Greater Cambridge Local Plan Issues & Options 2020

Response to Question 2 3.1 The site at Silverdale Close was submitted to South Cambridgeshire District Council through the Call for Sites exercise in March 2019 for residential development of approximately 77 dwellings. This included completion of the relevant forms, a covering letter and a supporting Vision Document. For ease of reference, the Vision Document is appended to these representations. It is supplemented by a Green Belt Assessment document undertaken by The Environmental Dimension Partnership Ltd.

No uploaded files for public display

4.1 Figure 19 of the Issues and Options document shows a serious concern regarding growth in Cambridge. As noted, average house prices in Cambridge are more than double the national average, with South Cambridgeshire significantly above the national figure. It is an expensive place to live and is especially difficult for young professional to get on the property ladder given the price of housing in comparison to other areas of the country. The rental market also suffers from inflated prices. 4.2 The Local Plan provides an opportunity to address this balance. In order to ensure affordability in the future, the Local Plan must include a range of land types for housing provision, and this must include small and medium sites in line with paragraph 68 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Such sites help ensure early delivery of housing and do not suffer from longer lead-in times given the limited infrastructure requirements. 4.3 The Local Plan must ensure that appropriate housing numbers within the area are planned for in order to lower the house price to income ratio and ensure that house purchase remains an option for residents.

Yes, strongly agree

5.1 Yes, strongly agree. 5.2 The current Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire Local Plans seek to provide a combined 33,500 dwellings to be built up to 2031. The area suffers a great disparity between housing provision and affordability. This is acknowledged within Figure 19 of the Issues and Options document itself and accompanying paragraph 4.6.3 confirms ‘Greater Cambridge is an expensive place to buy or rent a home. High prices are fueled by high demand, which itself is fueled by the strength of the local economy which attracts highly skilled workers’. The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Independent Economic Review (CPIER) Report confirms that growth in the employment sector has not been matched by proportionate house-buildings. The result has been large increases in house prices. 5.3 Greater Cambridge is located within the key economic corridors of the Oxford – Cambridge arc, the London – Stansted - Cambridge corridor and the Cambridge – Norwich tech corridor. The Oxford – Cambridge arc seeks to create a strategic vision corridor between the University cities. Its goal is to deliver 1 million dwellings in the arc by 2050, to be complemented by the infrastructure projects of the East-West Expressway and East-West Rail. At the eastern end of the arc, the driver is the City of Cambridge and its need for residential development to complement its skilled workforce. 5.4 The CPIER report provides a number of Key Recommendations to assist with growth in the area. Key Recommendation #5 of the CPIER Final Report September 2018 states: ‘There should be a review of housing requirements based on the potential for higher growth in employment than currently forecast by the EEFM. This review should take into account the continuing dialogue between ONS and the Centre for Business Research on employment numbers as well as the impact of the Cambridge - Milton Keynes - Oxford Arc. This should be used to set new targets which are likely to be higher than those already set – at the very least adding on accumulated backlog.’ 5.5 A higher target of dwellings would assist in meeting the goals of the arc. A further positive resulting from increased housing numbers would be the subsequent proportion of affordable housing. At present, Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire District Council seek affordable housing provision of 40% for schemes over 15 dwellings. Should the Plan seek 66,700 dwellings rather than the 40,900 dwellings from the standard method calculation, then this could provide over 10,000 much needed affordable houses. 5.6 Martin Grant Homes reserves the right to provide appropriate evidence to justify the objectively assessed need through the Local Plan process as considered necessary.

6.1 Creating a modal shift in transport use away from the car will require a significant number of factors working together. The Local Plan has the ability to bring together some of these facets and ensure that, when considered together, the result of developments will likely see less vehicle journeys and an increase use of public transport. 6.2 A key factor is the location of development. Cambridge has a large employment base and significant levels of services and facilities. It suffers from significant congestion at peak times due to daily trips undertaken. Development in close proximity to Cambridge, by their nature, will reduce the length of journeys to the City, as well as provide alternative transport modes such as public transport and existing cycle/footpath networks. 6.3 The Cambridge Green Belt will restrict the potential for strategic development in close proximity to the City. However, small and medium sized extensions to villages such as Coton will enable some smaller scale development to be delivered early in the plan process. As highlighted elsewhere in these representations, Coton has good cycle and pedestrian links into Cambridge, thus encouraging sustainable modes of transport. 6.4 As well as proximity, development must be located in a location where there are appropriate transport options. Future residents of Coton will benefit from the new Metro route between Cambridge and Cambourne, and the Comberton Greenway improvements. 6.5 Further comments as to the appropriateness of development along transport corridors is provided in question 48 below.

