Greater Cambridge Local Plan Issues & Options 2020

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3.27 Grosvenor is supportive of the Councils aim to increase tree cover and is committed to providing a 10% increase over existing provision on site. Tree cover provides significant habitat potential and the potential to also sequester carbon emissions, contributing to the Councils zero carbon targets and restoring the regions natural climax vegetation. Public access to woodlands also has the potential to contribute to a community’s wellbeing, through diversified amenity offer and improved tranquillity. New tree planting should be appropriate to its location, sensitive to a locality’s landscape characteristics and comprise species tolerant of more severe weather events.

3.28 Grosvenor is committed to bringing forward developments which reflect the principles of social sustainability, good growth and wellbeing amongst local residents. ‘Good growth’ can be achieved through creating compact development sites with highly sustainable accessibility and opportunities for on site community initiatives. 3.29 The provision of a range of homes for all parts of the community, including affordable and specialist housing. Easy access to local services and amenities creates inclusiveness, which helps to foster wellbeing. Encouraging travel by sustainable modes of transport, including walking, cycling, public transport and electric vehicles, which would also encourage active lifestyles and reduce carbon emissions, leading to positive effects on health. 3.30 As mentioned throughout these representations, Trumpington South will develop a sense of identity, promote healthy lifestyles and active public spaces and provide the right community infastructure to promote well being and social inclusion. 3.31 Techcnial assessments in relation to noise and air quality have been prepared by BuroHappold in support of these representations, to demonstrate that the proposed development at Trumpington South is suitable and deliverable in relation to noise and air quality. Noise and air quality considerations are intrinsically linked to the well-being and health of existing and future residents and will be considered in greater detail as the design process for this proposal evolves. 3.32 The M11 is associated with poorer levels of air quality and higher levels of noise. The Noise Feasibility Study prepared by Buro Happold confirms that the masterplan for Trumpington South proposes residential properties approximately 200m away from this source. The Study demonstrates that target internal and external ambient noise levels can be achieved, when considering the proposed masterplan and the existing consented bund, along the southern site boundary adjacent to the M11. The study also demonstrates that incorporating future massing and design considerations (i.e. glazing treatments) can provide further mitigation. The Air Quality Assessment, also prepared by Buro Happold, concludes that the air quality impacts associated with emissions from surrounding roads on future site occupants will not be significant, and similarly provides a range of further mitigation measures, some of which are already demonstrated in the proposals for Trumpington South. 3.33 The masterplan also seeks to discourage private cars and encourage active transport (walking and cycling) and public transport, with the implementation of car-free zones, Electric Vehicle charging infrastructure and centralised parking locations. The proposed masterplan also incorporates other elements that will have a positive impact on air quality and noise, including zero-carbon homes in operation and extensive tree planting across the site.

3.34 Grosvenor supports the approach taken to the Local Plan consultation and use of alternative tools and methods for gathering responses and engaging local stakeholders. 3.35 Previous precedents showcase the commitment Grosvenor have made to engage the local community. For example, Grosvenor engaged the public from very early stages during the development of Trumpington Meadows through a range of methods, and their commitment is reflected through it being an award-winning development. Today, the scheme mirrors principles of good design and high quality place-making and this would be extended to Trumpington South.

3.36 New developments should provide local access to uses which support a diverse demographics and wide range of age groups and the vulnerable to ensure it is offering on-site community initiatives to all local residents. 3.37 Trumpington South is committed to being a development which is safe and inclusive. The masterplanning of the site will incorporate the objectives of ‘safe by design’. This will include the provision of safe, accessible connected routes which reduce car movements. The development will also provide access to inclusive on site facilities, including secure cycle parking, as well as sharing existing established facilities at Trumpington Meadows.

3.38 This can be achieved through creating communities that have a strong sense of identity and maximising their shared value. Specific interventions, such as promoting inclusive outdoor spaces, active landscapes and offering community activities for local residents to participate in, can all support healthier lifestyles. 3.39 Residents at Trumpington South would have access to multi-functional areas of open space providing opportunities for sport, growing foodstuff, caring for the natural environment and informal active recreation. The development is planned around the movement of people rather than vehicles. The layout of the site and approach to car parking will create an environment with low vehicles movements and dedicated pedestrian and cycle networks. Active travel will, therefore, be facilitated and be the natural choice for many.

