Greater Cambridge Local Plan Issues & Options 2020

Pigeon fully supports the aspiration in NPPF Chapter 12, to secure a high quality of design in new developments and create attractive, sustainable and useable places. The two Councils have a strong track record in securing high-quality, well-designed developments which is underpinned by a range of SPDs providing extensive guidance on design-related matters and providing clarity with regard to the two Councils’ expectations. This approach is commended but it will be important that this guidance is subject to an early review of current SPDs within the two Councils to achieve a consolidated and consistent approach across the Joint Plan area, as well as with the County Council on matters such as highway and drainage design and adoption standards. Achievement of good design at whatever scale of development is being considered, is reliant on positive discussions and engagement with the local planning authority and the Councils must ensure they have adequate and suitably qualified staffing resources to support this work if they are to have a positive effect in effectively implementing the Local Plan policies and guidance.

Nothing chosen

The Greater Cambridge economy, driven by its world leading hi-tech and life sciences cluster is of significant importance to the UK economy, with Cambridge lying at the centre of three economic growth corridors. In particular, Cambridge lies at the eastern end of the Oxford-Cambridge Arc which was recognized as ‘an area of significant economic strength and opportunity’ as part of the ‘Government ambition and joint declaration between Government and local partners’ in March 2019. It is therefore vital that the National significance of the Greater Cambridge economy is fully recognized by the two Councils and that its growth continues to be supported. Its success cannot and must not be taken for granted. The next Local Plan should therefore facilitate the continued growth and success of the Greater Cambridge economy and the continuing demand for modern, high quality employment premises in the Cambridge area. Such an approach would also be supported by the evidence provided by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Independent Economic Review (2018) for instance. The Local Plan should provide sufficient land and policy support for locally as well as regionally or internationally generated employment development to be located where residents and services can reach them sustainably and the culture of success can be nurtured.

Pigeon consider that the Local Plan should provide a balanced approach to the location of new employment development which both builds on existing strengths and takes advantages of the new opportunities created by the new settlements. The Local Plan should therefore seek to allocate a range of sizes and types of sites both close to existing clusters and at community level. This should include sites in proximity to existing hi-tech employment clusters such as the Science Park and the Biomedical Campus along with new and expansion of existing industrial estates. More community scaled facilities for start-ups and incubators should also be encouraged within new or expanding housing areas and employment areas as part of new or expanding settlements within strategic transport corridors. We would encourage further employment land allocations at Cambourne as part of such an approach. Policies should be flexible enough to allow for a range of business uses and to allow for the dynamic nature of businesses.

It is important that the Councils pursue a balanced approach to meeting housing needs through the identification of a range of small, medium and larger site allocations (NPPF para 68). Whilst large new housing allocations can offer attractive delivery rates over a sustained period, early and fast delivery can also be achieved through small and medium sized sites. The Local Plan should adopt a balanced approach to site identification, including a range of sizes and locations that allow the house-building industry to respond flexibly as the market fluctuates and develops. This will ensure a steady supply of new homes is provided throughout the Plan period such that the Councils are able to maintain a 5-year housing land supply. Over-reliance on large sites risks under-delivery in the early years, a dip in supply resulting in speculative applications and appeals. Inclusion of a healthy supply of small and medium sized sites will help to avoid this. It is also important to ensure planned housing growth is matched by public investment in necessary infrastructure so as not to burden development sites with additional costs that inevitably impact on the ability to achieve affordable housing policy targets.

