcomed.

A number of our substantive objections to the policy have not been taken on board. The topic or specific paragraph is included in square brackets:
1. [General] We object to the lack of clarity within the policy, particularly in relation to the relationship between the development being implemented in accordance with
the existing planning permission and new policy which would apply to new applications. There is no reference to the outline planning permission at the site in the introductory paragraphs, despite reference later in the policy to reserved matters applications.

Major schemes, such as Bourn Airfield, are implemented over a long timeframe and policy in the plan would be relevant to the consideration of any ‘new’ planning
applications that may come forward. In this respect, policy must provide for some flexibility to enable the delivery of development on the site to evolve to respond to
changes in circumstances that may be encountered over the lifetime of the development, should new planning applications be required. Clarity in this respect will ensure the plan is positively prepared and justified.

2. [Strategic Enhancement Area] We object to the policy on the basis that the areas included should remain in the Bourn Airfield site allocation to allow a fully comprehensive and integrated approach to development of the site, during the plan period. It would be premature to ‘de-allocate’ part of the site that is integral to the design of the whole scheme, which is just commencing implementation. The
policy wording states that the SEA will ensure sufficient separation from neighbouring settlements and maintain a soft green landscape to protect the development’s rural setting. The SEA is not necessary, as the design of the
masterplan already achieves these aims. The SEA should therefore be removed from the policy and this will ensure that the policy related to Bourn Airfield is justified.

3. [Strategic Framework Diagram] The plan requires the built area of the Bourn Airfield settlement to be built in accordance with the SFD, even though the parameters for the development of the site are set out in the planning permission documentation and secured by condition. It is not necessary to include the SFD but if it remains it should be consistent with that documentation – currently it is not
consistent.

The amendment to the Reg. 18 plan to correct the location of the eastern access is welcomed. However, several other aspects are inconsistent with the permitted scheme or inaccurately denoted. These include the location of schools, the village centre, the extent of the linear park and the strategic green infrastructure corridors some of which have been added since the Reg.18 plan.

The allocated site should also include the totality of the permitted Bourn Airfield site and not just the Major Development Site area. These matters highlight the difficulties in including such diagrams in Local Plans.
The direct reference to the SFD in the policy could hinder the ability to bring about minor design and layout changes which would improve the Bourn Airfield development. It is important for the delivery of a scheme of this scale that there is sufficient flexibility for design changes to come forward in future. The SFD should be removed from the policy to allow for flexibility consistent with the approved
parameter plans and any subsequent variations. This will ensure that the policy related to Bourn Airfield is justified.

[Movement Section] A requirement to deliver connections to the new East West Rail Station at Cambourne North has been added from the Reg. 18 version. Whilst connections from Bourn Airfield to the future station would be beneficial, they should be the responsibility of the Cambourne North allocation (and we note it is included within Policy S/CBN drafting) and the East West Rail scheme. At paragraph 19 (b)(i) there is some merging of bullet point formatting which needs correction. There is also an insertion that the development ‘must’ deliver
high quality bike storage at public transport stops. This is already dealt with via Condition 22 of the outline permission, and so this requirement can be removed; in any event it isn’t necessary.

Paragraph 22 introduces a requirement for a ‘strategic and local transport mitigation plan’ which bears no relevance to the Transport Assessment and other documents already approved as part of the outline planning consent. This is
considered further within the ‘New policy requirements’ section. The second part of Condition 13 of the outline permission establishes the requirement for future
RMAs of subsequent phases to be accompanied by a Transport Assessment, so this addition is not needed.

Paragraph 21 states that public transport contributions should be made to high quality bus or rapid transport on or parallel to the A1303 between its junction with
the A428 and Queens Road, Cambridge. The CtoC scheme only extends as faras Grange Road, so this needs to be corrected. By clarifying policy as set out above it will ensure that the policy related to Bourn Airfield is justified.

6. [Gypsy and traveller pitches] Policy S/BA states that Bourn Airfield will provide 12 permanent Gypsy and Traveller pitches (within a site of approximately 1 hectare).
No such provision is secured under the outline permission, which is currently being implemented, and the pitches will not therefore be delivered. There is an alternative strategy to secure these pitches on other sites in the Cambourne area which can be secured through planning permissions in the future. As currently drafted the policy is not justified or effective.

[Additional policy requirements for applications] We object to the additional information requirements for outline or major applications. The inclusion of additional application requirements in the Local Plan is not necessary as the
validation checklist already covers these matters whether indirectly or directly. Furthermore c) (Sensitive Lighting Strategy) and d) (Strategic and Local Transport Mitigation Plan) are not defined terms which will be understood by
users of the plan and are not areas of assessment work in their own right. By way of example, matters in d) would fall within the remit of a transport assessment which is a requirement of the validation checklist. A sensitive lighting
strategy would fall within the remit of an artificial lighting assessment, also on the checklist. Bat surveys would fall within the remit of any environmental impact assessment work. A foul drainage strategy duplicates the requirement for a foul sewage and utilities assessment. This is unnecessary duplication. It should be deleted from the local plan and left to the validation checklist.

Despite reference in the HRA and SA to the potential impacts of development to the north of Cambourne, Policy S/CBN: Cambourne North, doesn’t specifically refer to bats surveys and sensitive lighting strategies in the same way; instead, it refers to ecological surveys and lighting strategies more generally, even though this also duplicates the validation checklist. A consistent approach needs to be
adopted throughout. As currently drafted the plan is confusing and not justified.