Greater Cambridge Local Plan Issues & Options 2020

Cambridge city centre is currently constrained and there are limitations to the growth of the city in all directions, except to the east. The CPIER recognises that the scale of Cambridge East offers significant scope for housing and commercial development and would allow for the delivery of cultural and sports uses of sub-regional importance. The site offers the potential for a step change in Cambridge’s current cultural offering, with the potential to deliver a refreshed night-time economy, new meanwhile uses, iconic public realm, significant cultural anchors in the east of the city and more. These cultural and sports uses would support tourism in Cambridge whilst still having the advantage of being close to the city centre.

This new Local Plan should seek identify a suitable housing requirement that balances with the economic growth ambitions of CCC/SCDC and the wider area. The new Local Plan should seek to identify and allocate sites that are sustainably located and provide the best opportunity to tackle and progress the four big themes identified in the Issues & Options. One of the Key Recommendations of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Independent Economic Report (CPIER)(2018) states that there should be a review of housing requirements based on the potential for higher growth in employment. It advises that dialogue with the ONS and the Centre for Business Research on employment numbers, as well as the impact on Cambridge-Milton Keynes-Oxford Arc, should be used to set new targets that are likely to be higher than those already set (Page 12). The report recognises that "no economy can achieve its potential without an adequate supply of housing" (Page 12). Therefore, it is our view that the standard method is used as a starting point for calculating OAN and that GCPS should seek to increase this target by positively responding to the evidence base, the findings in the CPIER and the Government's ambitions for the Ox-Cam corridor.

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This new Local Plan should seek identify a suitable housing requirement that balances with the economic growth ambitions of CCC/SCDC and the wider area. The new Local Plan should seek to identify and allocate sites that are sustainably located and provide the best opportunity to tackle and progress the four big themes identified in the Issues & Options. One of the Key Recommendations of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Independent Economic Report (CPIER)(2018) states that there should be a review of housing requirements based on the potential for higher growth in employment. It advises that dialogue with the ONS and the Centre for Business Research on employment numbers, as well as the impact on Cambridge-Milton Keynes-Oxford Arc, should be used to set new targets that are likely to be higher than those already set (Page 12). The report recognises that "no economy can achieve its potential without an adequate supply of housing" (Page 12). Therefore, it is our view that the standard method is used as a starting point for calculating OAN and that GCPS should seek to increase this target by positively responding to the evidence base, the findings in the CPIER and the Government's ambitions for the Ox-Cam corridor.

The Greater Cambridge City Deal recognises that an appropriate mix of housing is vital to economic growth. It acknowledges that a shortage of available and affordable housing within a reasonable distance of key employment centres has driven an unsustainable increase in house prices, which has in turn affected the recruitment, retention and quality of life of employees (Page 6). The scale of the opportunity at Cambridge East would allow for a delivery of a wide mix of housing types in response to the housing needs of Greater Cambridge. The final mix of housing should be determined based on the latest available housing needs data, in conjunction with engagement with the Councils, and should seek to accommodate these needs as far as possible. If Cambridge East is allocated for development, it is anticipated that the 12,000 new homes it is capable of delivering would comprise a mix of sizes and tenures, including Private Rented Sector, later living, student housing, discounted rental, discounted purchase and First Homes opportunities.

The NPPF (at paragraph 72) states that the supply of large numbers of new homes can often be achieved through planning for larger scale development, including significant extensions to existing towns, provided they are well-located and designed, and supported by the necessary infrastructure and facilities. The CPIER urges plan makers to plan for growth at Cambridge in the national interest, as a 'strategic priority'. To do so, requires planning at scale, so that the appropriate environment for investment can be created. If allocated, land at Cambridge East offers the opportunity to plan for both housing and employment at a scale which would provide a substantial contribution to the future needs of the city. Joint working will establish the appropriate balance of uses across the site and the infrastructure required to support this level of growth.

