Greater Cambridge Local Plan Issues & Options 2020

Natural Cambridgeshire’s Developing with Nature Toolkit seeks to achieve a net gain in biodiversity through new development. It is agreed that development, and in particular large-scale development, can deliver significant biodiversity enhancements. It is suggested that in deciding which sites to allocate for development the emerging GCLP assesses not only whether the potential impacts on protected species and habitats can be mitigated but also whether development can deliver biodiversity enhancements. An Ecological Appraisal has been undertaken for the land at Fen Drayton Road in Swavesey as part of the previous application on the site. The promoted development would include planting, trees and habitats to support species, invertebrates and reptiles, a wildlife pond and a swale, and bird and bat boxes. It should be noted that there is sufficient space within the site to include those ecological enhancement measures on site in conjunction with development.

It is considered that meeting housing and affordable housing needs is part of the well-being and social inclusion theme because housing falls within the social objective of sustainable development (as set out in Paragraph 8 of the NPPF). There are substantial affordability issues in Greater Cambridge associated with the high cost of buying and renting housing, and those that cannot afford to live in Cambridge or South Cambridgeshire close to employment opportunities having to endure longer commuting. Paragraph 8 and Chapter 8 of the NPPF identifies the other factors that relate to the wellbeing and social inclusion theme, which are about creating well-designed and safe developments, providing access to services and facilities, and providing open space. It is suggested that to achieve ‘good growth’ the emerging GCLP will need to allocate suitable sites that deliver housing and affordable housing, are accessible to services and facilities, include open space and recreation facilities. The promoted development at land at Fen Drayton Road in Swavesey would include housing, affordable housing, which can be offered to local residents first (thus benefiting the local community), open space including children’s play area provision and other green infrastructure, and additional land for sport and recreation. The promoted development would support the existing services and facilities within Swavesey. The proposed flood defence proposals agreed with the Environment Agency will benefit the site and offer flood protection to 120 existing homes, which are within an existing flood zone and thereby reduce the risk of flooding to adjacent residential areas. The flood defence system will also reduce the risk of flooding to Swavesey from Covell’s Drain in to the future. The development land and land to the east of it will be defended against flooding from Covell’s Drain and would be reclassified as an “Area benefiting from defence” in accordance with the EA flood maps. It is considered that the promoted development contributes towards ‘good growth’ of Greater Cambridge. All rainfall falling within the development site will be drained westwards away from Swavesey, reducing the risk of flooding from the drainage network. This is should be regarded as significant public benefit.

Section 4.3.3 of the Issues & Options consultation document identifies the factors that are relevant to the creation of safe and inclusive communities. As set out in the response to Question 16, there are substantial affordability issues in Greater Cambridge associated with the high cost of buying and renting housing, and those that cannot afford to live in Cambridge or South Cambridgeshire close to employment opportunities having to endure longer commuting. It is considered that the emerging GCLP should include a development strategy that seeks to meet housing and affordable housing needs and locate housing closer to employment opportunities to reduce in-commuting. The promoted site is located within a reasonable walking and cycling distance of key local facilities, including a convenience store, post office, doctor’s surgery and two local schools (primary and secondary). Within the immediate vicinity of the site, Fen Drayton Road forms part of the Regional Cycle Route 24. In addition, National Cycle Route 51 is located approximately 1.5km north-east of the site and runs alongside the Guided Busway. The route is of a high quality and provides a good link between Swavesey and the nearby destinations of Cambridge and St Ives. Given the overall level of connectivity of the application site via modes such as walking, cycling and public transport, it is considered that use of sustainable travel will be achievable and realistic.