Nothing chosen

7.1 The Local Plan could seek to find appropriate land for a further 30,000 dwellings on top of those sites allocated within the existing South Cambridgeshire District Council and Cambridge City Council Local Plans 2018. Cambridge is enclosed by its Green Belt, which covers approximately 25% of the Greater Cambridge area. Completely discounting this area will put pressure on the non-Green Belt land, which by its very nature is further from Cambridge. 7.2 The villages that are fully or partly surrounded by Green Belt are those that are located in close proximity to Cambridge and, therefore, bring significant opportunities for development of an appropriate scale given their location. In order to provide truly sustainable development contributing towards net zero carbon development, Green Belt sites must be considered as potentially suitable options. One of the proposed ‘big themes of the Plan is climate change, and appropriate release of Green Belt can assist in achieving this aim. Not considering Green Belt release would be contradictory to this big theme. This will require a Green Belt Review to be undertaken to assess appropriate sites/parcels. 7.3 In relation to the Site, Environmental Dimension Partnership Ltd has undertaken a Green Belt Assessment at the site, and this is appended to these representations. It confirms the Site makes a ‘Low Contribution’ when assessed against Green Belt purposes. Its release, therefore, is considered appropriate given the need to provide residential development in sustainable locations.

Highly flexible

8.1 The Local Plan must be Highly Flexible in its consideration of development on the edge of villages. As highlighted in our response to question 47, villages are often located in highly sustainable locations, and provide significant opportunities at appropriate scales, to meet objectively assessed housing and employment needs. This brings significant benefits to the future vitality of villages, especially those such as Coton which have seen very limited growth in recent years. A failure to consider the villages as appropriate locations for growth could lead to a stagnation of these villages, and will locate development in less sustainable locations.

