Greater Cambridge Local Plan Issues & Options 2020

The methods you have outlined appear adequate providing the ‘roadshows’ include visits to all affected villages at times when residents can actually attend i.e. evenings and weekends, and the staff present have the skills and knowledge to answer questions.

Question 3. Please submit any sites for green space and wildlife habitats you wish to suggest for consideration through the Local Plan. Provide as much information and supporting evidence as possible. The Cambridge Green Belt must be protected and further attrition must not be contemplated at any price. This was the first Green Belt outside of London and it is the smallest. It is therefore of historic value in its own right and furthermore provides the unique setting for the City, its collegiate buildings and its academic character and inheritance. Green Belts were an invention of one of our county’s foremost citizens, Octavia Hill. It would be obscene if our county City were to further damage its own Green Belt.

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2050 would be a more appropriate date. This plan is being prepared with undue haste. The current South Cambs. Local Plan was only signed off in 2019 and runs to 2031. By taking this plan out to 2050, there will be more time to consider it carefully and there will be much better information available about the effects of climate change on our county and City. This information is critical to the county and the City with current projections of sea level rise by the end of the century varying between 1.1 mtrs (IPCC) and 4.7 mtrs (Climate Central).

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No. The most important cross-boundary issues have been omitted completely. Firstly, the presumption of ‘growth’ and the growth corridors of Ox-Cam and London-Stansted-Cambridge have been accepted without question. Secondly, there has been no consideration as to how this major investment of national funds in the relatively well-off south-east will further reduce or limit investment in the North of the UK. Cambridgeshire hosts a significant proportion of this country’s best and most versatile farm land. By the end of this century it is probable that climate change will have caused significant loss of the Fens which currently grow 24% of UK food supply. Therefore it is imperative that the remaining farm land is not built on but preserved for food supply. This is a national issue. There are currently 1 million empty homes in the North and Midlands which could be brought back into use and space for a further 1 million homes on brownfield sites in the North and Midlands. Investment in these would preserve Cambridgeshire’s precious farm land for food supply. Furthermore, climate change and other environmental issues are caused by untrammeled economic growth. Therefore, this Plan should be addressing how to reduce growth whilst maintaining adequate standards of living in our Region. CPRE is very concerned by the complex structure of authorities across local government within Cambridgeshire. Including the GCP and the Combined Authority with County, District and Parish/Town councils there are now four levels of planning authority on some issues and five levels of local government on many others. This brings severe communication challenges and the practicalities associated with the duty to co-operate. Overlapping authorities and bodies cause confusion to the public and make decision making and accountability difficult to understand. For example on transport there has been intense public argument between the Combined Authority and other bodies.

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Partially. Climate Change is the most pressing issue of our time. However, all the other themes are predicated upon ‘growth’ and growth has to be halted in a controlled manner if climate change is to be minimised without unacceptable effects on the poorer and more vulnerable people in our society. With that caveat, the other themes are appropriate. Society must recognise there is no such thing as “sustainable development”. The term is a non-sequiter. All development has varying degrees of unsustainability. Just look at building materials. Bricks leave holes in the ground where clay is dug. They create carbon dioxide when the clay is fired and more when they are transported from Belgium or Holland as most are. Cement burns more fuel, generating more carbon dioxide and so on… Therefore development must be minimised and better use made of existing facilities.

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Climate change, climate change, climate change. Then the others.

Housebuilding and commercial building on farm land should be halted or reduced to an absolute minimum. Re-use of existing buildings and proper brownfield sites (not old airfields that are mostly grassland bisected by a few strips of concrete) should be maximised, Central government should be pressed to maximise regeneration, particularly in the Midlands and the North. There should be no new major road building. More attention should be paid to the provision/retention of suitable employment space in local communities to reduce the need for commuting and to prevent rural communities becoming dormitories. High speed broadband should be a priority to encourage home or village working. More consideration must be given to the provision and operation of public transport. Housing density in the City and major developments outside should be high. Ensure that known empty dwellings in the City and District are identified and indexed. If empty for a certain period, the owners should be invited to ensure occupation or the local authorities should have the power to compulsory purchase the properties to renovate them and rent to those on the housing list or offer for sale. CPRE recommends that more research and development is carried out into the environmental capacity of the plan area to determine its ability to accommodate any further growth taking into account the effects on wildlife, bio-diversity, tranquillity, climate change, adaptation, national food supply, flood risk, water supply, actual sustainability and pressure on infrastructure.

Housebuilding and commercial building on farm land should be halted or reduced to an absolute minimum.Re-use of existing buildings and proper brownfield sites (not old airfields that are mostly grassland bisected by a few strips of concrete) should be maximised, Central government should be pressed to maximise regeneration, particularly in the Midlands and the North. There should be no new major road building. More attention should be paid to the provision/retention of suitable employment space in local communities to reduce the need for commuting and to prevent rural communities becoming dormitories. High speed broadband should be a priority to encourage home or village working. More consideration must be given to the provision and operation of public transport. Housing density in the City and major developments outside should be high. Ensure that known empty dwellings in the City and District are identified and indexed. If empty for a certain period, the owners should be invited to ensure occupation or the local authorities should have the power to compulsory purchase the properties to renovate them and rent to those on the housing list or offer for sale. CPRE recommends that more research and development is carried out into the environmental capacity of the plan area to determine its ability to accommodate any further growth taking into account the effects on wildlife, bio-diversity, tranquillity, climate change, adaptation, national food supply, flood risk, water supply, actual sustainability and pressure on infrastructure.

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Yes. Prior to the introduction of the National Planning Policy Framework, there was Planning Policy Guidance which dealt with many aspects of climate adaption and resilience. These included guidance on power supply, water usage and drainage, designing for heavier rainfall, insulation and more. This guidance should be brought back into use urgently. If necessary, include as Supplementary Planning Documentation in the Local Plan.

Protect the Fens from flooding and all best and most versatile farm land above the 6 metre datum from development.