Greater Cambridge Local Plan Issues & Options 2020

Agree

The identified cross-boundary issues are relevant. However, it is requested that employment matters are included as cross-boundary issues to be discussed with neighbouring authorities (in Section 3.6.5). Employment matters are identified as a strategic matter in Paragraph 20 of the NPPF and which should be subject to the duty to cooperate (DtC) (see Paragraph 24). Considerable work has been undertaken to address the potential for sustainable economic growth in the Cambridge – Milton Keynes – Oxford Arc in ‘Partnering for Prosperity’ and the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Independent Economic Review (CPIER) and the Local Industrial Strategy LIS). The statutory plan-making process must properly address the aspirations for economic development that are set out in the LIS as informed by CPIER with key stakeholders and DtC partners if the emerging GCLP is to be found sound.

Agree

It is suggested that the relationship between the big themes and the overarching theme of sustainable development is further explained in the emerging GCLP. Paragraph 8 of the NPPF identifies the three overarching objectives of sustainable development (economic, social and environmental) and notes that these objectives are interdependent and suggests that they need to pursued in mutually supportive ways. The NPPF is clearly framed such that sustainable development is the overarching theme of the planning system to which all other themes relate. It is requested that sustainable development is identified as the overarching theme, to be consistent with the approach in Paragraph 8 of the NPPF and in order to avoid one of the identified big themes being give greater importance than another. It is noted that the economic objective of sustainable development (paragraph 8 of the NPPF) specifically identifies the need to build a strong, responsive and competitive economy, by ensuring that sufficient land of the right types is available in the right places and at the right time to support growth, innovation and improved productivity.

Very important

The Government’s 2019 National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is clear that planning policies should create the conditions in which businesses can invest, expand and adapt and that significant weight should be placed on the need to support economic growth and productivity, taking into account both local business needs and wider opportunities for development. Paragraph 20 of the NPPF notes that strategic policies should set out an overall strategy for the pattern, scale and quality of development, and make sufficient provision for housing, employment, retail, other commercial development and infrastructure amongst other matters. It is stated that this approach should allow each area to build on its strengths, counter any weaknesses and address the challenges of the future. It indicates that this is particularly important where Britain can be a global leader in driving innovation (paragraph 80). Paragraph 81 then goes on to state that planning policies should, amongst others: a) set out a clear economic vision and strategy which positively and proactively encourages sustainable economic growth, having regard to Local Industrial Strategies and other local policies for economic development and regeneration; b) set criteria, or identify strategic sites, for local and inward investment to match the strategy and to meet anticipated needs over the plan period; A City Deal was agreed between the Greater Cambridge Local Plan (GCLP) authorities and Cambridgeshire County Council with the Government in 2014 and was predicated on securing investment in the delivery of major new transport infrastructure to support substantial growth in new jobs and housing in the period to 2030. The GCLP area is situated within the Cambridge - Milton Keynes – Oxford Arc. In November 2017 ‘Partnering for Prosperity’ a report to Government was published by the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) to provide proposals and options to maximise the potential of the Arc to secure the homes and jobs that the area needs. In 2018 the Government identified the Arc as a key economic priority and indicated that it will consider ways of maximising growth opportunities within it. In March 2019 a Joint Declaration of Ambition (JDA) was completed between Government and local authorities across the Arc; the JDA recognises that first and foremost the Arc is an area of significant economic strength and opportunity the potential of which should be realised. The GCLP planning authorities are both signatories to the JDA. The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority was established in March 2017. In the accompanying Devolution Deal with Government, the seven Cambridgeshire local authorities and Local Enterprise Partnership committed the area to the delivery of substantial economic growth, including the doubling of economic output over the 25-year period to 2042. The Combined Authority established an independent Economic Commission in June 2017 to undertake research and provide it with expert advice in achieving this ambition. The Commission’s terms of reference, amongst others, is to ‘Inform choices on policy priorities and strategic investment that are made locally…’. It must be concluded that continued and ambitious economic growth is a hugely important issue for the GCLP area. The local plan must set out planning policies that will assist in delivering the identified target for economic growth of doubling GVA. We consider that this must involve the identification of strategic scale sites in sustainable locations that will meet the need for continued growth of KI businesses and supporting supply chain industries (see our response to Q27 below) e.g. high-tech manufacturing and logistics.