Yes, strongly agree

Pigeon strongly agree that the Local Plan should aim to deliver more than the minimum number of new homes defined through the Standard Method. The PPG is clear that the Standard Method provides only the minimum local housing need. It takes no account of economic needs or specialist housing needs including those in need of affordable housing1. It is therefore appropriate to ensure that the housing requirement appropriately reflects these factors to ensure that the needs of different groups are addressed as required by paragraph 61 of the NPPF and that conditions are created to support economic growth as required by paragraph 80 of the NPPF. The PPG (2a-010) confirms that it is necessary to take account of other factors and identifies that the need will be greater than the figure identified by the standard method in circumstances including where previous assessments of need have identified that the need is significantly greater as is the case with Greater Cambridge. The Greater Cambridge economy, driven by the world leading hi-tech and life sciences cluster is of significant importance to the UK economy and with Cambridge lying at the centre of three economic growth corridors. It is therefore vital that the National significance of the Greater Cambridge economy is fully recognized by the two Councils and that its growth continues to be supported. In this regard, the CPIER Report noted that “the levels of planned housing are insufficiently high to accommodate the existing, let alone anticipated growth of the economy.” Additional flexibility (and allocations to achieve it) is therefore needed to allow the market to respond to the rapid growth in the jobs market, to improve choice, access and affordability. There also needs to be a sensible buffer to enable additional demand to be taken up and supply on a wide range of sites to be delivered. Whilst we accept that monitoring can be the basis for reviewing the Plan in future the Councils should be ambitious at the outset in addressing the known national recognition of the value of the area to the economy and setting a target which gives confidence and certainty to the community and the development industry. On this basis, Pigeon considers that the Plan should plan for the provision of around 2,900 new homes per annum to ensure sufficient flexibility to support the growing economy. 1 Although it does take account of the affordability of market housing.

Pigeon consider that the Councils should make provision for a wide mix of types, sizes, tenure, methods of construction, ownership and management of housing in the Local Plan. This should include provision for specific groups including the elderly and students. We appreciate that the Councils need to undertake more work as part of their SHMA to identify the extent of demand for different types of housing and the ability of the market and the Plan to meet specific needs. Whilst it is important to encourage a range of provision to meet different needs it is also important that the Councils recognize that needs will change over time and that individual site circumstances may also affect the housing mix It is therefore considered important that any such Policies within the Plan should provide flexibility and not be too onerous in this respect.

This Local Plan exercise can benefit from the strong strategic context created by the Combined Authority and Greater Cambridge Partnership, as well as wider initiatives like East West Rail. It is important that spatial planning decisions reflect the existing and emerging commitments to major sustainable transport infrastructure into and across the Cambridge region. It therefore needs to be coordinated in process and substance with the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Transport Plan to ensure that development is accessible by public transport, walking and cycling. So far as other infrastructure is concerned, such as power and telecommunications, the ways in which these services are delivered to site are changing significantly and any attempt to stipulate standards or delivery methods in planning policy would be counterproductive to flexible and low-cost solutions. Workshops with service providers should take place as part of the development of the Local Plan, to explain the scale and location of allocations, so that energy and water suppliers’ investment plans can be aligned with these and providers can approach landowners/promoters with greater certainty.

Pigeon support the aspiration to secure a shift away from car use towards more sustainable transport. We consider that the Councils have set out all the relevant issues in the consultation document. It will be important that the Local Plan is coordinated in process and substance with the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Transport Plan to ensure that development is accessible by public transport, walking and cycling. To the extent that development locations cause residents to have to travel, the first option should be rapid, sustainable modes suited to the length of the journey – walking/cycling/bus/metro/railway. The Councils are already adopting this approach so far as the Cambourne to Cambridge corridor is concerned, making our proposed site at St Neots Road, Hardwick highly sustainable. Further expansion of villages within transport corridors should be seen as an opportunity to sustain and attract new services and reduce the need for residents to travel to facilities farther afield.

Pigeon consider that it is important that there is an integrated approach within the Plan to the location of new development and the delivery of infrastructure to ensure it is sustainable. It will be important that infrastructure providers ensure appropriate supply is provided to support growth if development is to be sustainable, timely and affordable. This requires that the Councils have given infrastructure providers full details of the scale and program for growth over the plan period. Transport infrastructure is crucial to developing a sustainable development strategy and it is important that the extensive transport improvements being planned to connect Cambridge with the wider sub-region are delivered in the early part of the Plan period to support sustainable growth. Developers can design their developments in ways that help limit the demand for road space, power, water etc. and SPD’s and planning policies can help drive this.

Nothing chosen

Pigeon considers that there is scope to release some Green Belt sites on the edge of Cambridge for new development. However, it is recognized that most of the less sensitive sites have already been removed from the Green Belt and that any further Green Belt release will require the demonstration of exceptional circumstances and consideration of the tests in para 137 of the NPPF. In this context, it is important that the Councils have considered all reasonable alternatives and any site-specific factors before land is removed. Whilst the release of Green Belt land will have a role to play, this should be part of a balanced approach that also directs growth to sustainable settlements outside of Cambridge in locations served by rapid and sustainable public transport.