10.1 Martin Grant Homes support development across a range of scales to meet the housing need with Greater Cambridge. This includes development amongst the existing villages. The importance of villages is noted in Figure 23 of the Issues and Options Document, which shows 35% of development within the adopted Local Plan to 2031 will be in the rural area. The current trend suggests the villages will continue to have a key role to play in achieving anticipated future growth. 10.2 It is important that the Local Plan provides a mix of sites to allow further development within the lower hierarchical villages. Coton for example is a Group Village but has excellent sustainable links to Cambridge (as discussed in other questions and demonstrated in the Vision Document for the site). It received no specific housing allocation within the 2007/2010 Local Development Framework or 2018 Local Plan and given the tight designated village envelope, new residential development is restricted to windfall only comprising of small unit numbers. Recent development has included the exceptions site for affordable housing at Pendrick Close, which was approved on part of the same parcel of land for 19 units in 2006. As a result, the population of Coton is stagnating and is restricting the opportunity for its community to grow. 10.3 The Issues and Options document notes two specific advantages to development in villages. Given their relevance to the Site and development in Coton, they are assessed below. Firstly, it is clearly acknowledged that development within villages can sustain existing facilities and infrastructure in the village. With regard to Coton, this is relevant to those services and facilities listed in chapter 2 above. The village is also home to numerous local sports and community groups, which would also benefit from new members and increased social activity. 10.4 Secondly, it is acknowledged that development in villages will assist in providing a diversity of population in the village. Given existing development control policies within South Cambridgeshire, a scheme of 77 dwellings would provide 40% affordable housing with an appropriate mix of rented and intermediate uses. It would also provide a mix of dwelling sizes in line with development control policies. This will create a natural mix of population that would add to the social cohesion in Coton. Given Coton’s location, it will appeal to a range of occupiers, from first time buyers through to those approaching and in retirement. 10.5 The Issues and Options document highlights four specific challenges that development within villages provide. However, the Site is well placed to ensure that these do not restrict its development potential. Comments are made with regard each of these alleged challenges below. 10.6 Firstly, it is noted that village development can encourage commuting by car. Coton, however, has excellent connections to the City of Cambridge and is located just 2 miles from the employment area of West Cambridge. There is existing pedestrian and cycle access into Cambridge off the main road network via The Footpath. Madingley Road to the north of the village is served by regular bus services into Cambridge. The village will also benefit from the new Cambridgeshire Autonomous Metro route which is proposed to run across the north of the village with the potential for a stop, as well as the Comberton Greenway, which will enhance pedestrian and cycling routes into Cambridge. Future residents of Coton would not be restricted to use of the car to access employment, services and facilities. 10.7 The second challenge notes that small sites do not contribute significantly to infrastructure. However, the scale of villages will dictate the level of development that could and should be provided. In relation to Coton, it is not a village capable of supporting large scale strategic development. However, development of a small/medium sized site will allow some infrastructure upgrades, be them additional classroom facilities, or footpath enhancement. Without such schemes, this smaller scale infrastructure would not come forward and, therefore, would not benefit existing residents. 10.8 The document notes the challenge of assessing impacts upon village character. By listing this as a challenge, it suggests all village development would have a serious impact. However, the Site has a key advantage in this regard. Its development would square off the village and align with existing features that would form the new defensible boundaries to the west and south, those being a copse and Bin Brook. The site provides a clear opportunity to provide 77 dwellings at Coton with no identified impact upon the character of the village. These representations are accompanied by a Green Belt Assessment which highlights the ‘Low Contribution’ the Site makes to the Cambridge Green Belt. The relationship of the Site with its surroundings and the creation of defensible boundaries is shown on the drawing below: 10.9 Finally, the challenge of the Green Belt is noted. Coton is situated just 2 miles west of Cambridge and it is well located to provide much needed housing close to the city centre and employment areas. The accompanying Green Belt Assessment undertaken by Environmental Dimension Partnership Ltd demonstrates the site makes a ‘Low Contribution’ to the Green Belt when measured against the five Green Belt purposes in the NPPF. 10.10 Given the potential housing numbers that the Plan will be required to deliver, the Greater Cambridge Authority must ensure that all options are assessed to ensure development is located in sustainable locations. The Sustainability Assessment that will underpin the Local Plan must, therefore, consider the Green Belt villages, which by their very nature are better located to support growth in and around Cambridge than those villages outside the Green Belt. This matter is covered in the response to question 39. 10.11 The Issues and Options document provides two advantages and four challenges when considering development in villages. In the case of Coton, those two advantages significantly outweigh the challenges to the aim of providing sustainable development. Villages provide a clear opportunity to provide smaller sites to assist in early development and ensure sites come forward early in the process. Appropriate sites within the villages must, therefore, be identified and allocated within the Spatial Strategy.

11.1 A key issue in Cambridgeshire is traffic levels and congestion into and out of the City, particularly at peak times. The Local plan should seek to ensure development is located within sustainable locations in a bid to reduce the reliance on the car and promote usage of sustainable transport systems. As a result, development along transport corridors could bring some significant benefits. 11.2 Coton already has excellent foot and cycle links into Cambridge off the main road network. It is also directly adjacent the preferred route for the Cambridge to Cambourne Autonomous Metro. This is an off-road route for buses/metro vehicles to move between Cambourne, the new development at Bourn Airfield, the proposed Park and Ride site at Hardwick, and Cambridge. The proximity of the route to Coton suggests it is an ideal location for an additional stop. This would create a similar scenario to the existing Cambridgeshire Guided Busway, which has stops at numerous villages along its route. 11.3 Coton will also benefit from the enhancement of the Comberton Greenway. This will provide an upgrading off road vehicle and pedestrian route into west Cambridge and will include an upgrading crossing over the M11. This will further benefit Coton residents and promote sustainable methods of travel. 11.4 Both the Greenway and Metro route are shown on the plan below, which itself is annotated from Figure 22 within the Issues and Options Document. 11.5 Coton already benefits from good cycle and pedestrian links into Cambridge. It will also benefit from two committed infrastructure projects which will further increase its sustainability credentials. It is, therefore, well placed for its existing and future residents to benefit from the transport corridor in its vicinity.

