Greater Cambridge Local Plan Issues & Options 2020

5.19 The Local Plan should deliver a spatial strategy that connects homes with jobs and ensures that development improves accessibility to good quality public transport, facilities and services and high quality green spaces. 5.20 The Local Plan should also establish a policy framework that allows for innovative ways to deliver ‘affordable housing’ across tenure types. Housing mix policies should also be flexible to allow for the right homes to come forward in the right location. 5.21 Land to the west of Mill Street, Gamlingay presents an opportunity to deliver development which can contribute to achieving ‘good growth’. The site is within walking and cycling distance of a range of services, facilities and public transport modes. Future residents would benefit from easy access to employment, on-site green space, shops and education and community facilities, maximising opportunities for positive influences on their overall health and lifestyle. 5.22 The proposals also seek to deliver affordable housing which would be tenure blind, providing a significant amount of affordable housing in a sustainable location.

6.1 There should be flexibility within the Local Plan to respond to changing housing needs over the Local Plan period. It is important to identify a baseline housing need but there should be scope for further development to come forward if it meets a particular housing need. This would support the Government’s objective of significantly boosting the supply of homes to ensure that a sufficient amount and variety of land can come forward where it is needed and that the needs of groups with specific housing requirements are addressed (NPPF paragraph 59).

Nothing chosen

6.2 To support the Government’s objective of significantly boosting the supply of homes, a sufficient amount and variety of land needs to be identified to meeting housing needs within the Joint Local Plan area. The Cambridge and Peterborough Independent Economic Review (CPIER) (September 2018) suggests that higher housing target numbers are likely to be needed in Cambridgeshire if the potential for higher growth in employment is to be met. 6.3 Housing requirements are minimums, not maximums to stay under at all costs. There is a wellevidenced affordability problem in Greater Cambridge; a greater supply of homes will be part of the solution. “Too many of the people working in Cambridge have commutes that are difficult, long and growing: not out of choice, but necessity due to high housing costs.”1 6.4 A Housing Needs Report accompanies this representation that undertakes an objective review for what the future housing needs of Greater Cambridge are. It finds that there is an underlying and systemic affordability issue that is making it increasingly difficult for those on lower incomes to afford to live in the Greater Cambridge area. Alongside, the Cambridge economy has seen a prolonged and steady increase, which has attracted a larger workforce and increased the pressure on the housing market; availability and affordability. Alongside this trend is a clear political aspiration to see the Cambridge economy grow further; mostly clearly expressed by the Combined Authority that has a growth target as set out in its Devolution Deal of doubling GVA over 25 years. All of this clearly points to the need to plan for an amount of housing well above the minimum housing requirement. 1 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Industrial Strategy 2019, p13

6.5 There should be flexibility within the Local Plan to respond to changing housing needs over the Local Plan period. Consideration of individual site circumstances and the circumstances of a local area should be taken into account to determine the appropriate type of housing for development sites. Separate housing needs assessments should be used to inform the appropriate size, type and tenure of housing needed for different sections of the community, as set out within the Greater Cambridge Housing Strategy 2019-2023. 6.6 Flexibility will be key to a successful Local Plan; through market housing, low-cost and affordable housing. 6.7 Land to the west of Mill Street, Gamlingay has the potential to deliver up to 90 homes and would comprise both market and affordable housing of a range of size, type and tenures to meet needs of not only Gamlingay but the wider district. The proposals would therefore contribute to increasing accessibility to housing for the whole community.

6.8 Local Plan policies can require a high standard of design for new residential development, leading from Government policy and guidance. Appropriately worded design policies should require a high quality design for new dwellings. This could include sustainable design principles including measures to improve the energy efficiency of new homes, water saving measures, use of efficient insultation material and heating systems, the reduction and recycling of construction materials, provision of appropriate amenity space and accessibility. Policy should not be prescriptive for precisely how it will be accomplished, it can set a policy-level, but developers should be able to use a host of options to achieve the target. 6.9 The promoter of the site, Trinity College, is an established Cambridge institution with a vested interest in the wider community and experience of promoting and delivering sites for high quality residential development. It is expected that Land to the west of Mill Street, Gamlingay, would come forward in partnership with a delivery partner selected by Trinity College, to ensure that a high quality scheme and homes are delivered. The Council’s ambition for the Local Plan to ensure that high quality developments and homes are delivered aligns with Trinity College’s values that includes the delivery of high quality places and spaces.

