Draft North East Cambridge Area Action Plan

Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC) welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Area Action Plan (AAP) and we look forward to continuing the good working relations that have already been forged between our Councils. To this end, I hope you find the comments below useful. As the land area covered by the AAP is a reasonable distance from Central Bedfordshire, it is considered unlikely that the redevelopment of the site would directly impact on any settlements or communities within Central Bedfordshire. CBC is however supportive of a number of aspects of the AAP, particularly: • the overall approach to the north east of Cambridge which is to support all parts of the community by building social and economic links, encouraging collaboration and innovation, and creating access for everyone to jobs, training and leisure. • the approach to relocate the Waste Water Treatment Works (WWtW) to open up the site and enable a comprehensive regeneration development upon a brownfield site. It is recognised that the relocation of the WWtW will enable the provision of a newer, more fit for purpose facility that will have the capacity to meet future growth needs within the area; • the ambition to deliver 8,000 new homes and commensurate number of jobs. The provision of new homes is essential and being within the Oxford-Cambridge Arc, there is a need to deliver higher numbers so as to contribute to the Governments ambitious targets. 20,000 new jobs seems ambitious and whilst it is appreciated that new jobs provided will help to meet the wider needs of the area, it is considered important that the over-provision of new jobs should not be to the detriment of other locations and neighbouring authorities being able to attract and deliver economic growth. proposals for integrating walking and cycling throughout the development. This is considered to be an essential element of sustainable communities and also contributes to a reduced impact on the local environment and contributes to the climate change agenda. CBC looks forward to seeing how the North East of Cambridge proposals develop over the coming years as well as to future engagement in relation to the development of the Planning Policy – both in relation to our individual plans and in relation to the wider Oxford to Cambridge Arc.