Greater Cambridge Local Plan Preferred Options

Cambridge Water, and all water companies, have a statutory obligation to plan for predicted growth in the region, as laid out in the Water Resource Planning Guidelines issues by Defra. Cambridge Water is currently developing our next water resources management plan (WRMP), for publication in 2024. As part of this we update growth forecasts and the associated demand implications. Growth predications are collated from a range of sources including ONS data and local plan information. As such, it is vital that these plans and predictions are robust in order to ensure our planning is appropriate.
It is key that we work closely together to ensure the needs of the region are met – both economically and environmentally. This means that the pace of development, and the profile based on location is also key to ensure Cambridge Water is able to plan and deliver resources in the required locations.
The proposals identify an additional 2,111 homes per year through to 2040. This is higher than our current working assumptions for growth in the region that were developed for our WRMP 2019. The draft local plan also proposes 58,500 new jobs through to 2040. Our current plans include modest and flat growth for non-households, which may not fully reflect the growth in demand resulting from demand associated with these new jobs. As such, the options currently in place to ensure a supply/demand balance need to reviewed and updated, as additional growth creates additional demand for water.
In addition, there is further planned growth in our area through the OxCam Arc, which we need to review in combination with these proposals to ensure a combined plan that addresses all of the needs. However, there is uncertainty with the scale and profile for this.
The following statement is contained within the Sustainability Appraisal, completed by Stantec:
“Greater Cambridge lies within an area of water stress, where water resources are under substantial pressure, which will be exacerbated by new development. The Water Study identified that supplying water for this level of development can be accommodated if regional scale solutions are operational by the mid-2030s, and that interim measures will be necessary beforehand.”
Options discussed in the report to resolve this issue involve water trading across the boundary, as this report and the additional report entitled “Integrated Water Management Study” recognises that all of the Cambridge Water area is classified as “red” by the Environment Agency Abstraction Licence Strategy (2017) meaning there is no water available for new consumptive abstraction licences from groundwater in the Cambridge area. However, the report does not look at the classification of areas that border the Cambridge Water area – these too are classified as red and therefore opportunities to seek additional water in this way are limited. The report also references the Environment Agency abstraction reform programme, which is looking to apply caps to licences based on recent use. Our current WRMP includes licence capping to protect the environment, and this effectively removes headroom for growth in abstractions from the chalk aquifer. As the abstraction reform programme affects all water companies, any additional capacity that is currently available through Anglian Water and Affinity Water licences may also be reduced as a result.
In the “Integrated Water Management Study”, it states:
“It is therefore assumed that the new Local Plan will assume decreasing levels of abstraction with new sources, improved efficiency and less leakage compensating for this and providing for growth. If new sources and other measures are not achieved then there will be deterioration to water habitats. If deterioration is to be avoided, development trajectories may need to be altered until sufficient water is available.”
Cambridge Water is keen to see continued economic stability and growth in our region, and would emphasise to the Greater Cambridge Local Planning team the need for engagement with us to ensure information is shared as early as possible to ensure that both plans can be as accurate as they can be. In addition, we would impress upon the team the need for water efficiency to be a key factor in the new development. We strongly support the proposals that new housing developments must be built to achieve a maximum use of 80 litres per person per day (l/p/d) for households, and fully support achieving BREEAM ‘outstanding’ for non-households, and for domestic and commercial developments to identify and develop opportunities for reducing the demand for potable water supplies – for example, through rainwater harvesting. In addition, we are keen to ensure that any surface water is able to recharge the aquifers and would encourage development of sustainable urban drainage systems to enable this and reduce flooding risks. We would actively encourage any existing applications already in progress to also be subject to these conditions in order to maximise the benefits.
Demand management is an important focus for Cambridge Water – we have an ambitious leakage programme which will see a reduction of 15% in leakage levels between 2020 and 2025, and a further public interest commitment to reduce leakage to 50% of 2017/18 levels by 2050. We also have a public interest commitment to achieve 110 l/p/d consumption by 2050; this is an ambitious target based on the recent impact of COVID-19 on household consumption, which has seen per capital consumption (PCC) increase significantly.
