Greater Cambridge Local Plan Preferred Options

4.30. This policy supports creation of land and habitats that are able to sequester carbon through changes of use and through tree planting.
4.31. At North Cambourne our landscape strategy will be designed to sequester carbon, as well as providing biodiversity and landscape benefits. The current illustrative scheme contained in the vision document includes approximately 400 acres of open space. If 5% (20 ha) of that is planted as new woodland, it would sequester approximately 4,500 tonnes of C02 over the next 100 years. The tree growth will be managed to provide amenity, biodiversity and carbon benefits to the site.

4.32. MGH is supportive of the Policies in this section of the First Proposals consultation, and of the proposed policy direction under Policy BG/BG: Biodiversity and geodiversity.
4.33. New development provides significant opportunities for improvements to the natural environment, particularly at strategic development sites that provide greater scale to make changes. At such new developments of scale it is possible to target specific biodiversity issues, and provide well planned green infrastructure that relates to and enhances existing natural features. The Local Plan policies should require net biodiversity gains on-site to be fully explored and provided. Urban extensions will allow green infrastructure to reach into urban areas, providing an extended green space network for both existing and new employees and residents.
4.34. In carrying out biodiversity assessments, value should be placed on the longevity of new communities such as that being proposed at North Cambourne, and new natural habitats associated with them. These habitats are designed to be retained in perpetuity. Existing trees and hedgerows may be given high biodiversity value because of their longevity, but it should also be recognised that older trees will eventually die. New environmental features and natural habitats can have significant ecological value as they mature over a period of decades following construction.

4.35. As per the aims of Policy BG/TC, it is certainly beneficial to increase tree and woodland cover from 7.4% to 19% by the 2050s, but care should also be taken in determining how/if this approach is consistent with maximising net biodiversity gains. For example, it is known that peat bog, bramble scrub and lowland meadows have a greater value in biodiversity than blanket tree cover. A mosaic of habitat creation is therefore preferred over blanket tree cover with the range of habitats determined by a clear understanding of the existing habitat value and potential of the location.

4.36. Green Infrastructure is intrinsic to good design and should be planned as part of all new developments, as proposed by Policy BG/EO. Evidence shows that small green spaces provided throughout development increase the amounts of physical activity that residents carry out and, and that these spaces are supportive of good mental health and wellbeing. MGH is aware of these benefits and propose new green infrastructure as part of the proposals at North Cambourne, where significant areas of the site will be used for green space in conjunction with sport, recreation, natural habitats and biodiversity offsetting.

Wellbeing and inclusion

4.37. There is a significant body of evidence emerging that shows healthy lifestyles are best supported by developments that are able to provide: -
 ‘gentle density’ that is only achievable in more urban areas;
 where public transport is available;
 mixed use development, supported by larger local populations;
 walkable neighbourhoods;
 shops, services and places to meet; and are
 leafy with regular green spaces.

4.38. The best way of achieving these aims is in the allocation of larger sites that are capable of accommodating a mix of uses. The consultation also notes that, in response to the First Conversation consultation on how the plan could achieve ‘good growth’, respondents agreed that development should be in sustainable locations, delivering a range of housing, including affordable housing, with access to safe and affordable sustainable transport as is proposed at North Cambourne.
4.39. The promotion of social inclusion in Cambridgeshire is an important consideration. We note the disparities in quality of life and life expectancy in the most deprived areas of the county compared to the least deprived areas . These disparities are not easy to resolve even over one Local Plan period because they are influenced by underlying socio demographics including aspirations and wages. The creation of new education, employment and training opportunities, where a wide mix of housing types can also be provided, and where open spaces, leisure and cultural activities are available to all, will help to improve the life chances of all residents and improve social inclusion.
4.40. Access to public transport is a key measure of social inclusion. For less affluent households, a second car is often not available, limiting the ability of the household to access employment opportunities.
4.41. The creation of truly mixed-use communities where access to jobs and facilities is maximised for all residents, as proposed at North Cambourne, is therefore a key measure in assessing which sites should come forward for development.
4.42. Larger sites are preferred in achieving overall gains for inclusion and balanced place making as they can better provide:-
 homes for all parts of the community;
 a wider range of accessible jobs;
 support the delivery of low carbon transport infrastructure;
 ensure that infrastructure, services and facilities are provided alongside new employment and homes; and
 support arts and culture.
4.43. The approach to delivering a mix of employment that is advocated in the emerging plan is also capable of being delivered at North Cambourne. Importantly, North Cambourne is not a stand-alone new community, but one that expands an existing community. This provides the opportunity to address some of the deficiencies of the existing community, particularly in terms of the availability of local jobs and facilities, as well as deliver a new community that can fully address the policy agenda of the emerging GCLP. North Cambourne as a location will be further enhanced with the delivery of new infrastructure specifically aimed at enhancing levels of public transport use in the form of C2C and East West Rail.
4.44. The presence of Cambourne as an existing settlement requires that consultation with existing communities will remain key in formulating a framework to guide future development at North Cambourne, both in terms of location and design. Design Charrettes or other similar processes, carried out at the right time and involving community representatives, local politicians and other stakeholders can help to gain buy-in from the community. MGH is committed to consultation in relation to its proposals for North Cambourne and has already been in discussion with relevant stakeholders and local communities for several years.
4.45. Consultation with existing communities will remain key for MGH in establishing a legitimate plan to guide future development, both in terms of location and design. Design Charrettes or other similar processes, carried out at the right time and involving community representatives, local politicians and other stakeholders can help to gain buy-in from the community. MGH is committed to consultation in relation to its proposals for North Cambourne and has already been in discussion with relevant stakeholders and local communities for several years.

