Draft Bourn Airfield Supplementary Planning Document - June 2019

Object

Representation ID: 168292

Received: 25/07/2019

Respondent: Knapwell Parish Meeting

6. DELIVERING THE PLACE

Infrastructure Delivery Plan

Public Transport Infrastructure (Items 5 to 8) ban buses routing through the village before starting their services, due to increased noise, vibration, pollution. Enforce 7.5T weight limit.

Highway Infrastructure (Items 11 to 15) road north to Knapwell equally vulnerable. A14 traffic. Need for S106 monies for the High Street (similar to Bourn) - minimise rat running, monitoring and traffic calming.

Object

Representation ID: 168293

Received: 25/07/2019

Respondent: Knapwell Parish Meeting

2.5 LANDSCAPE, ECOLOGY & WATER

Nature Reserve, Wildlife Trust managed Overhall Grove is a designated SSSI, and recognised Ancient Woodland. Conservation Area. Village contains the RSPB's own national farm. Protected verges due to a range of extremely rare flora, including Sulphur Clover. These are not referenced in the Sustainability and Habitats Appraisal, which requires further investigation. Request explicit reference in SPD to correct this oversight, with recognition that as such, specific measures are put in place to actively manage traffic volume in this sensitive Parish ecosystem.

Object

Representation ID: 168294

Received: 25/07/2019

Respondent: Knapwell Parish Meeting

2.4 - ACCESS, MOVEMENT AND CONNECTIVITY

In line with District Council's Scrutiny Overview Committee recommendation to Cabinet, I would like to see mandated investment in a direct access onto the A428. Safety concerns are unfounded based on equivalent examples already in the region displaying similar characteristics.

Current modal and traffic models (around 800 vehicle movements at peak) are believed to grossly underestimate the likely reality, in the context of the only alternative being a bus to Grange Road. Many commuters will not be travelling into Cambridge, which presents a strategic necessity for a more drastic infrastructure solution. We believe 'no strategic case is made [for an A428 link]' (page 15) to be untrue. Believe direct A428 access remains a viable option, the most practical and sustainable solution to mitigate the dangers and externalities of 3500 households, and their travel, on local village communities.

Object

Representation ID: 168295

Received: 25/07/2019

Respondent: Knapwell Parish Meeting

1C ACCESS TO HIGH QUALITY PUBLIC TRANSPORT FACILITIES

One of the strategic objectives of the Bourn Airfield Development is stated as the avoidance of coalescence, ensuring Bourn Airfield is a 'distinct new village'. Providing direct transport links to Cambourne and Bourn Broadway from the west side of a new development at the airfield fundamentally undermines this strategic statement. Locating the village 'centre' in the North West corner of the airfield fundamentally undermines this strategic statement.

Object

Representation ID: 168296

Received: 25/07/2019

Respondent: Knapwell Parish Meeting

4.2 SPATIAL FRAMEWORK PLAN

Locating the village 'centre' in the North West corner of the airfield provides an inherent Broadway-biased emphasis, which will naturally bias traffic movement to this area of the development, and therefore the Broadway itself. Already highlighted as a traffic concern. Village centre should as a minimum be relocated to the centre of the Airfield, or more preferably to the East side to reflect the stated intent of the plan to 'minimise rat-running through villages' immediately south (Bourn) and North (Knapwell), and bias traffic movements to Highfields exit.

Object

Representation ID: 168297

Received: 25/07/2019

Respondent: Knapwell Parish Meeting

2. SITE CONTEXT

Knapwell village centre similar distance to the proposed Western Bourn Airfield entrance as Bourn village centre. Confusion as to why equivalence is not being drawn with regard the SPD's duty to be 'responsive to local context'.

Knapwell has Conservation Area, Knapwell High Street displays many similar characteristics. Draw equivalence to every point raised in the draft SPD about dangers and damage to Bourn Broadway and Bourn village. Boxworth and Knapwell High Streets are on the primary north/south route between the A14/Boxworth Services and the A428/Bourn Airfield Western exit.

Gross oversight and inaccuracy that no maps show the dangerous staggered junction at Bourn Broadway/St Neots Road/Knapwell High Street. Site of regular accidents; it suggests negative externalities have not been appropriately considered. Accidents are routine at Elsworth Road/Boxworth Road/ Connington Road junctions.

Despite chicanes, frequent accidents and near misses in Knapwell, result of dangerous and inconsiderate driving. Serious accident in May 2019, High Street likely KSI blackspot. Reference in SPD special S106 requirements in same vein as Bourn.