Draft Fulbourn Village Design Guide SPD

Paragraph 5.4 of the Village Design Statement states ' there should be limited night light pollution ; night darkness should be increased, especially at the fringes of the built area and within the green belt '.

Whilst the comments within the paragraph are laudable, it must be acknowledged that the western fringe of Fulbourn will be significantly affected by new development coming forward on the Ida Darwin site consistent with Development Plan Policy and the expectation that outline planning permission will soon be issued for development on that site.

New residential development on the site will of course significantly alter the character of that site and the very nature of built form and the residents within the new properties and on the site in general will introduce a new level of activity which will of course impact on lighting . To suggest that areas such as this will become darker at night time is unrealistic having regards to the site planning status and this needs to be acknowledged within this Statement.

Paragraph 10.3 of the Village Design Statement states that 'there should be open views across the whole site towards countryside and local landmarks'. We are not sure what this wording is intended to achieve. We would certainly endorse the need for high quality design and layout of any new development coming forward in Fulbourn and particularly on those larger development sites identified within the Plan and particularly within the Ida Darwin site where an outline planning permission is expected imminently. With detailed proposals anticipated in due course, the built form will ultimately have a significant impact upon the landscape. It may be that the wording is seeking to achieve views out to the countryside from the interior of the larger development sites such as along a 'boulevard' street. This will of course be a matter for detailed design but we consider that the Statement shoulld clarify this Statement in more detail.

On Figure 16, page 9 where the caption states "the countryside is lived and experienced directly from within the village", it is unclear why the Ida Darwin site has a brown circle shown on the site stating it is an "important local landmark" according to the accompanying key. There is no clear justification of what this landmark is, particularly bearing in mind the other landmarks within the village seem to be identifying discrete buildings or features. It is the case that the Ida Darwin Hospital site is made up of a number of low density mostly vacant unsightly buildings, all of which are planned to be demolished in two phases to provide for new residential development following the granting of outline planning permission in accordance with the Adopted Plan. The inclusion of a designation in the manner shown in Figure 16 seems to suggest the retention of a particular feature or indeed the retention of the site itself in its present form and clearly that is unrealistic having regard to its planning status. We accordingly suggest that Figure 16 should be amended to remove the designation on the Ida Darwin site.