Response to Question 2 2.1 Our client, Martin Grant Homes Ltd, are promoting ‘Land at Ambrose Way, Impington’ for residential development and allocation in the emerging Greater Cambridge Local Plan. As demonstrated by the submitted Framework Plan it is currently estimated that the Ambrose Way site has a capacity of up to 190 dwellings. 2.2 The site was promoted by Martin Grant Homes Ltd through the 2019 ‘Call for Sites’ exercise. Since this initial promotion our client has undertaken significant technical work to address site constraints and further development the indicative proposals. The additional technical work is summarised in an updated Site Promotion Document which is submitted alongside these representations. The following technical reports are also provided at this time to demonstrate the sustainability and suitability of the site for release from the Green Belt and subsequent allocation for residential development. - Overview Transport Strategy - prepared by iTransport - Drainage Position Statement - prepared by PFA - Green Belt Appraisal - prepared by EDP - Landscape and Visual Appraisal - prepared by EDP - Archaeology and Heritage Assessment - prepared by EDP - Ecology Briefing Paper – prepared by EDP 2.3 The above listed reports and the Framework Plan provide robust site-specific evidence to inform the Councils’ review of the Ambrose Way site when the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment is completed. 2.4 The suitability and sustainability of the Ambrose Way site is also set out in these representations; along with details of how the site can be released from the Green Belt and then allocated for development to complement the sustainable spatial distribution of growth in the GCLP area.

No uploaded files for public display

Agree

3.1 Paragraph 22 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) requires Local Plans and strategic policies to plan for a minimum period of 15 years from the date of adoption of the Local Plan. 3.2 Figure 5 of the Issues and Options document outlines the Councils ambition to adopt the new Greater Cambridge Local Plan (GCLP) in Summer 2023. Working off this estimate the Plan would need to cover up to 2038 as a minimum. Given the that the Plan is proposed to run to 2040 there is some flexibility to allow for any delays in the plan preparation process. 3.3 Notwithstanding the above, it is recommended that the Council retains a flexible stance on the potential Plan period until later stages of the plan preparation process sufficient to allow for any future delays. This recommendation is based on the previous experience of South Cambridgeshire District Council, whereby it took six years for the Local Plan to move through the process from the Issues and Options stage through to formal Adoption. In addition to this, the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Strategic Spatial Framework (CPSSF) sets out a longer-term growth strategy to 2050, and so the Councils may also want to consider extending the Greater Cambridge Local Plan (GCLP) period to correspond with this. 3.4 In our assessment the need to maintain a flexible approach in these early stages of the plan preparation is also influenced by other external factors, such as, the announcement and delivery of major infrastructure projects in the region. These projects and estimated delivery timetables are set out below: - The A14 road improvements between Huntingdon and Cambridge. Expected completion date December 2020. - A new railway station close to Addenbrookes Hospital to the south of the city centre. Expected completion date 2025. - The duelling of the A428 between Black Cat Roundabout and Caxton Gibbet. Expected completion date 2026. - Cambridge Autonomous Metro route. Expected delivery of the core infrastructure by 2029. It is estimated that the delivery of the Metro route could create 100,000 new jobs and the opportunity to deliver 60,000 new homes in Cambridge and the wider region. - The delivery of East-West rail, which includes a Phase 3 link running between Bedford and Cambridge. Expected completion date 2030. As with the Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet A428 road improvements, the delivery of East-West forms key elements of Oxford-Cambridge Arc which will unlock the 1 million new homes by 2050. 3.5 These major infrastructure improvements will influence the level and spatial distribution of growth in Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire. Projects of this scale and cost are often subject to delay or changing delivery timescales, on this basis, it is essential that the Councils adopt a flexible approach to determining the time period for the new GCLP. Moving forward the Councils will need to ensure that the Plan is capable of responding to the changing infrastructure needs of the area and how this could potentially impact upon the level growth required and the need to deliver sustainable development which reduces the need to travel by private car.