Greater Cambridge Local Plan Issues & Options 2020

1) Fen Ditton has experienced a degree of organic growth in jobs and housing within the main area of settlement over recent decades. We believe this is sustainable in contrast to a major development on the Green Belt. 2) FDPC has nevertheless responded positively, with some reservations, to previous proposals to develop brownfield and some Green Belt land north of the Newmarket Road in the context of the Cambridge East development and the earlier expansion of housing beyond the City cemetery. 3) FDPC believes the Green Belt has delivered significant benefits in accordance with its original aims. We object to policies that undermine its function and continuation. We suggest that the recent trends for new buildings in the City to be taller may be a sustainable consequence to the prevention of urban sprawl on the Green Belt.

1) FDPC is extremely concerned by traffic passing through the village. High Ditch Road is an ancient byway and the Horningsea Road/Ditton Lane junction is busy and dangerous. Outside peak commuter hours, traffic is more likely to speed through the village endangering pedestrians, especially the numerous families passing to and from our school. 2) We wish to see the current weight limit through the village enforced or possibly reduced. The road signing off the A14 and at Ditton Lane –Newmarket Rd does not seem to be fully effective in deterring HGVs from travelling through Fen Ditton. 3) We are concerned that planned development north and east of Cambridge and the planned use of Cambridge railway sidings should become fully integrated within the A14 development programme and avoid a piecemeal approach to transport planning. Nevertheless we wish to avoid an additional link road bypassing Fen Ditton via alterations to the existing interchange that could be wasted money or exacerbate our traffic problems.

The present multi-pronged approach is satisfactory. - Please develop 2 or 3 locations such as council offices and public libraries where where the proposals and supporting doculments can be examined as hard copy, - Provide some direct feedback on points raised in responses.

2. Please submit any sites for employment and housing you wish to suggest for allocation in the Local Plan. Provide as much information and supporting evidence as possible. -We oppose new sites on the Green Belt. - We suggest reappraisal of the mix of employment and housing in the NECAAP area favours housing since your reports state 38% of workforce commute into GCP area. Employees resident in Cambridge are stated to have a high mode share of sustainable travel. Overemphasis on additional employment will create additional car based commuting unless a heroic change in commuting mode takes place for people in new and future empoyment. Conversely, the availability and type of housing provided will influence the number of outbound commuters. - The above point highlights the need for clarity as to how the Local Plan driver to provide around 41,000 homes relates to the commitment to achieve 100% growth in GVA over 25 years with, presumably, an implicit, related consquence about growth in numbers of jobs and GVA per capita and some assumpton about inward and outward commuting.

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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. - We support the Green Belt designations in place. - We strongly oppose reallocating land now in the Green Belt for future development; especially in Fen Ditton. This is a Council policy and the FDPC has consistently objected to all such proposals. - We support the concept of Green Corridors and repeat our previous suggestion that the River Cam corridor is further developed by the addition of the fields and woods following the direction of the abandoned railway line leading out to the land forming part of the Wicken Fen Vision and providing green separeation between Fen Ditton village and Cambridge City and the Airport/Marleigh/Wing development. - We suggest that exising land use in the Green Belt and in Green Corridors fulfils many green space and wildlife functions. Maintaining these is just as important as designating new sites unless the new designations strengthen the ability to avoid urbanisation and severance. - We suggest the role of the, nationally high, proportion of private green spaces is also taken into account in the analysis of need.

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We suggest that the data from the 2021 Census will be important since so much has changed since 2011; a base date which is often quoted in your documents. You should examine the choice of 2040 against the likely availability of census data.

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- We suggest that, since your reports state that 22% of resident ‘workers’ work outside the GC area and 38% come into the GC area to work, there is a complex relationship between developing employment and housing within the GC area and likely changes to commuting patterns. - We suggest that these figures are updated and the LDP contains a clear statement as to what proportions of inward and outward commuting have been prediucted.

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- We suggest an additional theme about identifying and correcting issues and problems that are ocurring in the GC area at present. This is not covered by the Great Places theme. - We suggest that some of these may be a consequnce of previous economic growth and are therefore highly relevant. - The high cost of housing in Cambridge is a specific issue although recent trends suggest a degree of rebalancing may be taking place. However, some disucssion could be added as to whether high costs have led to more building and densification or possibly higher GVA per person and productity.

7. How do you think we should prioritise these big themes? - If you intend the priority to inform resolution of conflicts between them, the existing order is reasonable. However the bigger issue arises from conflicts between the scale of growth in jobs and housing and GVA and the big themes.

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