3.40 Measures such as the provision of alternative modes of transport, reducing movements and improving accessibility, improved tree coverage and habitats with high carbon offsetting potential are all ways to improve air quality. 3.41 The masterplan for Trumpington South locates residential properties away from poorer air quality locations. The Air Quality Assessment produced by Buro Happold concludes that the air quality impacts associated with emissions from surrounding roads on future site occupants will not be significant. The masterplan also seeks to discourage private cars and encourage active transport (walking and cycling) and public transport, with the implementation of car-free zones, Electric Vehicle charging infrastructure and centralised parking locations. The proposed masterplan also incorporates other elements that will have a positive impact on air quality, including zero-carbon homes in operation and extensive tree planting across the site.

3.42 Well-designed developments should take the opportunity for improving the character and quality of an area, be properly served by infrastructure and contribute to the needs of the wider community. Individual buildings, their immediate surroundings and where they sit within the wider landscape, should all be carefully considered when designing new developments. 3.43 Grosvenor’s commitments to developing high quality places is reflected through Trumpington Meadows. The scheme mirrors principles of good design and high quality place-making, which made it an award-winning scheme. These would be extended to Trumpington South. If the site were allocated, a Design Code would be prepared as part of an outline planning application. The Design Code would secure the delivery of a high quality sustainable scheme.

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3.44 The NPPF underlines the Government’s commitment to maintaining the integrity of Green Belts, stating that once established, these should only be amended in ‘exceptional circumstances’ and only through the preparation or updating of plans. 3.45 The NPPF indicates that when drawing up Green Belt boundaries, the Council should consider the need to promote sustainable patterns of development, channelling development towards the urban area. Where Green Belt land is required for release, consideration should first be given to land which is previously developed and/or well served by public transport. When viewed in the context of the scale of the housing need in Greater Cambridge and its unmet need, it is critical that all appropriate options are fully explored, including amendments to Green Belt boundaries. 3.46 Grosvenor and USS consider that there are exceptional circumstances for the release of Green Belt land to meet the growing housing need in Cambridge, especially where travel distances can be reduced and sustainable patterns of development encouraged. This will provide an opportunity to identify sites which can provide a significant amount of homes to contribute to meeting identified housing needs, especially where those sites are well served by public transport (as advised in para 138 of the NPPF) and also well connected to key destinations, such as major employment hubs, education and community facilities. Grosvenor and USS agree that climate impacts could be reduced if the Councils take this approach to remove Green Belt land if evidence shows it provides a more sustainable development option by reducing travel distances. 3.47 Grosvenor and USS maintain that any Green Belt Review undertaken by the Councils should be a robust assessment, undertaken in accordance with the national Planning Practice Guidance and the NPPF, specifically taking account of the need to promote sustainable patterns of development. 3.48 There are a number of Green Belt locations where housing sites can be identified that reduce travel distances, without the purposes of the Green Belt being compromised, ensuring the function and integrity of the Green Belt will remain. Trumpington South is such a site, situated on the southern edge of Cambridge, located next to the existing Trumpington Park and Ride, and the future Cambridge South West Travel Hub, with proposals to extend the guided busway around the edge of the site. Trumpington South is well connected via active and shared travel modes to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, the city centre and nearby community facilities, reducing commuting and travel distances to key locations. 3.49 Furthermore, the Green Belt and Landscape Appraisal prepared by Terence O’Rourke, which has been prepared in support of these representations, assesses the local purpose of the Green Belt in this location which is to preserve its setting and special character and to prevent the merging of communities with each other and to the city. The Appraisal considers the contribution of the site to the prevention of communities merging into one another to be limited. The Appraisal’s focus has, therefore, been on the changing nature of the site and surrounding environs and how this has, and will, affect the setting of Cambridge city. 3.50 The Green Belt and Landscape Appraisal conclusions advise that the alterations to the landscape, specifically the urbanising nature of development, such as the proposed Park and Ride, and associated reduction in visual openness, will alter the contribution of the site to Green Belt purposes. It goes on to say that this is particularly the case in relation to the setting of and approach to the settlement edge and that these changes have also, therefore, altered the qualities and function of the Green Belt. 3.51 The Appraisal notes that the future development of this site would provide an opportunity to create a new settlement edge which responds to the changing and increasingly enclosed nature of the landscape as a result of development. It advises that the extent of the settlement edge should allow for a sufficient countryside edge to be preserved, ensuring that the landscape predominates. It concludes that alterations to the landscape would provide the opportunity to enhance the countryside edge and, therefore, the setting and special character of Cambridge. 3.52 Lastly, the NPPF also refers to “ways in which the impact of removing land from the Green Belt can be offset through compensatory improvements to the environmental quality and accessibility of remaining green belt land”. 3.53 The Green Belt and Landscape Appraisal advises that Trumpington South offers the opportunity to significantly enhance the quality of the remaining Green Belt within the site through biodiversity enhancements and access for multi-recreational purposes, as has been demonstrated in the Country Park to date. Grosvenor and USS consider these compensatory measures would offset any loss of Green Belt arising from the development.