Paragraph 82 of the NPPF states that planning policies and decisions should recognise and address the specific locational requirements of different business sectors. This includes making provision for clusters or networks of knowledge and data-driven, creative or high technology industries; and for storage and distribution operations at a variety of scales and in suitably accessible locations. In September 2018 the Commission published the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Independent Economic Review (CPIER). The report identified the national importance of Knowledge Intensive (KI) businesses located in the Greater Cambridge area and their reliance on agglomeration (clustering) effects. A consequent Key Recommendation (3) of the CPIER report was that:- The UK Government should adopt a ‘Cambridge or overseas’ mentality towards KI business in this area, recognising that in an era of international connectivity and footloose labour, many high value companies will need to relocate abroad if this area no longer meets their needs. Ensuring that Cambridge continues to deliver for KI businesses should be considered a nationally strategic priority. There remains, therefore, a need to ensure that sufficient land and business space is identified to meet the ongoing needs and growth of KI businesses in the Greater Cambridge area. This should include the provision of employment land outside of the City and its Green Belt in well connected locations, near to housing and providing the opportunity for people to live close to their place of work. However, as highlighted in our response to Q27 below, there is also an imperative to ensure that business and industrial space is provided that complements KI businesses to ensure their retention and continued contribution towards the Greater Cambridge economy and the aspiration to double GVA by 2042. As an example, research published by Savills (The Oxford-Cambridge Innovation Arc) has concluded that land for an additional 69 million sq. ft. of warehouse space needs to be identified and delivered by 2050 across the Arc if its economic growth ambitions are to be met.

A ‘blanket approach’ to the protection of existing business and industrial space would be inappropriate and conflict with the NPPF which clearly identifies circumstances where employment land or premises that is not allocated for such purposes might be better utilised for other purposes (paragraph 121). Rather, in preparation of the GCLP, the plan-making authorities should objectively assess existing, available and planned employment land, to identify those sites that are most suited to continuing employment use to meet the needs of the GCLP area in meeting ambitions for economic growth.

The CPIER report notes the importance of deepening the complimentary relationship between KI and non-KI sectors in the Peterborough & Cambridgeshire area. KI companies spend large sums on inputs to their processes (e.g. technical skills to maintain advanced machinery and specialist scientific goods). However, the Commission’s research has identified that marginally less than 11% of the value of supplies was sourced locally and nearly 28% was imported from overseas. The report concludes that this is a missed opportunity that should be addressed in the development of local industrial strategies. Paragraph 026 Reference ID: 2a-026-20190220 of the Planning Practice Guidance notes that In gathering evidence to plan for business uses, strategic policy making authorities will need to liaise closely with the business community, taking account of the Local Industrial Strategy, to understand their current and potential future requirements. The Combined Authority published with Government the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Local Industrial Strategy (LIS) in July 2019. It identifies three priorities for the area’s economy:- • Improving the long-term capacity for growth in Greater Cambridge by supporting the foundations of productivity; • Increase sustainability and broaden the base of local economic growth; • Expand and build upon the clusters and networks that have enabled Cambridge to become a global leader in innovative growth. In consequence the GCLP must deliver suitable policies and sites that will enable ongoing KI business growth and which will also provide for complimentary business sectors of the economy to grow, which in itself will support the retention and further growth of KI industries. This provision must include sufficient land and sites in sustainable locations allocated specifically for the development and growth of high-tech and advanced manufacturing and logistics businesses. The extant Local Plan implies that logistics development is a low generator of jobs. This is not the case. Modern logistics development often include uses such as their call centres and ancillary offices with employees having a range of skillsets and hold a variety of positions (e.g. managerial, data programmers and goods handling). The following should be noted: • “shed and beds” is a trend for the co-location of homes and jobs and the need for a range of shift types and workers from a range of demographic and educational back grounds. There is significant housing growth planned in the A428 corridor but without a commensurate range of employment opportunities for future residents. • Activities that take place in distribution centres are often high or added value activities. It is not just a case of moving an object from one place to another and there is often the need to repackage or assemble a product from a range of components. • Automation does not mean a drop in employment density, quite the reverse given the need for software engineers and programmers.

Paragraph 82 of the NPPF recognises the need to provide for the specific locational requirements of the business sector. This is reconfirmed and expanded upon at paragraph 031 Reference ID: 2a-031-20190722 of the Planning Practice Guidance which notes the logistics industry plays a critical role in enabling an efficient, sustainable and effective supply of goods for consumers and businesses, as well as contributing to local employment opportunities, and has distinct locational requirements that need to be considered in formulating planning policies (separately from those relating to general industrial land). Strategic facilities serving national or regional markets are likely to require significant amounts of land, good access to strategic transport networks, sufficient power capacity and access to appropriately skilled local labour. Strategic scale logistics will require large sites with convenient access to the strategic transport network and suitable topography to efficiently develop warehousing. All new employment provision should be located where there are opportunities to travel to work by modes other than the private car and proximity to sources of labour with suitable skills will also be an important consideration. Crow Green at the junction of the A1198 / A428 is just such a location. The site is beyond the Cambridge Green Belt, substantial and broadly level, baseline technical studies (see accompanying Vision Document) have demonstrated that the site may be sustainably accessed and drained; that it has no adverse impacts on heritage assets and that suitable strategic scale landscape provision can mitigate visual impacts; that biodiversity net gain is anticipated; that there is a real prospect of delivering a scheme that is ‘zero net carbon’ and which may deliver between 4,500 – 6,500 new FTE jobs. The site is in close proximity to planned new transport infrastructure to be delivered in the short term, i.e. the Cambourne to Cambridge (C2C) Guided Busway which is being delivered as part of the Cambridge City Deal; and the programmed A428 dualling between Caxton Gibbet and the Black Cat roundabout on the A1, which will give a high standard of access to the strategic highway network east-west, as well as the north-south corridors of the M11 and A1. In the medium to longer term, the site will benefit from its proximity to the planned Expressway and the East-West Rail link, with a new railway station serving Cambourne. The committed expansion of Cambourne to the west (2,350 dwellings) and at Bourn Airfield (3,500 dwellings) will provide a substantial population increase in close vicinity of the site enabling jobs to be located close to housing growth. Please see the attached:- Crow Green, Caxton Gibbet Demand & Need Assessment Crow Green, Caxton Gibbet Vision Document