Paragraph 91 of the NPPF seeks to deliver healthy, inclusive and safe places, and identifies a number of approaches to support healthy lifestyles. It promotes social interaction through mixed-use developments, strong neighbourhood centres, street layouts that include pedestrian and cycle connections, and active street frontages for example. It enables and supports healthy lifestyles, by providing green infrastructure, sports facilities, local shops, access to healthier food, allotments, and layouts that encourage walking and cycling for example. NHS England Healthy Towns Initiatives identified ten principles to deliver healthy places, which relate to the provision of health services, meeting local and community health needs, and development design matters. In terms of design matters it is suggested that compact neighbourhoods, active travel, healthy eating opportunities, play and leisure facilities would contribute towards the delivery of healthy places. It is considered that the promoted development at land at Fen Drayton Road in Swavesey would be consistent with guidance and initiatives to support healthy lifestyles. The promoted development would include open space and land for sport and recreation. It is accessible to the services and facilities within Swavesey by walking and cycling, including to the Cambridge Guided Busway stop. The previous application on the site brought forward the offer additional land for sports pitches – the proposals included the offer of 2.5ha of land south of the Village College sports pitches. This would help reinforce and support healthy lifestyles and benefit the wider community. In the event that this is considered to be beneficial, we are happy to discuss this opportunity further. It is noted that the Greater Cambridge Partnership has identified a potential rural travel hub at the Cambridge Guided Busway stop, which includes improvements to the cycle facilities in this location. There is a good range of services and facilities provided in Swavesey including a variety of convenience stores, doctor’s surgery and pharmacy, which are all related to supporting healthy lifestyles.

The emerging GCLP will need to be consistent with national guidance on meeting housing needs. Paragraph 59 of the NPPF confirms the Government’s objective to significantly boost the supply of housing, and to achieve this by ensuring that a sufficient amount and variety of land for housing is identified. Paragraph 60 expects the standard method to be used to determine the minimum number of houses needed. Paragraph 61 expects the size, type and tenure of housing needs of the community to be assessed and reflected in planning policies, including for example those with an affordable housing need, students, renters and self-builders. Section Id.2a of the Planning Practice Guidance explains how housing and economic needs assessments should be undertaken, including how to calculate local housing needs using the standard method. Paragraph 010 of Id.2a makes it clear that the standard method is the minimum starting point for determining local housing needs, and acknowledges that there may be circumstances where actual housing need is higher than the standard method indicates. As set out in Paragraph 010 the circumstances where increases to housing need that exceed past trends are as follows: there is a growth strategy in place to promote and facilitate additional growth; strategic infrastructure improvements are likely to lead to an increase in the number of homes needed locally; and, an authority has agreed to accommodate unmet housing needs from a neighbouring area. The first two circumstances are relevant to Greater Cambridge. Paragraph 024 of Id.2a explains how the need for affordable housing is calculated, and it is suggested that the overall housing target should be increased where it could help deliver the required number of affordable homes. There is an urgent need to improve the affordability of housing and to boost affordable housing delivery in Greater Cambridge. Therefore, the emerging GCLP should use the standard method to calculate the minimum local housing need, and then make appropriate adjustments taking into account the growth strategies and strategic infrastructure improvements identified for Greater Cambridge, and a further adjustment to ensure affordable housing needs are met.

Yes, somewhat agree

Yes. As set out in the response to Question 31, upward adjustments to the minimum figure derived from the standard method are required to take into account growth strategies, strategic infrastructure improvements and housing affordability in Greater Cambridgeshire. The National Infrastructure Commission, the Cambridge and Peterborough Combined Authority and the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership acknowledge and support the economic growth potential of the Greater Cambridge area, and consider that there is a need to substantially increase housing delivery in order to support that economic growth and address the significant housing affordability issues that exist.

Paragraph 61 of NPPF expects the size, type and tenure of housing needs of the community to be assessed and reflected in planning policies, including for example those with an affordable housing need, students, renters and self-builders. It is noted that the existing and planned new settlements in South Cambridgeshire and some of the strategic sites are not delivering policy compliant levels of affordable housing. As such, it is considered that emerging GCLP should seek to allocate sites which are capable of delivering policy compliant levels of affordable housing. The promoted development of the land at Fen Drayton Road, Swavesey would deliver a policy compliant mix of housing and tenures.

