Greater Cambridge Local Plan Issues & Options 2020

The Councils should review the demographics of those who have been consulted previously, to understand from which parts of the community most responses are received, and which parts of the community are poorly represented. Those who have previously been poorly represented should be targeted through social media, other channels and events, designed to suit their needs. The monitoring information used to determine whether the equalities policy has been effective should not therefore simply be related to the number of responses (as identified in Section B2 of the previous South Cambridgeshire SCI equality impact assessment4). This would not identify any equality issues as the information is not sufficient to identify them – i.e. the exercise is pointless. Demographic data must therefore be collected to ensure that a wide range of responses, from a wide range of participants, is gathered. The data needs to be monitored across both Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire, as the Local Plan affects both areas equally

Question 2. Please submit any sites for employment and housing you wish to suggest for allocation in the Local Plan MGH has already submitted a response to the ‘Call for Sites’ in spring 2019, signed up to by the various landowners who are represented to the north of Cambourne. Cambourne is a location where existing housing and employment already exist and where there is supporting community infrastructure in terms of shops, schools and other services. There is significant potential to add to the range of uses located at Cambourne in a highly sustainable way, including new leisure, employment and homes enabling more residents to both live and work there and thereby increasing self-containment. Our evidence shows that by increasing self-containment and extending existing and proposed public transport, there is the opportunity to add significant levels of employment and housing to the north of Cambourne without impacting on overall levels of car-based journeys* * See calculations in the accompanying vision document on potential transport movements, improved selfcontainment, and modal shift.

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Question 3. Please submit any sites for green space and wildlife habitats you wish to suggest for consideration through the Local Plan. The vision for an urban extension at North Cambourne includes the delivery of large amounts of open space, including the protection of existing open spaces and valuable habitats. There are a range of opportunities associated with the land at North Cambourne including existing habitats and the potential to expand these as well as create new habitat, to establish a net biodiversity gain as a result of these proposals. Uban extensions such as the proposal at North Cambourne are much better able to provide strategic green infrastructure than smaller individual sites, where often local requirements for green open space are not triggered, or are not possible due to site constraints. The area of land promoted at North Cambourne provides significant opportunities for biodiversity net gain, which MGH is exploring with stakeholders.

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The timescale for the Plan i.e. to 2040is a sensible one. Within this timescale there This length of time is necessary both to meet the requirements of the NPPF and to properly consider how strategic growth can take place in a coordinated way alongside the substantial investment in infrastructure that is planned. The recent ‘Building Better Building Beautiful Commission’ report endorses the Council’s approach informed by the 2050 regional (Peterborough and Cambridgeshire) plan: the Commission envisage a strategic plan of some 30 years as the necessary requirement to deliver place stewardship*. * Living with Beauty p40

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It is essential not just for the prosperity of those living in the area, but also for the wider region within the Oxford-Cambridge Arc and the UK in general, that Greater Cambridge plays its part in delivering economic growth. MGH endorses the approach to consultation with wider partnerships, and places particular emphasis on the need to deliver the growth associated with the Oxford Cambridge Arc. This will require coordination with the combined Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Authority together with the County Council, neighbouring authorities and others in the Arc. A number of key issues are set out in the issues and Options report in relation to the aspirations of each local authority (p18). This includes the need to help businesses to grow. The report also recognises the need for an evidence base relating to employment and the duty to co-operate in relation to the Oxford Cambridge Arc. We endorse that emphasis, with Savills recent research document emphasising both the existing strength of the local economy and the ability for that to continue to growth and diversify in the future* *.’The Oxford-Cambridge Innovation Arc’, Savills, 2019

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The big themes are an excellent way to progress the underpinning principles for growth in Greater Cambridge. Care needs to be used in prioritising each of these themes. A balanced approach should be used. Each policy of the new Plan, and each potential site for employment or housing (or both) will have different impacts that are considerably nuanced depending on proposals and site locations. The Sustainability Appraisal is the key to understanding relative impacts on the four big themes. However, it is clear that the location of development will play a key part in achieving key principles of sustainability, including minimising the effects of movements, which relate to climate change, wellbeing, social inclusion and place making.

The Issues and Options report correctly recognises that a key impact of reaching net zero carbon targets is the minimisation of vehicular movements. Section 4.1 identifies that we need to plan for alternatives to private car use. Public transport is not only more efficient, it reduces traffic queues (and therefore impacts positively on productivity), it is better for health and wellbeing*, and is socially inclusive as it allows equal mobility for those without access to a car (and for those who do not wish to own a car). There are two key factors that can assist in reducing car travel and increasing public transport: placing jobs, leisure facilities and shopping in close proximity to housing thereby reducing the need to travel and increasing ‘self-containment’; and providing new development in locations that provide alternatives to the private car – in particular good public transport services. A further requirement to reduce on the risk of Climate Change is to minimise the energy used to construct new development, and to power its running costs with over 40% of UK emissions arising from built property**. Whilst costs of achieving more sustainable buildings will be similar regardless of the location of development, there will be greater opportunity for carbon reduction to be achieved where development is at sufficient scale to allow for the efficient operation of combined heat and power and similar shared energy networks. * Transport planning for healthier lifestyles, see section 1.2 ** UK Green Building Council, 2019.

A number of the issues correctly raised in relation to reducing impacts on the climate are applicable to all policies and developments. The preparation of the Local Plan should therefore focus on those issues that have the most impact on the decision-making for the Local Plan, including: - promoting patterns of development that reduce the need to travel; and - locating development where a choice of travel options exist other than the private car. We would add: - - encouraging transport choices that have less impact on the climate, such as walking, cycling and public transport; - promoting self-containment and sustainable settlements, where public transport can easily be supported and a wide range of facilities and services are within walking and cycling distance; - allocating development where public transport infrastructure already exists, is planned, or can be provided, to encourage sustainable travel.

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The key aspect of adapting to climate change will be in the location of new development. This must be carefully considered in the Local Plan. For example, regardless of emerging measures for energy efficiency and better building fabric, if development is allocated in settlements with few services or facilities then this will result in the need for more travel compared to development in towns where more facilities are available that are within walking / cycling distance, or connected by public transport. Paragraph 4.1.3 correctly recognises that, as this winter has demonstrated, flooding has become a key issue as events predicted as 1 in 100 year floods are happening more frequently. Caution should therefore be used in allocating sites that are close to existing modelled flood plains, particularly where topographic contours are shallow.