Question 30. What approach should the next plan take to supporting or managing tourism in Cambridge and the rural area?

2.28 The IWM at Duxford is Britain’s largest aircraft museum. In 2017/18 it attracted almost 400,000 visitors and so was the most visited paid-for attraction in the region. Its airshows that year attracted 90,000 visitors alone. 2.29 It is important that key tourist facilities and visitor attractions such as IWM Duxford continue to be fully supported in the new plan. In addition to the economic benefits to the Greater Cambridge area and the social value they bring, they help spread visitor numbers away from central Cambridge. Policies need to support and protect such facilities whilst allowing for appropriate expansion and development in context with each site. 2.30 The proposed development of a hotel on the IWM site will service the conference facilities and museum visitors allowing for extended stays, enhancing visitor experience and can help reduce the carbon footprint of the site. 2.31 Key to supporting IWM Duxford, and encouraging carbon reduction will be the ability to better link it to more sustainable transport modes (see Q37). Q37. How should we encourage a shift away from car use and towards more sustainable modes of transport such as public transport, cycling and walking? 2.32 A key aspect of any future transport strategy, which needs to be promoted through the new local plan, will be to properly connect key generators and destinations. 2.33 The relatively rural location of IWM Duxford (next to the A505 / M11 junction) means that 96% of visitors arrive by car. This means a high carbon footprint and large area for car parking which could otherwise be landscaped. 2.34 If this is to change, there needs to be support for better links to transport hubs and routes. This will give visitors and staff alternatives to the private car and mean that by better linking with local schools and villages, the benefits for social well-being will be greater (see Q16). 2.35 Any ways to encourage public transport operators to adopt a single ticket system and ensuring that profitable routes subsidise rural routes so that these can be delivered at a usable frequency for commuters could be an important aim of the Greater Cambridgeshire plan. 2.36 The plan also needs to support the creation of an expanded network of safe green routes for walking and cycling, (with suitable surfaces for mobility scooters, e-bikes, e-scooters etc) which can link between public transport and employment hubs and visitor destinations.

The Cambridge Biomedical Campus, including Addenbrooke’s Hospital and the Rosie Maternity Hospital, act as a draw for patients, staff, visitors, academics and research personnel. The campus needs to provide ancillary facilities to support its role in world-class treatment, teaching and research. Flexibility should be built in to planning policies relating to the hospital and wider campus to ensure that there is scope for facilities such as a hotel, conferencing facility, café, restaurant and gymnasium to help enhance the sustainability of the site, create linked trips and recognise that whilst not a tourist attraction, the hospital is an important destination in Cambridge.. Such provision of ancillary uses would help to reduce the number of repeat trips some patients or visitors may need to make.

No response proposed.

4.43 We have no comments to make.

4.42 We have no comments to make.

30We recognise that, as a historic town with an impressive architectural heritage Cambridge will be an attraction for tourists. But in the last 20 years the throng of tourists has reached an unacceptably high level. As a consequence of this many colleges have restricted access to their sites either by excluding visitors or by charging them. Certain parts of the town, ‘the historic centre’, most notably Kings Parade and Garrett Hostel Lane/Bridge, have become so congested with tourism that it interferes significantly with the normal life of the town. The next local plan needs to develop policy which will constrain tourist numbers. Possible options could include a Visitor tax which would generate additional revenue and restricting the number of tourist coaches entering the city by, for example, requiring all tourist coaches to disgorge passengers at Park and Ride sites. Summary of Comments: We believe that the new plan needs to have specific measures to manage the volume of tourism which has reached the point where it represents a problem

WITH REFERENCE TO 4.5.3 The provision of high quality education supports economic development by providing the individual with the necessary skills to take advantage of the employment opportunities available. Equally, providing the right opportunities in terms of employment can also help to meet local needs, as well as provide opportunities for valuable and varied employment from further people travelling/relocating from further afield.A balance of the two key elements above is essential in achieving great places to live, work and learn.

• Deter large groups, especially the day trippers who clog the streets, take photos, ignore other road users (pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles), and spend little or nothing to contribute to the local economy. Possibly tax the tourists - a fee per person per day?