Greater Cambridge Local Plan Preferred Options

Whilst Taylor Wimpey are understanding of the requirements set out under this policy, comments are made in response to the point that ‘affordable homes must be designed to be indiscernible from market homes, and affordable homes should be distributed throughout the site in small groups or clusters, in accordance with the guidance provided in the Greater Cambridge Housing Strategy Annexe 10: Clustering and Distribution of Affordable Housing (Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council, June 2021) or a successor document.’
The document referenced sets out maximum cluster numbers in relation to the total number of units proposed. For example, developments of 30 to 200 units must have maximum clusters of 15 units. Concern is raised on this point. It is considered that flexibility should be allowed for clusters to exceed the 15 unit restriction where this has been agreed with the relevant Registered Provider. The clustering of affordable housing units is generally a practical requirement for Registered Providers for management and maintenance reasons. As such, the policy should allow a degree of flexibility here.

Taylor Wimpey are supportive of the approach to this policy in that housing mix ‘recommendations’ are provided, along with these being set out as a ‘range’. This is a positive format for the housing mix policy by providing flexibility, to also allow for differences between market and affordable housing mix, particularly with input from Registered Providers and to respond to local contexts.

Taylor Wimpey are supportive of this policy in that no density figure is stipulated, with this needing to be appropriate to each site specifically, taking into account local character and the need to provide higher densities where appropriate in order to accord with the requirements of the NPPF to boost supply of housing and make best use of land.

The approach for the gross internal floor areas for all new homes to be required to meet or exceed the nationally described residential space standard or its successor is now a standard requirement, and Taylor Wimpey house types are all compliant with this requirement.
The policy also states that ‘new homes will be required to be Building Regulations M4(2) ‘accessible and adaptable’ dwellings’ and that ‘5% of affordable homes on new developments that include 20 or more affordable homes will be required to be Building Regulations M4(3) ‘wheelchair user’ dwellings, to be provided as Building Regulations M4(3)(a) ‘wheelchair adaptable’ dwellings unless the Council has identified a need for Building Regulations M4(3)(b) ‘wheelchair accessible’ dwellings’. Taylor Wimpey are supportive of this requirement which accords with their standard house types.

This policy states that ‘provision of specialist housing will be required as part of the housing mix of new developments, particularly at new settlements and within urban extensions, to create balanced and mixed communities and to meet the identified need for specialist housing.’ Clarity should be provided within the wording of this policy as to the threshold and level of provision for this type of housing. The current wording suggests that this could be a requirement for all scales of development. Whilst there is understood to be a need to deliver housing for older people, it would be unreasonable to expect this provision on every housing development. Furthermore, the NPPF does not seek delivery of such housing on every residential development site. Clarity on this requirement will be necessary to inform site capacities of proposed allocations and the overall viability of the Plan.

This policy states that ‘5% of all new homes in residential developments of 20 dwellings or more will be required to be custom and/or self-build, provided that the Greater Cambridge self and custom build register is recording a demand for self and/or custom build homes when a planning application for 20 or more homes is considered.’
Whilst the broad aspiration of the policy is supported, it is noted that the NPPF does not stipulate a requirements for sites to include custom or self-build homes. It is however positive that the Council have noted in the policy that there must be demand on the register in order for this to be a requirement. It is noted that Homes for our future Greater Cambridge Housing Strategy 2019 – 2023 evidence base document sets out that there are just under 400 applicants on the South Cambridgeshire self-build register.
Taylor Wimpey are supportive of the suggestion that ‘a mechanism will be included within the policy to allow for plots identified to be for self and/or custom build homes to be delivered by the developer or others if the plot has not been sold as a self or custom build plot after at least 12 months of appropriate marketing.’ However, 12 months is a long period of time, and concern is therefore raised regarding the implications this may have for the timescales for delivery of developments and the associated increased costs with developers potentially having to revisit earlier phases in order to complete the dwellings. This timescale should therefore be reduced to 6 months.

Taylor Wimpey are supportive of the approach to manage the impacts of new development on the transport network. In particular, sustainable travel should be encouraged through development, which the development of Land north of Cambridge Road, Linton would achieve.
It is also noted that the policy refers to ‘planned infrastructure schemes (such as East West Rail, improvements to the A428, and schemes planned by the Greater Cambridge Partnership and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority) will provide significant and wide ranging improvements for active travel modes’. As identified earlier in this report, through the Greater Cambridge Partnership the Linton Greenway is being progressed which will enhance the sustainable travel options for the village and would be of direct benefit to Land north of Cambridge Road, Linton.
A concern is however raised on part of the wording of this policy. The policy states that ‘developers will be required to contribute to improvements to public and community transport and to deliver new and improved sustainable active travel connections for non-motorised users including for equestrians appropriate to the scale and nature of the proposal.’ This policy wording suggests that all developments will be required to deliver improvements, and clarity should therefore be provided on the types and thresholds of development that would trigger this requirement.

This policy states that ‘larger developments and those within accessible locations will need to be able to accommodate space for dockless cycle hire schemes, such as at travel hubs and key destinations’. Clarity should be provided within the policy as what is considered a ‘larger development’ that would trigger this requirement.
It is noted that the policy does not currently contain any details of car and cycle parking standards, which are clearly a necessity for such a policy. This information should therefore be provided as part of the policy, with clearly there being a difference in the required provision between the urban area of Cambridge and the surrounding settlements. These figures should be indicative as set out in the South Cambridgeshire Local Plan (2018) in order to provide maximum flexibility.
The provision of 1 electric car charging point per dwelling for private parking and 1 charging point per parking space in communal parking areas is supported.

This policy sets out the need for applicants to submit a ‘‘Connectivity Statement’ with a planning application to demonstrate how their proposed digital infrastructure will meet policy requirements’ set out within the policy. This covers broadband, mobile phones, small cell mobile communications technology and publicly accessible Wi-fi. The latter three points provide thresholds of development that trigger the need for this information, but the first point on broadband does not. Whilst it is assumed that the intention of this is to therefore apply to all development, clarity should be provided.