Greater Cambridge Local Plan Issues & Options 2020

4.43 The UK industrial Strategy advocates focusing on our strengths, “fostering clusters and connectivity across cities, towns and surrounding areas”. Sites which support these clusters are necessary and could be urban, edge of town or rural. 4.44 The new Local Plan should support a range of businesses located at South Cambridgeshire villages, in both small premises and business parks or industrial estates. These complement the employers based in or on the edge of Cambridge, or the large business parks in South Cambridgeshire. 4.45 The new Local Plan should allow for new business space, or flexible co-working space, in neighbourhoods or villages to help reduce the need to travel and support the net zero carbon aspirations. 4.46 Locations with high levels of public transport access should be identified for business uses. This would include sites within walking distance of train stations, travel hubs and along transport corridors. “by ensuring good quality public transport is in place before development, the number of those new residents who will use the transport is maximised. This is also likely to be the best way to stretch some of the high-value businesses based within and around Cambridge out into wider Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. These companies will not want to be distant from the city, but these clusters could ‘grow’ out along the transportation links, providing connection to other market towns.” CPIER p41 4.47 To enable growth of non-knowledge intensive companies, employment locations in settlements of all sizes and classification should be allocated or be permissible, with larger concentrations of Page 21 floorspace in areas with better public transport and access to active modes of travel. CPIER supports this position noting that deeper networks on smaller clusters on the periphery of Cambridge could help spread the ‘Cambridge effect’. 4.48 Furthermore, all new employment space should be located and built to maximise the health and wellbeing of employees and visitors. Healthy buildings in locations that reduce commute times and improve the sleep and wellbeing of its occupants contribute significantly to their productivity. Improving productivity is a primary route through which the Greater Cambridgeshire economic expansion objectives of doubling GVA and inclusive growth will be achieved. “If workers can be more productive, they can bring home more take home pay, which will flow into the local economy. And they will be able to enjoy a higher standard of life. It is this, before anything else, which needs to be looked at to create an inclusive economic future.” CPIER p38 4.49 The new Local Plan should therefore seek to allocate new employment land to provide flexible workspace, local employment closer to home, provide diversity of rural jobs and alleviate pressure to commute into the current employment hotspots. 4.50 A new settlement at Station Fields has the ability to provide new local employment opportunities, but not only provide access to local jobs, but also to jobs within the city of Cambridge, Science Parks and Biomedical clusters. 4.51 Station Fields is also well-located to expand the cluster of businesses that prefer to co-locate with the IT, AI, biotech business at Cambridge Science Park and biomedical campus both of which would be easily accessible by train. It could play a dual role also as an untried and therefore relatively cheap location for businesses who don’t need to be in the established cluster zone.

Very flexible

4.53 All uses of an appropriate scale could be included in every settlement. Mixed use site allocations (with restriction to prevent nuisance), are particularly appropriate in rural settlements to enable local commercial and retail businesses to grow organically. 4.54 it is important that residents of new developments have access to local services and facilities to meet their day-to-day needs.

4.56 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 Para. 59). 4.57 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. 4.58 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 4.59 The new Local Plan should recognise the role that larger scale development can have in providing greater scope to provide a greater range of housing types.

Yes, strongly agree

4.60 The standard method for assessing local housing need provides a minimum starting point. As Paragraph 110 of the Planning Practice Guidance states there will be circumstances where it is appropriate to consider whether actual housing need is higher than the standard method indicates. Page 23 4.61 Greater Cambridge is an area with strong economic growth, with aspirations to maintain this growth. Axis support the Cambridge and Peterborough Independent Economic Review (CPIER) (September 2018) case for higher levels of housing growth within Greater Cambridge required to achieve the potential for employment growth over the next 20 years. As is widely recognised, the economy of Cambridge is too important locally, regionally and nationally for the Councils’ to plan for the minimum number of homes required by the standard method. 4.62 In addition, there is a well-evidenced affordability problem in Greater Cambridge and a greater supply of homes will be part of the solution to tackle this issue. The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Industrial Strategy 2019 makes this clear: “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.” [pg.13] 4.63 The increased demand for housing arising from the economic success of Cambridge also makes the area increasingly unaffordable. In addition, to being a concern to residents, affordability will impact upon the businesses looking to locate in the area. There is a danger that if there is an insufficient supply of housing the economic growth plans will not be realised. The role of housing in attracting and retaining skilled employees is widely recognised and should be adequately addressed in the new Local Plan.

4.64 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, older people, students, renters and self-builders. 4.65 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. Flexibility will be key to a successful Local Plan; through market housing, low-cost and affordable housing.

4.66 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.

4.67 The new Local Plan needs to be underpinned by an up-to-date robust evidence base on all types of local infrastructure (e.g. transport, schools, health and community facilities, open space) needs. The Councils’ will need to work closely with key stakeholders to achieve this. The Councils’ should prioritise infrastructure which promotes and supports growth in the right locations.

4.68 The NPPF states that “Significant development should 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. This can help to reduce congestion and emissions and improve air quality and public health.” 4.69 The NPPF also advocates the advantages of planning new settlements by: “Considering opportunities provided by existing or planned transport improvements (such as public transport stops) when determining where future development should take place”, “Assessing how potential development sites could provide new opportunities for transport infrastructure improvements” and “By locating new homes and jobs which have easy access to reliable sustainable transport modes.” 4.70 The Local Plan needs to ensure developments create an environment where accessibility to day to day services and other facilities is easy and a choice of transport modes is available. This will enable the local community to choose the more socially inclusive and sustainable methods of travel. New developments need to be designed so that this can happen from first occupation when habits start to form. 4.71 Station Fields is an ideal example of an area that has opportunities to accommodate additional growth and encourage a shift away from car use and towards more sustainable modes of transport.

4.72 New infrastructure should be prioritised in accordance with the future growth plans of Greater Cambridge. 4.73 It is considered that a bypass at Foxton level crossing should be a priority infrastructure project in order to promote future growth along the A10 corridor, to improve air quality, reduce congestion and improve safety of road and pedestrian users. 4.74 Travel hubs located at existing transport nodes should also be made a priority for new infrastructure projects. This promotes and encourages the use of public transport, reducing congestion and air quality issues on Cambridge City.

5.4 As set out in paragraph 137 of the NPPF, the Councils’ will need to demonstrate that it has fully examined all other reasonable options for meeting its identified need for development before amending Green Belt boundaries. This will be key in developing a sound Local Plan. 5.5 Opportunities to provide new homes and jobs on land outside of the Green Belt, but still within close proximity to Cambridge and along key public transport corridors should be fully assessed by the Councils. 5.6 A new settlement at Station Fields to the south west of Cambridge will also balance out the distribution of already planned growth. The current Local Plan trajectory places significant reliance on growth sites continuing their housing supply beyond 2031. However, these sites are skewed to the north of the district. Therefore, opportunities for new development to the west and south of Cambridge, especially those outside of the Green Belt, should be fully explored in order to spread the distribution of growth and promote equality and inclusivity throughout the Greater Cambridge area.