Greater Cambridge Local Plan Issues & Options 2020

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. The promoted developments at land east and west of St Mary’s Lane in Great Abington would support the existing services and facilities in the village including the public house, convenience store, local school and post office, and bus services. Paragraph 68 of the NPPF 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/medium sized sites such as land east and land west of St Mary's Lane in Great Abington are allocated to meet the requirement for a mix of sites including those 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, the promoted developments at land east and west of St Mary’s Lane in Great Abington is accessible by walking, cycling and public transport, and would be well-related to the Greater Cambridge Partnership’s proposed Cambridge South East transport improvement projects including cycle routes, travel hubs, greenways, and the new public transport route to Cambridge. As set out in the call for sites submissions for land east and west of St Mary’s Lane in Great Abington there are no significant constraints to development at these sites, and therefore it is requested that these sites are allocated in emerging GCLP.