3.54 When viewed in the context of the scale of the housing need in Greater Cambridge and its unmet need, it is critical that developing around the edges of Cambridge on land in the Green Belt is included in the review of any strategy. The NPPF indicates where Green Belt land is required for release, consideration should first be given to land which is previously developed and/or well served by public transport. Grosvenor and USS consider that there are exceptional circumstances for the release of Green Belt land to meet the growing housing need in Cambridge, especially where travel distances can be reduced and sustainable patterns of development encouraged, as would be the case with sites on the edge of the City. This will provide an opportunity to identify sites which can provide a significant amount of homes to contribute to meeting identified housing needs, especially where those sites are well served by public transport (as advised in para 138 of the NPPF) and also well connected to key destinations such as major employment hubs, education and community facilities. 3.55 As set out in the response to Question 39, Grosvenor and USS, therefore, urge the Councils to review sites for release around the edges of Cambridge in the Green Belt which are well served by public transport and well connected to key destinations such as major employment hubs, education and community facilities. Trumpington South is situated on the southern edge of Cambridge, located next to the existing Trumpington Park and Ride, and the future Cambridge South West Travel Hub, with proposals to extend the guided busway around the edge of the site. Trumpington South is well connected via active and shared travel modes to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, the city centre and nearby community facilities, reducing commuting and travel distances to key locations. 3.56 Furthermore, the Green Belt and Landscape Appraisal prepared by Terence O’Rourke in support of these representations, assesses the local purpose of the Green Belt in Cambridge in this location which is to preserve its setting and special character and to prevent the merging of communities with each other and to the city. The Appraisal considers the contribution of the site to the prevention of communities merging into one another to be limited. The Appraisal’s focus has, therefore, been on the changing nature of the site and surrounding environs and how this has and will affect the setting of Cambridge city. 3.57 The Green Belt and Landscape Appraisal conclusions advise that the alterations to the landscape, specifically the urbanising nature of development, such as the proposed Park and Ride, and associated reduction in visual openness, will alter the contribution of the site to Green Belt purposes. It goes on to say that this is particularly the case in relation to the setting of and approach to the settlement edge and that these changes have also, therefore, altered the qualities and function of the Green Belt. 3.58 The Appraisal notes that the future development of this site would provide an opportunity to create a new settlement edge which responds to the changing and increasingly enclosed nature of the landscape as a result of development. It advises that the extent of the settlement edge should allow for a sufficient countryside edge to be preserved, ensuring that the landscape predominates. It concludes that alterations to the landscape would provide the opportunity to enhance the countryside edge and, therefore, the setting and special character of Cambridge. 3.59 Finally, the NPPF also refers to “ways in which the impact of removing land from the Green Belt can be offset through compensatory improvements to the environmental quality and accessibility of remaining green belt land”. 3.60 The Green Belt and Landscape Appraisal advises that Trumpington South offers the opportunity to significantly enhance the quality of the remaining Green Belt within the site through biodiversity enhancements and access for multi-recreational purposes, as has been demonstrated in the Country Park to date. Grosvenor and USS consider these compensatory measures would offset any loss of Green Belt arising from the development.

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Question 42. Where should we site new development? Rank the options below 1-6 (1- Most Preferred 6- Least Preferred) Densification of existing urban areas, edge of Cambridge (outside the green belt), edge of Cambridge (green belt), dispersal (new settlements), dispersal (villages), public transport corridors. 3.61 Given the scale of housing need in the City, a combination of spatial strategies will be needed to support the sustainable growth of Greater Cambridge. We consider the Councils should consider edge of Cambridge (Green Belt) as the number one option for growth, followed by transport corridors as a close second best option for growth, in order to provide the most sustainable options for managing growth. Placing homes close to jobs provides the best chance of people walking and cycling, then reducing in commuting, improving air quality and helping achieve net zero carbon targets. 3.62 As was clear from the now adopted Local Plan hearings and Inspectors Report, reliance on the delivery of new settlements to accommodate a substantial level of the Councils’ current targets will not be sufficient. Sites which can be delivered quickly are as equally as important as the longer term ones if the Greater Cambridge area is to meet its housing need and not be susceptible to unplanned housing development. Trumpington South is in the control of Grosvenor and USS and therefore can be delivered swiftly.