Greater Cambridge Local Plan Issues & Options 2020

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). 7.2 The Local Plan should also allow for a range of tenure types to come forward. In accordance with the NPPF, this includes affordable rent, starter homes, discounted market housing and other options such as build to rent/private rented sector. The Local Plan should be flexible in relation to the mix of housing tenures, to ensure that the Plan can respond to changing needs throughout the Plan period.

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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. 7.4 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

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. 7.6 Flexibility will be key to a successful Local Plan; through market housing, low-cost and affordable housing. 7.7 Land to the west of Cambridge Road, Melbourn has the potential to deliver up to 300 homes across both phases and would comprise both market and affordable housing of a range of size, type and tenures, increasing the supply of low cost housing to meet the needs of not only Melbourn but the wider district. The proposals could also deliver an element of build to rent, helping to increase accessibility to housing for different sections of the community. 1 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Industrial Strategy 2019, p13

7.8 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. Furthermore, high standards of design should not be restricted to the architectural quality of buildings, high quality places and spaces should be encouraged as a baseline in new developments. 7.9 The promoters of Land to the west of Cambridge Road, Melbourn, Countryside Properties, are an established housebuilder and have the site under contract to deliver homes should the site be allocated. Countryside Properties has a reputation for delivering high quality schemes and houses and has been the recipient of numerous design awards. The Council’s ambition for the Local Plan to ensure that high quality developments and homes are delivered aligns with Countryside’s values as a business and the development of the site would contribute to the delivery of high quality housing across the area.

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. 8.2 Land to the west of Cambridge Road, Melbourn is ideally located to encourage future residents to use sustainable modes of travel and ensure that trips made by private vehicles are minimised. The Melbourn High Street, with its range of services and facilities, is located approximately 900m to the south west of the Site whilst Meldreth Station is located approximately 1km to the west of the Site. The Melbourn Science Park, one of the villages largest employment sites is also located adjacent to 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. A pedestrian link is proposed in the west of the site along ‘the Drift’ which links to Moat Lane and runs through the recently consented Science Park expansion, providing enhanced connectivity for new residents to access the Science Park and the High Street. There are existing bus stops along the site’s frontage with Cambridge Road, with services available to Cambridge and Royston. Future development proposals could contribute to the upgrading of these stops and their accessibility.

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9.1 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. 9.2 Villages have a role to play in providing for some of the Local Plan development requirements, so that new residents can benefit from existing services and facilities, but also so those new residents can support those services and facilities to better ensure their retention and enhancement to the benefit of all.

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9.3 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. Larger developments, above the thresholds set out in the current Local Plan, also have the potential to deliver a wider range of benefits, at a more meaningful scale, given their size. Smaller developments can place additional burdens on existing services and infrastructure whilst larger developments may be able to deliver improvements to existing communities through the delivery of new, or upgrading of existing infrastructure. 9.4 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, such as within the District, such as Melbourn, which are well connected in terms of being located on key transport corridors with access to rail, bus and cycleway links, 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. 9.5 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.

Densification of existing urban areas, Edge of Cambridge: Outside Green Belt, Edge of Cambridge: Green Belt, Dispersal: New Settlements, Dispersal: Villages, Public Transport Corridors

NOT RESPONDED TO LIST ABOVE. 9.6 No single solution will deliver a sound Local Plan; rather, a combination of approaches to the distribution of spatial growth will be necessary in order to establish the appropriate locations of new housing and employment development in the district. A hybrid approach will be required but should be underpinned by a focus on accessibility to public transport, employment and other daily needs. 9.7 It is considered that an element of village dispersal should form part of a hybrid spatial strategy. Whilst a village dispersal approach should consider villages from across the settlement hierarchy, it should seek to allocate sites for development at locations in villages which are or can be made sustainable. To contribute to this strategy, Melbourn, a Minor Rural Centre and the ninth most sustainable village in the District, is considered to be a sustainable location for future development given the range of services and facilities it contains and its accessibility to public transport, principally Meldreth Station.

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. 9.9 Land to the west of Cambridge Road, Melbourn has been found by SCDC to be a sustainable location for development and it is considered that it is a prime opportunity to grow the village of Melbourn. The development proposals could deliver numerous tangible social, economic and environmental benefits to Melbourn and the local area, including: ● Delivery of affordable housing, including an element of build to rent. This would allow people to up scale and downsize subject to their needs over time whilst also meeting affordable housing need within the District; ● Locating residential development adjacent to one of the village’s largest employment sites, Melbourn Science Park. Melbourn Science Park has recently been granted permission for a substantial extension and provides a unique employment source which is of great importance to Melbourn and the surrounding area. The development would provide people with the opportunity of living and working in the same village and encourage sustainable modes of transport; ● The delivery of a walking route which is easily accessible to current and future residents and employees of the village. It will create a new recreation asset for the village and provide a walking opportunity for those that may have otherwise considered the need to travel to SSSIs for that activity, therefore protecting nearby SSSI’s from increased recreational pressure; ● The delivery of a pedestrian route from the West of the site along ‘the Drift’ which links to Moat Lane. This will provide new residents with enhanced pedestrian connectivity to the adjacent Science Park and the Melbourn High Street, encouraging the use of sustainable modes of transport; and ● Supporting Melbourn’s economy, including local shops and services. The Economic Benefits Statement submitted with the outline application, found that there would also be a significant and positive impact upon Melbourn's economy with residents of the new development supporting existing local shops and services within the village. This benefit is recognised in the Delegation Report at page 30. As a result of the proposed development, approximately £248,000 per annum is expected to be spent at local shops and services, potentially supporting an additional three jobs.

9.10 Siting development along transport corridors is consistent with paragraph 103 of the NPPF which encourages development to be focused on locations which are or can be made sustainable, through limiting the need to travel and offering a genuine choice of transport modes. Siting development along transport corridors will also contribute to minimising the use of the private vehicle, promoting low-carbon modes of transport and leading to air quality improvements. Development located along transport corridors also improves wellbeing and inclusivity as new residents will have a range of transport options available in order to access their daily needs. 9.11 Land to the west of Cambridge Road, Melbourn presents an opportunity to locate development along transport corridors as it is located within close proximity to Meldreth Station which provides regular services to Cambridge and London. Meldreth station is accessible from the site by walking and cycling and the proposals could contribute to providing improvements at the station, for example increased cycle parking. The site is also located on the Cambridge to Royston cycle route, encouraging new residents to travel to key services and facilities in these locations by active modes of travel.