Greater Cambridge Local Plan Issues & Options 2020

From the outset consult with the residents, that means getting their input. These are the people who live in the communities and know how they work. Getting involved from the beginning makes it a bottom up approach, not imposing ideas but letting them help create them

We would like to see the Cambridge Lawn Tennis Club, the Emmanuel College Playing Fields and the West Fields remain protected green spaces in the next Local Plan. Every protection should be given to the Adams Road Bird Sanctuary, a City and a County Wildlife Site that relies on the buffer of mature gardens surrounding it and the security of the water flowing into it. At present, there are no public green spaces in the area covered by our membership so it is crucial to protect and develop the spaces that currently exist and to create green spaces where possible. As residents, we see daily that city infrastructure is lagging well behind the growth that has already been permitted. We query the assertion that high continued growth is necessary or desirable. We are being presented with the case for further growth as a given without supporting data. Poorly managed growth has lead to increased inequality in the city and problems with pollution, congestion, and environmental loss. It is not at all clear that the city’s water supply can support continued growth. Ironically, at a time of massive growth, we see our city centre diminishing. It is unclear how the proposed growth tallies with the Council’s commitments to acting on the climate emergency. The next Local Plan should include ways to better manage and benefit from tourism. It is not possible for us to comment in more detail on behalf of our membership owing to the large number of consultations we are doing our best to engage in at present. Individual responses have been encouraged, but the volume of information to review is daunting.

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