7.1 This can principally be achieved through locating new development in locations which have good access to sustainable modes of transport. New development should be located to take advantage of existing or planned transport infrastructure and should be designed in a manner which encourages the take up of active modes of travel. 7.2 Land to the west of Mill Street, Gamlingay is well located to encourage future residents to use sustainable modes of travel and ensure that trips made by private vehicles are minimised. Gamlingay High Street, with its range of services and facilities, is located approximately 500m to the north of the Site. The development has also been designed in a manner to encourage walking and cycling to access future resident’s daily needs located in the village centre. Pedestrian links are proposed to the east, north and west of the site, providing enhanced connectivity for new residents to access the village centre and green spaces within the village. 7.3 There are existing bus stops within close proximity to the site, with services available to Cambridge, Hitchin, Royston and St Neots. Future development proposals could contribute to the upgrading of these stops and their accessibility. Furthermore, Gamlingay is also within close proximity to the selected route for the proposed east west rail, providing the opportunity to deliver homes near planned strategic public transport infrastructure.

Nothing chosen

8.1 The presumption in favour of sustainable development is recognised, however there should be a degree of flexibility in policy in terms of allowing appropriate development outside of the settlement boundaries of villages, in particular, if development meets a particular local business or community need as set out within paragraph 84 of the NPPF. Sustainable development in rural areas is also supported under paragraph 78 of the NPPF, which requires planning policies to identify opportunities for villages to grow and thrive, especially where this will support local services. A degree of flexibility is even more pertinent to the largest, most sustainable villages in the District, such as Rural and Minor Rural Centres, which provide the facilities and services to encourage more sustainable behaviours.

Nothing chosen

8.2 There should be more flexibility when considering the scale and size of developments that are permitted within village boundaries. The Local Plan currently restricts the amount of development that is permitted in Minor Rural Centres (Policy S/9) to 30 dwellings; in Group Villages (Policy S10) to eight dwellings and in exceptional circumstances to 15 dwellings; and in Infill Villages (Policy S/11) to two dwellings and in exceptional circumstances to eight dwellings. These policies should not restrict development to a certain number of dwellings and should instead encourage an appropriate density depending on the context of the site that is being considered for development. Some sites might be capable of accommodating higher density development which can enable a more sustainable distribution of growth, particularly in the case of villages within the District, such as Gamlingay, which provide access to a range of services and facilities, thereby making them sustainable locations for development. A more flexible approach towards considering the appropriate scale of development in villages should therefore be used when allocating development sites and in the determination of planning applications. 8.3 There should also be more flexibility in terms of considering applications which are located outside village boundaries, provided the site is suitable in other terms including its access to transport, employment and village services and facilities and provided it is not overly constrained in terms of other environmental designations.

8.7 The Local Plan should seek to allocate a component of its housing needs towards growth at existing villages. Sustainable development in rural areas is supported under paragraph 78 of the NPPF, which requires planning policies to identify opportunities for villages to grow and thrive, especially where this will support local services. Development within existing villages can help to sustain existing and deliver new facilities and infrastructure, support shops and business uses and meet both the market and affordable housing needs of the local community. However, growth at villages should be in locations which are or can be made sustainable. 8.8 Land to the west of Mill Street, Gamlingay is a sustainable location for development and a prime opportunity to support the village of Gamlingay. The development proposals could deliver numerous tangible social, economic and environmental benefits to Gamlingay and the local area, including: ● The opportunity to deliver a substantial amount of affordable housing to help meet the needs of Gamlingay and the wider District; ● Locating residential development within one of the District’s largest and most sustainable villages. The site is located approximately 500m from the village centre and is well placed for future residents to be able to walk and cycle, rather than travel by private car, to these facilities. Gamlingay is also within close proximity to the preferred route for the proposed east west rail, providing the opportunity to deliver homes near planned strategic infrastructure; ● A landowner who wishes to work with the community in order to shape a proposal which meets the needs of and can provide wider benefits to the village; ● Supporting Gamlingay’s economy, including local shops and services; ● The delivery of a substantial amount of on-site and off-site public open space comprising 2.53 ha, which equates to approximately 59% of the total site area. This will include formal children’s play space, creating a recreation asset to be enjoyed by future and existing residents. The proposed off-site area of dedicated open space is on land within Trinity College’s ownership and would be delivered in conjunction with the development proposals for the site; and ● Enhancing biodiversity levels across the site and delivering green infrastructure for the benefit of existing and future residents. The site is predominantly agricultural land and can currently be considered to be of low ecological value. The proposals have the potential to achieve a 10% biodiversity net gain and deliver significant new opportunities for wildlife.

Agree

4.1 Agree. 4.2 The proposed Local Plan period up to 2040 is considered appropriate and to accord with the requirements set out within the NPPF for local authorities to identify a sufficient supply and mix of sites between years 1-15 of the plan (Para 67).