Greater Cambridge Local Plan Issues & Options 2020

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A. Edges of villages provide locations where there are established communities as well as services and other infrastructure which make them an ideal location for development of additional jobs and homes. This is particularly the case for Rural Centres and Minor Rural Centres as identified in the adopted South Cambridgeshire Local Plan. B. For example, Gamlingay is identified as a Minor Rural Centre which are villages with a greater level of services, facilities and employment than most other villages in South Cambridgeshire, and often perform a role in terms of providing services and facilities for a small rural hinterland. Providing additional homes in this location would deliver social and economic benefits which weigh heavily on the benefits C. Given this, the settlement boundaries for existing Rural Centres and Minor Rural Centres should be reconsidered and reassessed particularly where edge of village sites are promoted for sustainable development. D. Additionally, the NPPF encourages planning policies to identify a sufficient supply and mix of sites, taking into account their availability, suitability and likely economic viability. As noted previously, edge of village sites tend to be smaller and within single ownership with less constraints than larger strategic allocations. This means they are a reliable and robust source for housing delivering and where such sites are immediately available, significant flexibility should be given to allow sustainable development to be delivered quickly.

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A. Yes, particularly within Rural Centres and Minor Rural Centres but additionally more flexibility should be given to the reassessing the boundaries of the village frameworks to allow homes on available sites abutting the existing village boundaries to come forward. B. In order to deliver the most efficient number of homes and make the best use of land, the existing limitation of maximum dwellings numbers on development in Rural Centres and Minor Rural Centres should be removed and consideration of appropriate densities should be considered on a site-by-site basis.

A. Please see response to Question 39.

A. Reliance of a small number of larger allocations can be significantly flawed if the correct mechanisms are not in place to ensure there are no barrier to their full delivery within the current Plan period. B. This is an issue that has been the downfall of a number of Local Authorities and Local Plan Examinations in recent years. The most topical of these is St Albans Local Plan, where in January 2020 the Planning Inspector cancelled the remaining Local Plan examination hearings after just one week of initial discussions which had mostly centred around the proposed allocation a Garden Village for 2,300 new homes. Significant concerns were raised about delivering the allocation due to it benefiting from an extant permission for another use. C. This highlights the dangers of relying on large urban extension or a single solution to delivering housing and reiterates the need to ensure that a range of sites are allocated as part of the supply. New settlements can contribute effectively to meeting housing need but cannot be relied upon as the sole solution.

A. Please refer to response to Question 40. B. Additionally, we believe it is important that growth in villages is planned for in the Local Plan and not restricted by existing or emerging Neighbourhood Plans. It is for the strategic plan to lead on the overall strategy and to not allocate land in villages in our view would be a serious omission which would put the delivery of the housing requirement at risk, particularly in the short term. C. With reference again to the recent St Albans experience, it was clear from the first week of the examination hearing sessions that the lack of consideration given to small sites and a reliance on strategic scale development was a serious failing of the plan which caused the examination to be halted. The GC Authorities can avoid this by planning positively for small sites in villages, which we believe should play a key role in the strategy.

A. South Cambs Local Plan Policy S/5 set a target for 19,500 new homes between 2011-2031 (of which 2,735, or 14%, had already been completed between 2011-15 and more were committed within previous allocations). The delivery of the remaining housing supply relied on three major strategic site allocations which were anticipated to provide a further 13,700 (70%) of these homes, comprising: 1. A new town north of Waterbeach for 8,000 to 9,000 homes; 2. A new village based on Bourn Airfield for 3,500 homes; 3. A major expansion of Cambourne for a fourth linked village of 1,200 homes B. As stated within the response to question 46, a move away from relying a small number of large allocations is needed to a robust supply of sites is allocated which delivers growth in the right locations across the district throughout the entire Plan period. C. Furthermore, Policy S/6 sets out that the existing preference for locating new development is the edge of Cambridge in the first instance followed by within new settlements and lastly in the rural area at Rural and Minor Rural Centres. D. Gamlingay is identified as Minor Rural Centres in where residential development and redevelopment up 30 dwellings (indicative maxima) is supported within the designated development frameworks extent. However, the Plan also recognised that Minor Rural Centres have a greater level of services, facilities and employment than most other villages in South Cambridgeshire, and often perform a role in terms of providing services and facilities for a small rural hinterland. E. A more flexible policy approach to new development in or adjacent to these Rural Centres is required to deliver growth in this sustainable location and make best use of the services, facilities and employment opportunities available. Further details on this are set out within the response to Question 40.

Land at north of Heath Road

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Response to Question 42 A. A flexible and mixed approach is required to provide a robust supply of housing and no single solution will deliver a sound Local Plan. A combination of approaches to the distribution of spatial growth is necessary to deliver new housing and employment development in the appropriate locations across the district. B. However, the first approach should be to consider sites within or well related to existing sustainable settlements, outside of the Green Belt.