Greater Cambridge Local Plan Issues & Options 2020

It is considered that the growth of villages must be part of the development strategy for emerging GCLP, and there is national guidance that supports this approach. Paragraph 78 of the NPPF seeks to promote sustainable development in rural areas and acknowledges that housing can enhance or maintain the vitality of rural communities and support local services. Foxton contains a primary school, convenience store and post office, places of worship, village hall, sports and recreation grounds, public house and a cluster of business units at Burlington Park. The promoted development at land off Shepreth Road in Foxton would support the existing services and facilities in the village. Paragraph 68 acknowledges the role that small and medium sized sites can make towards meeting the housing requirements, and that such sites are often built-out relatively quickly. Small and medium sized sites typically only require limited new physical infrastructure and amendments to the access arrangements. The housing monitoring data from Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire confirms that small and medium sites are delivered quickly i.e. within two to three years. It is considered that small and medium sized sites make a significant contribution towards the short term housing land supply and the five year housing land supply position in Greater Cambridgeshire. Therefore, it is requested that small sized sites such as land off Shepreth Road in Foxton is allocated to meet the requirement for a mix of sites including small sites that are easily deliverable. Paragraph 102 of the NPPF expects transport issues to be considered at the earliest stages of plan-making. Those issues include opportunities created by existing or proposed transport infrastructure in terms of the scale, location and density of development, and opportunities to promote walking, cycling and public transport use. Paragraph 103 expects significant development to be focused on locations which are or can be made sustainable. As set out in the response to Qu.37, Foxton has a railway station and is served by buses. The Greater Cambridge Partnership has proposed two transport improvement projects in Foxton, which are the Foxton Rural Travel Hub and the Melbourn Greenway, which would deliver new walking and cycling routes and facilities. Therefore, the promoted development at land off Shepreth Road in Foxton would be accessible by walking, cycling and public transport. As set out in the call for sites submission, there are no significant constraints to development at land off Shepreth Road in Foxton. The trees and hedges on the site that contribute to the landscape character would be retained as part of the promoted development, and additional planting would be provided to protect and enhance that character.

See call for sites form submitted previously as part of the 2019 call for sites - Land off Comberton Road, Toft Summary of Comments: See call for sites form submitted previously as part of the 2019 call for sites - Land Off Comberton Road, Toft

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It is inappropriate to seek to prioritise or rank the Big Themes, which should also include economics, housing, employment and infrastructure, as they are inextricably linked to the delivery of development in a sustainable, economically, socially and environmentally responsible way and cannot be prioritised one above the other. Summary of Comments: It is inappropriate to seek to prioritise or rank the Big Themes, which should also include economics, housing, employment and infrastructure

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Response to Question 42 It is considered that in reality the development strategy for emerging GCLP will be based on a combination of spatial distribution options, including development at the more sustainable villages. The scale of development that occurs at individual villages will depend on the level of services and facilities. Foxton is an example of a settlement that could accommodate additional development, as explained in the call for sites submission.