Greater Cambridge Local Plan Issues & Options 2020

5.4.1 Whilst the focus of Cambridge is the Science and Technology sector as the driving force of the economy, there is a requirement for a range of job opportunities, in urban and more rural areas. The Local Plan policy framework needs to provide for a full range of opportunities; as planned allocations and windfall employment opportunities. 5.4.2 Availability of suitable sites and premises in excellent locations outside of Cambridge is a key factor in spreading the economic growth.

5.5.1 Locations with high levels of public transport access should be identified for businesses with high employment densities. This would include sites within walking distance of existing settlements, train stations, travel hubs, Park and Ride facilities 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.” 2 5.5.2 Non-knowledge intensive companies tend to be more footloose and typically locate where premises are provided rather than through bespoke development, while some companies expand from humbler often rural beginnings in converted buildings. To enable this growth dynamic, employment locations in settlements of all sizes and classification should be allocated or be permissible, with larger concentrations of 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’.

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5.6.1 All uses of an appropriate scale could be included in every settlement. Mixed use site allocations are particularly appropriate in rural settlements and new settlements / urban expansions to enable local commercial and retail businesses to grow organically. 5.6.2 An overly prescriptive policy framework can harm the viability and vitality of centres; sometimes forcing units to be vacant for 12 months to satisfy a policy requirement. A modern, responsive policy approach is welcomed to allow for a wider range of services and facilities.

6.1.1 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 (e.g. Care). 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).

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6.2.1 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. 6.2.2 Housing requirements are minimums, not maximums to stay under at all costs. There is a wellevidenced affordability problem in Greater Cambridge; a greater supply of homes will be part of the solution. “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.”3

6.3.1 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. 6.3.2 It will be important for the Local Plan to identify and allocate sites to meet the specific needs of older people, as such development is often expected to come through windfall or on strategic allocations with no specific target set in the local plan as to how many specialist homes for older people should be provided. Such an approach does not offer the necessary certainty that needs will be met. 6.3.3 We would therefore recommend that the local plan undertakes to, firstly, establish a housing requirement specifically for the needs of older people, to ensure that the supply of such homes can be effectively monitored and any under supply be taken into account when making decisions on applications for older people’s accommodation. Secondly, we would recommend that the Council’s work with specialist providers to identify suitable sites that will meet the specific needs of older people, thus freeing up existing accommodation. 6.3.4 Flexibility will be key to a successful Local Plan; through market housing, low-cost and affordable housing, and older people’s housing.

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7.1.1 The Local Plan should be focussed on providing sustainable development in the most appropriate locations. To prioritise the four big themes will result in some development impacts. 7.1.2 Notwithstanding the underlying purposes of the Green Belt (Para. 134 of the NPPF), where it can be demonstrated that appropriate development can be brought forward in the Green Belt, sites should be considered within the context of their individual circumstances. Applications should be considered in the context of Para. 136 of the NPPF including an assessment as to whether it can be demonstrated that a proposed development would bring substantial benefits, outweighing the loss of Green Belt land and thereby demonstrate exceptional circumstances needed to justify Green Belt release. In accordance with Para. 138, Green Belt boundaries should be reviewed to reflect the need to promote sustainable patterns of development. If the release of Green Belt can facilitate more sustainable patterns of development, particularly if the land has been previously developed or is well-served by public transport, there should be policy provision to allow for a consideration of this in order to determine Green Belt planning applications within the emerging Local Plan. 7.1.3 By way of example, the Greater Cambridge Partnership, in progressing the A428/A1303 Cambourne to Cambridge Better Public Transport Project, have recommended a Scotland Farm Park and Ride location, acknowledging that it is a priority project for development in the first five years of the Greater Cambridge Partnership’s (GCP’s) transport programme. Made up of three key elements: a public transport link between Cambourne and Cambridge, a new Park and Ride facility off the A428/A1303 to supplement the existing Madingley Park and Ride, and new cycling and walking facilities. Subject to statutory consent, construction of these elements is anticipated to commence in 2022, with an opening date in late 2024.

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7.2.1 The presumption in favour of sustainable development is recognised, however there should be a degree of flexibility in terms of allowing 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.

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7.3.1 There should be more flexibility when considering the scale and size of developments that are permitted within village boundaries. The Local Plan currently restricts the amount of development that is permitted in Minor Rural Centres (Policy S/9) to 30 dwellings; in Group Villages (Policy S10) to eight dwellings and in exceptional circumstances to 15 dwellings; and in Infill Villages (Policy S/11) to two dwellings and in exceptional circumstances to eight dwellings. These policies should not restrict development to a certain number of dwellings and should instead encourage an appropriate density depending on the context of the site that is being considered for development. Some sites might be capable of accommodating higher density development which can enable a more sustainable distribution of growth, particularly in the case of some villages within the district which are well connected in terms of being located on key transport corridors with access to rail, bus and cycleway links, thereby making them sustainable locations for development. A more flexible approach towards considering development in villages should therefore be used when allocating development sites and in the determination of planning applications. 7.3.2 There should also be more flexibility in terms of considering applications which are located outside village boundaries, provided the site is suitable in other terms including its access to transport and village services and provided it is not overly constrained in terms of other environmental designations.

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7.4.1 No single solution will deliver a sound Local Plan; rather, a combination of approaches to the distribution of spatial growth will be necessary in order to establish the appropriate locations of new housing and employment development in the district. A hybrid approach will be required, but underpinned with a focus on transport corridors and accessible areas.