Greater Cambridge Local Plan: Proposed Submission

Policy I/ST: Sustainable Transport and Connectivity

COMMENT

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. The promoted development by Shelford Investments in Great Shelford is sustainable in transport terms and would be consistent with the aims of Policy I/ST.

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. 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 Stapleford and Great Shelford 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

Appendix C of draft GCLP identifies a housing requirement for the period 2025 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.

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 combined housing requirement for Stapleford and Great Shelford in Appendix C is 131 dwellings between 2025 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 Great Shelford 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 C 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 for Great Shelford is delivered during the plan period.

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 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, 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 in Appendix C is subject to an upward adjustment 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.

It is considered that the housing requirement figure for Stapleford and Great Shelford 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. 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 Stapleford and Great Shelford should be subject to an upward adjustment so that the affordable housing needs of these villages are met.

Requested Change

The requested changes to the development strategy in Policy S/DS are as follows.

It is requested that the housing delivery assumptions for all of the strategic sites are reassessed, taking into account realistic annual housing delivery rates and the delivery of critical infrastructure required for those sites.

It is requested that land is released from the Green Belt to meet development needs.

It is requested that additional allocations are made in the more sustainable villages, including Great Shelford.

Policy S/DS: Development Strategy

NOT SOUND – NOT JUSTIFIED AND NOT CONSISTENT WITH NATIONAL POLICY

OBJECT

Policy S/DS of draft GCLP sets out the development strategy. In summary, the development strategy comprises delivery at the following locations: sites within Cambridge; existing urban extensions on the edge of Cambridge; existing new settlements; proposed new settlements; housing and employment at employment sites in the rural southern cluster; proposed new strategic employment allocations; and, a limited number of sites at villages in the rural area. It is acknowledged that the principle of development at most of the strategic sites is already established through adopted development plan documents e.g. Eddington, Cambourne West, Northstowe, Waterbeach, Bourn Airfield, and Cambridge East. The proposed strategic sites at Cambourne North (related to the proposed East West Rail and new station for Cambourne) and proposed new settlement at Grange Farm (related to a new stop on the proposed Cambridge South East Transport project) are new strategic allocations for draft GCLP.

It is considered that there are a number of risks associated with the development strategy in Policy S/DS. It is proposed that 44% of the housing target would be delivered at new settlements. It is very reliant on the delivery of the existing strategic sites, but there is no evidence that delivery at these sites will increase above current rates. It is assumed that housing delivery at some of the strategic sites would be 300 dwellings per annum, but this rate has not been achieved at existing strategic sites in Greater Cambridge or delivered at these rates for a sustained period. The housing delivery rates at some of these strategic sites appear to be optimistic, are not based on evidence from other similar developments, and in the case of Cambourne North does not take into account the close proximity of other strategic sites i.e. Cambourne West and Bourn Airfield. The delivery of the proposed strategic sites at Cambourne North and at Grange Farm are reliant on the delivery of transport projects that are not approved, and where funding and delivery timescales are uncertain. It is requested that the housing delivery assumptions for all of the strategic sites are reassessed.

Most of the existing new settlements will deliver less affordable housing than the normal policy requirement of 40%, mainly because of the need for these developments to also deliver significant levels of new transport and community infrastructure in initial phases. It is anticipated that affordable housing delivery at Cambourne North and at Grange Farm would also be reduced for the same reasons, and particularly during the initial stages of those developments. A reduction in the delivery of affordable housing in the initial stages of Cambourne North and Grange would also affect the housing delivery rates overall because it would reduce the mix of available housing.

It is considered that exceptional circumstances exist to release land from the Green Belt, which are related to the significant need for housing and affordable housing in Greater Cambridge, the need to support economic growth, and to direct development to sustainable locations. It is requested that land is released from the Green Belt to meet development needs.

The Rural Centres, including Great Shelford and Stapleford, are referred to as part of the development strategy but there are limited allocations in this category of settlement. It is considered that the growth of the more sustainable villages should be part of the development strategy for draft GCLP, and particularly those villages that contain a very good range of services and facilities, are accessible by a range of modes of transport, and where there is an identified need for affordable housing for those with a local connection to the village. Great Shelford falls within this category.

Shelford Investments Ltd has promoted land off Cabbage Moor in Great Shelford. The land off Cabbage Moor, and Great Shelford generally, is very well related to Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Royal Papworth Hospital, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, and other employment opportunities within and on the edge of Cambridge. Great Shelford and neighbouring Trumpington contains a very good range of services and facilities. The site is well served by public transport (bus and rail) and is well connected with existing cycle routes, and there is future public transport improvements proposed in the surrounding area (Cambridge South East Transport project). The promoted development would support the existing services and facilities in the village. It is a medium sized site that could be delivered relatively quickly. The site would deliver affordable housing to meet the identified needs of Great Shelford.

It is considered that the development strategy in Policy S/DS is not sound, in that it is not justified as an appropriate strategy, and is not consistent with national policy in terms of not identifying sufficient housing land to meet housing needs (NPPF Paragraph 23).

Requested Change

The requested changes to the development strategy in Policy S/DS are as follows.

It is requested that the housing delivery assumptions for all of the strategic sites are reassessed, taking into account realistic annual housing delivery rates and the delivery of critical infrastructure required for those sites.

It is requested that land is released from the Green Belt to meet development needs.

It is requested that additional allocations are made in the more sustainable villages, including Great Shelford.