Metering in the Cambridge area is now approximately 72%, and we have plans in place to increase this to 78% by 2025. The classification by the Environment Agency of the region as being seriously water stressed means we are able to explore compulsory metering, provided we have customer support for this. We are currently undertaking an extensive customer engagement programme as part of our WRMP24 consultation and are exploring this element in detail. Other areas we are reviewing as part of demand management include the continued offering of water saving devices, the opportunity for tariffs that could reward customers who use less water, customer education and media campaigns, and the use of temporary restrictions to manage demand proactively.
The additional demand generated through the further proposed growth detailed in the plan can be delivered through our demand management plans in the short term; by lowering demand through reducing leakage and improving water efficiency in our existing and new communities, we can ensure delivery with no additional environmental impact. However, Cambridge Water is facing reductions in our licenced capacity through the review of licences being proposed by the Environment Agency, in order to drive important environmental improvements across our region. This will mean that alternative supply options must be developed in order to continue to deliver the forecasted demand. Cambridge Water is currently developing short, mid and long term options to address this.
Cambridge Water is progressing a significant strategic regional supply option with Anglian Water, which would supply both areas; this reservoir in the Fenland area could currently be available in the mid-2030s. This is obviously a long term option, and in the short and mid-term we are working closely with Anglian Water to identify opportunities for transfers through their grid network. These opportunities could be available between 2025 and 2030, and hence the timing of licence reductions is of critical importance.
Cambridge Water is committed to the reduction of abstraction from chalk aquifers and are also developing a chalk stream flagship restoration project, through involvement with the Defra led chalk stream river restoration group, as well as developing our longer term environmental plans. It is key that the delivery of important environmental improvements is not delayed by any increase in demand caused by additional growth.
Due to the challenges around water availability in the Cambridge region, and the need to reduce abstraction from current sources in order to deliver statutory environmental improvements, it is vital that there is increased collaboration between planning teams in the region and Cambridge Water to ensure that planned growth can be supplied in a sustainable way. The timing and location of individual developments is critical to our planning and we would welcome regular and continued engagement.

Cambridge Water Consultation Response

Section/Policy
How much development, and where – general comments

Cambridge Water, and all water companies, have a statutory obligation to plan for predicted growth in the region, as laid out in the Water Resource Planning Guidelines issues by Defra. Cambridge Water is currently developing our next water resources management plan (WRMP), for publication in 2024. As part of this we update growth forecasts and the associated demand implications. Growth predications are collated from a range of sources including ONS data and local plan information. As such, it is vital that these plans and predictions are robust in order to ensure our planning is appropriate.
It is key that we work closely together to ensure the needs of the region are met – both economically and environmentally. This means that the pace of development, and the profile based on location is also key to ensure Cambridge Water is able to plan and deliver resources in the required locations.
The proposals identify an additional 2,111 homes per year through to 2040. This is higher than our current working assumptions for growth in the region that were developed for our WRMP 2019. The draft local plan also proposes 58,500 new jobs through to 2040. Our current plans include modest and flat growth for non-households, which may not fully reflect the growth in demand resulting from demand associated with these new jobs. As such, the options currently in place to ensure a supply/demand balance need to reviewed and updated, as additional growth creates additional demand for water.
In addition, there is further planned growth in our area through the OxCam Arc, which we need to review in combination with these proposals to ensure a combined plan that addresses all of the needs. However, there is uncertainty with the scale and profile for this.
The following statement is contained within the Sustainability Appraisal, completed by Stantec:
“Greater Cambridge lies within an area of water stress, where water resources are under substantial pressure, which will be exacerbated by new development. The Water Study identified that supplying water for this level of development can be accommodated if regional scale solutions are operational by the mid-2030s, and that interim measures will be necessary beforehand.”
