Greater Cambridge Local Plan Issues & Options 2020

I thought the Big Debate was an excellent idea. A very enjoyable and informative evening. I saw a similar event in Northampton recently where the audience could vote electronically using an app on their mobile phones..... might be worth considering something like that in future?

Strongly agree

It is good that you have identified climate change and biodiversity as key themes at a time when we have global climate and biodiversity emergencies.

Climate Change, Biodiversity and Green Spaces, Wellbeing and Social Inclusion, Great Places

The local plan should prioritise energy conservation in housing, encourage use of and production of renewable energy and promotion of sustainable transport, including active travel. IT sould also promote tree planting and woodland creation to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

It is good that tree planting is recognised but we believe that the Climate Emergency requires much more than this. We would like to see the constituent councils each adopt an emergency tree plan, which should prioritise looking after the trees we already have and providing funding and land for planting new trees and creating new woodland. Many councils have set targets for numbers of new trees to be planted: for example Peterborough City Council is planting 230,000 trees as part of its Forest for Peterborough scheme, one for every person in the council area. Norfolk County Council is proposing to plant 1 million trees, which again equates to one tree per person. The Woodland Trust has set out a 15 point guide to what could be contained in an emergency tree plan.

Yes, strongly agree

It is worth bearing in mind and referencing in the plan, the ways in which trees can help with climate change adaptation. Trees can provide shade and evaporative cooling which can help to reduce urban temperatures significantly on hot summer days. Trees can also help alleviate surface water flooding which can happen as a result of the increased frequency of heavy rainfall caused by climate change.

It is important that your plan gives protection to ancient woodland and ancient/veteran trees which is at least as strong as that provided in national policy. NPPF para 175c says that these habitats are so valuable that any loss of or damage to them should be wholly exceptional. We would also like to see other trees and woods in Cambridge and South Cambs given a strong degree of protection in the local plan, as retaining existing trees is particularly important in the light of the climate and biodiversity emergencies.

We would like to see the local plan have a target for woodland creation and/or tree planting. This could be a number of trees to be planted (as mentioned previously) or better still would be a target to expand the tree canopy in the area covered by the two councils. I understand that Cambridge has measured its tree canopy and has a project just launched to protect and enhance it: it would be good to see this referenced in the plan. The Council could also consider adoption of a greenspace or woodland standard, such as the Access to Natural Greenspace Standard promoted by Natural England or the Access to Woodland Standard produced by the Woodalnd Trust: these standards are designed to be complementary to each other. Our Access to Woodland Standard aspires that everyone should have a small wood of at least two hectares within 500 metres of their home and a larger wood of at least 20ha within 4km of their home. Space for People is our report which sets out the Woodland Access Standard and shows how each council performs against it.

Yes, strongly agree

As mentioned previously, we agree that tree planting and woodland creation is key to tackling both the climate and biodiversity emergencies. It is also worth bearing in mind that natural regeneration can have an important role to play in certain circumstances.....for example in creating woodland on land adjacent to existing woods and in creating an understorey under existing trees. As also previously mentioned, we would like to see the Local Plan include targets for tree planting, expanding tree canopy cover or improving access to woodland.

It would be useful to also mention the important role which trees can play in improving urban air quality. Trees can absorb air pollution into the surface of their leaves but recent research at Birmingham University Forestry Institute (by Professor Rob Mackenzie et al) has shown that a far bigger effect is achieved by trees acting as a barrier between sources of air pollution and places where people live.