The NPPF sets out a series of objectives for promoting sustainable transport. This includes that opportunities for existing or proposed transport infrastructure and changing transport technology and usage are realised – for example in relation to the scale, location or density of development that can be accommodated (paragraph 102). This is reinforced in paragraph 103, which states in part that:- ‘The planning system should actively manage patterns of growth in support of these objectives. Significant development should be focused on locations which are or can be made sustainable, through limiting the need to travel and offering a genuine choice of transport modes…’ Crow Green at the junction of the A1198 / A428 is just such a location. The site is in close proximity to planned new transport infrastructure to be delivered in the short term, i.e. the Cambourne to Cambridge (C2C) Better Public Transport project being delivered as part of the Cambridge City Deal by the Greater Cambridge Partnership. It will provide a high-quality public transport connection between Cambourne and Cambridge City, with journey times of 30 minutes compared to 53 minutes for existing bus services, and a frequency of 10 minutes. In the medium to longer term, the site will benefit from its proximity to East-West Rail, the preferred route of which would go via a new station serving Cambourne about a mile south of the site. This would provide a direct rail connection into Cambridge station, along with the proposed Cambridge South station at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. To the west, East-West Rail will connect Cambourne with St Neots, Bedford, Milton Keynes and Oxford. C2C and East-West Rail will provide a step-change in the public transport accessibility of the site. Instrumental in delivering this public transport accessibility will be providing appropriate ‘last-mile’ connections between the site and these new public transport services and infrastructure, be this new high-quality walking and cycling infrastructure or new and extended bus services. Longer term plans for C2C include its extension through West Cambourne to St Neots, and this could mean the service routing through the site. This will deliver excellent opportunities for workers of the development to be able to access the site by a combination of walking, cycling and public transport, and therefore limit the number of car trips generated by the development. Likewise, an important aspect of reducing the need to travel by car is that the development would provide a key source of employment opportunities for nearby residential areas, including Cambourne, Papworth Everard and the proposed new developments at West Cambourne and Bourn Airfield. This will reduce the need for residents of these settlements to travel to employment locations further afield, for example in Cambridge, and in doing so reduce the impact on existing transport infrastructure. The planned A428 Caxton Gibbet – Black Cat improvements will improve the strategic accessibility of the site, and mean that there will be appropriate access for large goods vehicles from the strategic road network such as the A1 and A14.

Public Transport Corridors, Edge of Cambridge: Green Belt, Densification of existing urban areas, Edge of Cambridge: Outside Green Belt, Dispersal: Villages, Dispersal: New Settlements

In preparing the CPIER the Commission secured an update of the ‘Cambridge Futures’ modelling work undertaken by the Cities & transport Team of the University of Cambridge. This work considered five scenarios in the modelling of future housing and economic growth; a business as usual ‘base case’, densification, dispersal, fringe growth and growth in transportation corridors. In considering the models, the Commission noted that transport corridors are:- ‘…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.’ The Commission concluded that each of the possible scenarios have their advantages and disadvantages; and that a ‘blended spatial strategy’ should be adopted, the modelling work being actively used to consider trade-offs in an informed manner. Paragraph Reference ID: 2a-032-20190722 of the Planning Practice Guidance reinforces this by stating that when assessing what land and policy support may be needed for different employment uses, it will be important to understand whether there are specific requirements in the local market which affect the types of land or premises needed. Clustering of certain industries (such as some high tech, engineering, digital, creative and logistics activities) can play an important role in supporting collaboration, innovation, productivity, and sustainability, as well as in driving the economic prospects of the areas in which they locate. Strategic policy-making authorities will need to develop a clear understanding of such needs and how they might be addressed taking account of relevant evidence and policy within Local Industrial Strategies.

We consider that a focus on transportation corridors in meeting future development needs to meet the growth ambitions of the Arc and the GCLP area must be an essential element of the Local Plan spatial strategy. The A428 corridor is set to be significantly strengthened in terms of substantial new highways and public transport infrastructure provision, including the C2C Guided Busway and A428 dualling in the short term and East West Rail in the longer term. Significant levels of new housing growth is already planned within the corridor through the expansion of Cambourne and at Bourn Airfield. This combination of commitments to substantial new housing development and sustainable transport infrastructure underlines the suitability of Crow Green as a suitable opportunity to provide strategic scale employment development that will compliment KI businesses in the Greater Cambridge area, broadening the local economy through providing land for high tech industry and logistics development in what will become a highly sustainable location.