Greater Cambridge Local Plan Issues & Options 2020

Residential growth in villages is supported. The National Planning Policy Framework (2019) recognises that to promote sustainable development in rural areas, housing should be located where it will enhance or maintain the vitality of rural communities (paragraph 78). Additional development in villages will help to sustain the available services by maintaining population numbers. These residential schemes will propose additional households, all of which can use the local services, facilities, clubs and societies within the village resulting in greater levels of patronage and custom. This will support the ongoing provision, vitality and viability of these services. 13.2 The provision of new housing also has the ability to provide opportunities to create a more balanced local population by providing opportunities for young people to stay in the community they grew up in or for older people seeking to move within the community. 13.3 The site at Long Lane, Fowlmere has the ability to provide sustainable development in an existing rural village which has a range of facilities and services. The provision of additional development will help to support these services in future years. 13.4 Fowlmere is a settlement with a population of approximately 1,200 located approximately 14.5 km southwest of the city of Cambridge. The village is considered linear, stretching for approximately 1.5 km along the Long Lane and London Road. The oldest part of the village is situated within the Conservation Area in the centre of Fowlmere from which subsequent development has been built out from. 13.5 The village possesses a range of services capable of supporting the everyday life of residents and also benefits from its proximity to nearby shops and amenities within other towns and villages, in particular Melbourn and Royston. Those local services within Fowlmere include a primary school, public house, restaurant, a village hall and recreation ground. All these facilities are within a 900m radius of the site and can be accessed via well maintained public footpaths. The site is well related to the settlement and is considered to be a logical extension to the built-up development. 13.6 Other services such as GP surgeries, post offices, train stations, secondary schools, retail, entertainment and cultural facilities are available in the neighbouring villages of Melbourn, Meldreth and the town of Royston. Even greater service provision can also be found in the city of Cambridge. 13.7 Public transport services include regular buses on A2B route 31 between Barley and Cambridge. There are 5 inbound and 6 outbound services operating each day including at peak commuting times. Owing to Fowlmere’s location near to the Great Northern Mainline, connections are available at Royston, Meldreth, Shepreth and Foxton for Thameslink and Great Northern services between Kings Lynn and London Kings Cross. The aforementioned bus route also stops in Great Shelford another train station on the mainline. These represent realistic travel options in the rural area and will allow residents to access many day-to-day services and employment in line with Paragraph 103 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) which acknowledges that transport solutions vary between urban and rural areas. 13.8 The growth of villages in the Greater Cambridge Plan is supported and it is considered that the site at Long Lane, Fowlmere should be allocated for residential development to assist the Council in their housing delivery and in achieving the objectives of the Local Plan.

No choices made

Response to Question 42 - No Hierarchy provided 12.1 The Local Plan should be flexible and allow developments in sustainable locations to ensure there is a balance of homes and jobs in the right place. It is important to ensure that a range of small sites are allocated in the Local Plan to ensure that these can be delivered in the short to medium term. The Local Plan should not overly-rely on large strategic allocations which are complex to deliver and rely on costly infrastructure to proceed. This is evident in the recent Inspector's findings to the Uttlesford Local Plan (10 January 2020) which set out that the Council needs to "allocate more small and medium sized sites that could deliver homes in the short to medium term and help to bolster the 5 year HLS, until the Garden Communities begin to deliver housing. This would have the benefit of providing flexibility and choice in the market and the earlier provision of affordable housing." Similar thinking is necessary in the Greater Cambridge Plan to ensure that there is not a sole provision of large strategic sites but a range of options and sizes to ensure that there is flexibility in the strategy and that housing (both market and affordable) can be delivered immediately. By allowing development to be dispersed across the District on the edge of urban areas and in villages, this would help to achieve this flexibility. 12.2 Fowlmere is categorised as a Group Village in the South Cambridgeshire Local Plan (Policy S/10) reflecting the settlement's access to facilities, which allows residents to carry out most daily activities. It is considered that further limited development will help to maintain these remaining services and amenities as well as providing affordable housing to meet local needs. 12.3 South Cambridgeshire has previously relied on strategic sites for housing delivery; challenges and subsequent delays that have arisen with such schemes have resulted in the shortfall observed. It is evident therefore that the allocation of smaller sites within the Local Plan, such as those within Group Villages will ensure a more robust delivery strategy for the district. 12.4 There is therefore an opportunity as part of the new joint Local Plan to allocate modest residential development at Long Lane, Fowlmere which will provide much needed market and affordable homes in this location; in accordance with paragraph 59 of the NPPF and the objective of significantly boosting housing supply. 12.5 In Greater Cambridge, housing is less affordable than the national average and is getting worse. As such, it is imperative that housing delivery is a priority for the Council in an attempt to ease the affordability pressures in the District. Development of this site will also widen the choice of different housing types in Fowlmere itself. 12.6 The development of the site will give rise to economic and social benefits. New residents will use the existing local community services, facilities, clubs and societies within the village. This will support the ongoing provision, vitality and viability of these services. As part of the development proposals, financial contributions could be made, if required, towards these local facilities including education, health and public transport provision to enhance these facilities further; in line with paragraph 78 of the NPPF and the intention of supporting local services through development in rural areas. 12.7 It is clear that the allocation of the site at Long Lane Fowlmere for residential development would positively contribute to the District’s housing supply and provide an array of potential economic and social benefits for the village community.