Greater Cambridge Local Plan Issues & Options 2020

5.24 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 5.25 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.

5.26 This can principally be achieved through the reduced use of polluting vehicles by: ● Locating development where there is good access to active travel, coupled with access to affordable, frequent, reliable and high-quality public transport options; ● Better cycle and pedestrian connectivity – achieved by developments directly and through a coordinated s106 infrastructure programme;

6.1 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). 6.2 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. 6.3 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. 6.4 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.

Nothing chosen

6.5 Greater Cambridge is an area with strong economic growth and with an aspiration to maintain that growth. The affordability of housing is also a major issue. The new Local Plan must be able to address both of these concerns. 6.6 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. As is widely recognised, the economy of Cambridge is too important nationally for the Council to plan for the minimum number of homes required by the standard method. 6.7 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 Plan.

Nothing chosen

6.5 Greater Cambridge is an area with strong economic growth and with an aspiration to maintain that growth. The affordability of housing is also a major issue. The new Local Plan must be able to address both of these concerns. 6.6 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. As is widely recognised, the economy of Cambridge is too important nationally for the Council to plan for the minimum number of homes required by the standard method. 6.7 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 Plan.

6.8 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. 6.9 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 and affordable housing.

6.10 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.

7.1 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.” 7.2 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.” 7.3 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.

Yes

7.4 Yes. Paragraph 136 of the NPPF allows Green Belt boundaries to be altered through the plan making process provided exceptional circumstances exist, and those exceptional circumstances should be based on evidence and justified. Therefore, it is appropriate to consider whether to review Green Belt boundaries through the emerging GCLP. It is considered that exceptional circumstances exist to release land from the Green Belt, which are related to the significant need for housing and affordable housing in Greater Cambridge 7.5 Paragraph 137 requires plan-making authorities to examine all other reasonable options to meet identified development needs before considering whether exceptional circumstances exist to justify changes to Green Belt boundaries i.e. make as much use of previously developed land, increase the density of development, and consider whether development needs could be accommodated in neighbouring areas. In the case of Cambridge, increasing densities and reusing previously developed land is not straightforward and may be inappropriate because of heritage assets and the difficulty of finding alternative sites for existing uses. 7.6 Paragraph 138 requires any review of Green Belt boundaries to consider the need to promote sustainable patterns of development, and that where the release of land from the Green Belt is necessary that priority is given to previously developed land or sites that are well-served by public transport. 7.7 Paragraph 141 seeks the beneficial use of Green Belt land including to provide access, for outdoor sport and recreation, and to retain and enhance landscapes and biodiversity. It is considered that open space, strategic landscaping and ecological enhancements are examples that would represent a beneficial use of Green Belt land.

Nothing chosen

8.1 The most effective approach to delivering the levels of development required is to ensure a wide variety of sites are allocated both in terms of size and location. This will ensure consistent delivery across the plan period by not concentrating all development in a specific area or resulting in an over reliance on large strategic sites. 8.2 While a range of development scenarios are outlined, the Council should not rely on one strategy; a combination is required to ensure a sound plan. This should allow 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 Para. 84 of the NPPF. Sustainable development in rural areas is also supported under Para. 78 of the NPPF, which requires planning policies to identify opportunities for villages to grow and thrive, especially where this will support local services.