Options discussed in the report to resolve this issue involve water trading across the boundary, as this report and the additional report entitled “Integrated Water Management Study” recognises that all of the Cambridge Water area is classified as “red” by the Environment Agency Abstraction Licence Strategy (2017) meaning there is no water available for new consumptive abstraction licences from groundwater in the Cambridge area. However, the report does not look at the classification of areas that border the Cambridge Water area – these too are classified as red and therefore opportunities to seek additional water in this way are limited. The report also references the Environment Agency abstraction reform programme, which is looking to apply caps to licences based on recent use. Our current WRMP includes licence capping to protect the environment, and this effectively removes headroom for growth in abstractions from the chalk aquifer. As the abstraction reform programme affects all water companies, any additional capacity that is currently available through Anglian Water and Affinity Water licences may also be reduced as a result.
In the “Integrated Water Management Study”, it states:
“It is therefore assumed that the new Local Plan will assume decreasing levels of abstraction with new sources, improved efficiency and less leakage compensating for this and providing for growth. If new sources and other measures are not achieved then there will be deterioration to water habitats. If deterioration is to be avoided, development trajectories may need to be altered until sufficient water is available.”
Cambridge Water is keen to see continued economic stability and growth in our region, and would emphasise to the Greater Cambridge Local Planning team the need for engagement with us to ensure information is shared as early as possible to ensure that both plans can be as accurate as they can be. In addition, we would impress upon the team the need for water efficiency to be a key factor in the new development. We strongly support the proposals that new housing developments must be built to achieve a maximum use of 80 litres per person per day (l/p/d) for households, and fully support achieving BREEAM ‘outstanding’ for non-households, and for domestic and commercial developments to identify and develop opportunities for reducing the demand for potable water supplies – for example, through rainwater harvesting. In addition, we are keen to ensure that any surface water is able to recharge the aquifers and would encourage development of sustainable urban drainage systems to enable this and reduce flooding risks. We would actively encourage any existing applications already in progress to also be subject to these conditions in order to maximise the benefits.
Demand management is an important focus for Cambridge Water – we have an ambitious leakage programme which will see a reduction of 15% in leakage levels between 2020 and 2025, and a further public interest commitment to reduce leakage to 50% of 2017/18 levels by 2050. We also have a public interest commitment to achieve 110 l/p/d consumption by 2050; this is an ambitious target based on the recent impact of COVID-19 on household consumption, which has seen per capital consumption (PCC) increase significantly.
Metering in the Cambridge area is now approximately 72%, and we have plans in place to increase this to 78% by 2025. The classification by the Environment Agency of the region as being seriously water stressed means we are able to explore compulsory metering, provided we have customer support for this. We are currently undertaking an extensive customer engagement programme as part of our WRMP24 consultation and are exploring this element in detail. Other areas we are reviewing as part of demand management include the continued offering of water saving devices, the opportunity for tariffs that could reward customers who use less water, customer education and media campaigns, and the use of temporary restrictions to manage demand proactively.
The additional demand generated through the further proposed growth detailed in the plan can be delivered through our demand management plans in the short term; by lowering demand through reducing leakage and improving water efficiency in our existing and new communities, we can ensure delivery with no additional environmental impact. However, Cambridge Water is facing reductions in our licenced capacity through the review of licences being proposed by the Environment Agency, in order to drive important environmental improvements across our region. This will mean that alternative supply options must be developed in order to continue to deliver the forecasted demand. Cambridge Water is currently developing short, mid and long term options to address this.
Cambridge Water is progressing a significant strategic regional supply option with Anglian Water, which would supply both areas; this reservoir in the Fenland area could currently be available in the mid-2030s. This is obviously a long term option, and in the short and mid-term we are working closely with Anglian Water to identify opportunities for transfers through their grid network. These opportunities could be available between 2025 and 2030, and hence the timing of licence reductions is of critical importance.
Cambridge Water is committed to the reduction of abstraction from chalk aquifers and are also developing a chalk stream flagship restoration project, through involvement with the Defra led chalk stream river restoration group, as well as developing our longer term environmental plans. It is key that the delivery of important environmental improvements is not delayed by any increase in demand caused by additional growth.
Due to the challenges around water availability in the Cambridge region, and the need to reduce abstraction from current sources in order to deliver statutory environmental improvements, it is vital that there is increased collaboration between planning teams in the region and Cambridge Water to ensure that planned growth can be supplied in a sustainable way. The timing and location of individual developments is critical to our planning and we would welcome regular and continued engagement.