Draft North East Cambridge Area Action Plan

Further Comments Transport 11.1 In a broader context, it is noted that the status of the document is such that it does not carry any weight or commitment in determining planning applications. Given the lengthy timescales for the adoption of the AAP and the number of planning applications that are likely to come forward before this time, County Council transport officers have developed a position statement to outline how we intend to deal with such applications in the meantime. The position statement does not prevent planning applications from coming forward and seeks to deal with them in an equitable manner that doesn’t jeopardise the overall direction that the plan is moving in. Fen Road Level Crossing 11.2 The position in the plan regarding the Fen Road Level Crossing is noted, as is the fact that a number of responses were received by the Shared Planning Service on the issue. Whilst acknowledging that it shouldn’t be the sole responsibility of the AAP to resolve the current issues experienced by users of the crossing which are largely caused by the way in which the rail industry operates its level crossings, there is a wider issue of facilitating the growth in rail capacity along the this stretch of the rail network. While development on North East Cambridge will drive additional rail patronage into and from Cambridge North station, it is growth across the Cambridge sub-region and county / neighbouring areas that combined is likely to lead to demand for more trains on the line. North East Cambridge, in common with other large development sites immediately adjacent to stations on the line will be a significant contributor to this demand. Furthermore, with the strict vehicular trip budget that North East Cambridge will have, it is imperative that future increases in rail capacity aren’t constrained through a lack of strategic planning. In the longer term if the crossing issue isn’t resolved it will hamper the ability for extra rail capacity to be provided on this part of the rail network and could frustrate plans to accommodate growth of the local economy more widely 11.3 In order to ensure that increased rail capacity can be delivered on this part of the rail network in the future, there is a need to start exploring what long-term alternatives to the Fen Road crossing might be acceptable. Although the level crossing lies outside the AAP area, North East Cambridge could provide one of these alternatives. 11.4 If future work identified that alternative access were needed, and that a bridge or underpass of the railway between North East Cambridge and Fen Road was the preferred option, land in the North East Cambridge site for such a link would need to have been reserved for this. It is therefore considered that until such time that it is demonstrated that a replacement for the crossing will not need to go into the NECAAP site, land should be safeguarded for this purpose. This is to ensure that potential options aren’t ruled out prematurely, rather than suggesting that the site should bear the cost of such a scheme. 11.5 Ownership of the problem is needed from a range of stakeholders, principally Network Rail the Local Planning Authorities, the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority as Transport Authority and Cambridgeshire County Council as the Highway Authority. Only through this joint ownership will the issue be moved forward and the issue of whether land needs to be safeguarded in the NECAAP area for such a purpose be thoroughly aired.