As set out in the NPPF, the supply of large numbers of new homes can often be best achieved through planning for large scale development, provided that this development is supported by the necessary infrastructure. In order to ensure there is a genuine switch from car use towards sustainable modes of transport, new development must be supported by convenient, regular and affordable public transport, as well as safe and accessible pedestrian / cycle links. Marshall recognise that, in order to maximise the scale of the opportunity at New East Cambridge in the long-term, full consideration needs to be given to the Site’s connectivity and accessibility, so that the Site integrates with the wider Greater Cambridge transport network and thus can interact with the city as a whole. Development at the scale envisaged for Cambridge East would create the opportunity for – and indeed demand – a highquality rapid transit link, which could be brought forward as the first phase of the Combined Authorities’ ‘Cambridge Autonomous Metro’ (CAM) network. It is recognised by the planning and transport authorities that the city of Cambridge now needs to look at contemporary forms of transit system to support further development in and around Cambridge, and the development of the CAM is the subject of ongoing studies. Marshall is also working with the Greater Cambridge Partnership to inform the Eastern Access Study, which is seeking to improve public transport connectivity to the east of the City. In addition to public transport links, Cambridge East is sustainably located within close proximity to the city centre, such that there is ample opportunity to provide pedestrian links and cycleways that connect the site to the city centre.

The transport network in and around Cambridge is often highlighted as a constraint to growth. The CPIER, as one of its Key Recommendations, cites that "a package of transport and other infrastructure projects to alleviate the growing pains of Greater Cambridge should be considered the single most important infrastructure priority facing the Combined Authority in the short to medium term". Marshall recognise that, in order to maximise the scale of the opportunity at Cambridge East in the long-term, full consideration needs to be given to the Site's connectivity and accessibility, so that the Site integrates with the wider Greater Cambridge transport network and thus can interact with the city as a whole. As such, Marshall support the Mayor's proposals for the CAM and the GCP's Eastern Access study, which is exploring how to improve journey times into the city from the east. To unlock full growth at Cambridge East, it is important that the Local Plan commits to a new transport network and directly supports delivery of the CAM, including an eastern arm, of which the rapid transit link serving Cambridge East can form the first phase. Explicit policy support for a rapid transit link between the Site and Cambridge Station should be included in the Local Plan to enable growth to the East.

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National and local planning policy reiterates the importance of protecting Green Belt land for its openness and permanence and it is recognised that Cambridge's capacity for growth is constrained by Green Belt designation. The NPPF is clear, however, that Green Belt locations can be reviewed in response to the need for sustainable development where sufficient brownfield options are not available. The Councils will need to look closely at the extent to which development needs can be met without taking Green Belt land, even with the availability of Cambridge East, which has predominantly been extracted from the Green Belt. Green Belt land can be released for development where it is necessary to meet the need for sustainable development. As part of that review, it is likely that Green Belt land will need to be released on the edge of Cambridge and land to the east of the Airport is a primary candidate. The east of Cambridge is relatively less sensitive in Green Belt terms than other locations and the release of land here as part of a comprehensively planned urban expansion would maximise the scale of the opportunity and secure additional benefits from the synergy which the land can have with development of Cambridge East.

Marshall agree that this is a sustainable option, and that some growth should be provided through densification, but the opportunities to provide development that meets the housing and employment needs of the area and achieve the four Big Themes of the plan through densification alone are likely to be limited. Other alternative larger-scale developments would be required in addition to densification in order to provide the infrastructure and facilities to support the population of Greater Cambridge. We support the principle of increasing densities on new developments, including Cambridge East, to make best use of land in accessible locations.

As identified through the CPIER, Cambridge East is the only side of the city that is not constrained and could accommodate significant levels of housing and employment growth, whilst still having the advantage of being close to the principal centres of employment and the existing rail infrastructure. There are no other sites with this scale of opportunity, that are released from the Green Belt and sustainably located so close to the city centre. The adoption of the Cambridge East AAP in 2008 confirmed and established the principle of development on this site; therefore, there is a strong case for prioritising development on the edge of Cambridge (outside of the Green Belt).