Paragraph 103 of the NPPF seeks to ensure that development is located where the need to travel will be minimised and the use of sustainable transport modes can be maximised. Therefore, the site selection process for potential allocations in emerging CGLP will be an important part of increasing travel by sustainable modes of transport. The site is located within a reasonable walking and cycling distance to some key local facilities and services including a convenience store, post office, doctor’s surgery and two local schools. Within the immediate vicinity of the site, Fen Drayton Road forms part of Regional Cycle Route 24. In addition, National Cycle Route 51 is located approximately 1.5km northeast of the site and runs alongside the Guided Busway. The route is of high quality, and provides a good link between Swavesey and the nearby destinations of Cambridge and St Ives. Given the level of connectivity of the application site via modes such as walking and public transport, it is considered that use of sustainable travel will be achievable and realistic. The promoted site at land at Fen Drayton Road in Swavesey is accessible by walking, cycling and public transport to the services and facilities within the village. The Cambridge Guided Busway is to the north of Swavesey, and there is a shared use path between the village and the busway stop. Greater Cambridge Partnership has proposed a rural travel hub at the Cambridge Guided Busway stop, which includes improvements to cycle parking facilities in this location. The site is well-related to the busway and the proposed greenway. Therefore, the promoted site is sustainable in transport terms, and for this reason it should be allocated in the emerging GCLP.

Nothing chosen

It is noted that the existing defined settlement boundaries for most villages in South Cambridgeshire have remained largely unchanged since the Local Plan 2004; although sites were allocated within and on the edge of some villages in the Site Specific Allocations DPD in 2010 and for the adopted South Cambridgeshire Local Plan 2018. It is very likely that most of the development opportunities within existing village boundaries would have been taken up by now. It is also likely that heritage assets within some villages, such as conservation areas and listed buildings, will constrain development opportunities. It is not clear whether the Councils have undertaken an assessment of the capacity of villages to accommodate additional development; it is likely that such an assessment would demonstrate that the capacity is limited. On the basis of the above, it is considered that the current site size threshold limits in the adopted South Cambridgeshire Local Plan 2018 are largely irrelevant and ineffective e.g. there are few outstanding development opportunities for up to 30 dwellings within existing framework boundaries in Minor Rural Centres, Swavesey is an example where there are few opportunities within the settlement boundary. In any event, there are numerous examples between 2014 and 2019 when planning applications were approved and appeals were allowed on sites within and on the edge of settlements, including at Swavesey, that were contrary to the existing site size threshold limits. Therefore, it is considered that the emerging GCLP should seek to allocate suitable sites on the edge of existing sustainable villages, in conjunction with a general policy that supports development within existing framework boundaries but without specifying any size limits. This suggested approach would ensure that sufficient land is allocated for development at villages to support services and facilities and ensure that sufficient physical and community infrastructure can be planned, and would provide some flexibility about development within village boundaries so that the form and scale of development reflects site specific characteristics.

No choices made

Response to Question 42 It is considered that in reality the development strategy for emerging GCLP will be based on a combination of spatial distribution options, including development at the more sustainable villages. The scale of development that occurs at individual villages will depend on the level of services and facilities. Swavesey is an example of a settlement that could accommodate additional development, as explained in the call for sites submission The promoted site forms a logical extension to the existing settlement boundary of Swavesey, as it immediately adjoins that boundary and is located next to existing housing areas to the south and east of the site. The site is located within a relatively easy walking distance of many of the key services and facilities in the village, including the primary school and Village College, recreation ground and shops and services in the High Street. It is clear that the site is highly sustainable with excellent access to education, facilities and services within the village. It also enjoys excellent wider access to jobs, services and facilities within the village itself through non-car modes. Swavesey is identified under the current Local Plan as a ‘Minor Rural Centre’ acknowledging that the village performs a key role in terms of providing services and facilities for a small rural hinterland, has access to the Guided Busway, and that the village has a greater level of services, facilities and employment than most other villages in the District, and should support further growth.