Great places policies

4.46. MGH recognises that maintaining and creating great places is crucial to sustaining the quality of the area for people who live, work, study in, and visit Greater Cambridge. The overall policy aims for Great Places; for design to be responsive to people and place, to protect and enhance important landscape and heritage assets, and to achieve high quality development that meets climate change requirements, are all supported by MGH.
4.47. We recognise the importance of the recent changes to the national planning policy guidance and the introduction of a national design guide, which envisage that development will be led by local ‘design codes’ and which are informed by the traditions of an area, assisting in creating identity and distinctiveness. MGH endorse this approach to design as well as the involvement of local residents and other stakeholders via an open and transparent consultation process. We expect that developments on key sites, such as North Cambourne, should be prepared in accordance with a development brief or design code.
4.48. A significant issue for North Cambourne is demonstrating the ability to create a successful level of connectivity, and to ensure that existing and new neighbourhoods function successfully. The new crossing points need to be designed for a high degree of permeability, including easy access for active travel on foot and by cycle, and making sure that that A428 is not perceived as a barrier in any way. We consider this in more detail in our vision document.
4.49. Elsewhere in this representation we have also highlighted how consolidation of development at Cambourne, that supports its recognised role as a highly sustainable location, can assist the aims of making great places. The ability to create a scale of development that is supported by a range of services and community infrastructure, including a choice of schools and leisure facilities, can have a positive impact on the overall location.
4.50. Cambridgeshire already has a great track record in delivering well-designed new neighbourhoods. Emerging guidance in the form of the national design guide and updates to the PPG has re-enforced this process, and the implications of the work carried out by the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission will inform revisions to the NPPF. The Greater Cambridge authority will need to ensure that resources are in place so that proposals that come forwards are well considered, maximising the benefits that new development can bring, including those delivered by high quality design that relate to all aspects of health, social inclusion and wellbeing.

Jobs policies

4.51. The Greater Cambridge economy is of national importance. MGH agrees with this assessment, and that continuing economic growth is vital for the nation, the region, and for Greater Cambridge. Our overall position is focused on the opportunity for sustainable growth led by employment, rather than for the creation of jobs being led by housing delivery.
4.52. The importance of the Cambridge economy extends across the region, but there are also multiple benefits that arise locally. The international reputation of Cambridge powers a local economy that is much more than global high-tech businesses. This international reputation has been a spring-board for diverse local business across a wide range of types, including start-ups, studios, workshops, manufacturing, leisure, retail and logistics businesses. This process needs to be encouraged and facilitated to ensure a diverse local economy is created that ensures that the benefits of growth are spread across the population rather than being focussed solely in one sector or location. This ongoing economic diversification will help to balance social and economic inequalities across the Greater Cambridge area.
4.53. The ongoing ability of Greater Cambridge to provide economic growth, and therefore improvements in standards of living for the area as a whole are highlighted in the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Independent Economic Review (CPIER), September 2018 . The CPIER indicates that employment growth to date has been faster than envisaged. The Councils should look to draw on this opportunity to deliver better lifestyles for all those living and working in the wider region, and in particular to deliver benefits across the communities of Greater Cambridge.

Homes policies

4.54. In previous representations, MGH has emphasised that if insufficient housing is built to meet local need it will result in:-
 worsening affordability;
 damage to the local economy;
 damage to equality and social inclusion;
 adverse implications arising from climate change; and
 adverse impacts on the ability of people to live healthy lives.
4.55. The government has been clear that the Oxford Cambridge Arc should support economic growth. To do so will require housing to support the growing local work force. The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Growth Deal is predicated on the delivery of increased employment growth. The CPIER indicated that in order to realise the growth that could be delivered, a total of some 2,900 homes per year would be needed, which is notably higher than the ‘Central Scenario’ that has been assessed in the First Proposals consultation. MGH strongly agrees that the Local Plan should provide for higher levels of housing growth to support a strong economy, in accordance with government policy.
4.56. There is a need to provide for a wide range of housing in the Local Plan, including a diverse range of tenures, with rented accommodation, retirement living, market housing, and affordable housing together with some custom and self-build homes. A diversity of typologies will improve the ability of the market to achieve enhanced levels of delivery of all types of housing whether rent or buy. Such diversity is best achieved on larger sites which can adapt to market trends as demand changes in order to create diverse communities with a range of socio-economic groups.
4.57. High standards of housing can be achieved through use of the preparation of development briefs or design codes. The recent changes to the national planning policy guidance and the introduction of a national design guide prescribe that local ‘design codes’ be produced which are informed by the traditions of an area, assisting in creating identity and distinctiveness. MGH endorses this approach to design.

Affordable Housing

4.58. The housing strategy in emerging Policy H/AH identifies the requirement for 40% of homes on sites of 10 or more dwellings to be affordable. It also sets out that the Councils will seek the following proportions of different tenures of affordable homes in South Cambridgeshire: 70% affordable housing for rent (social rent homes and / or affordable rent homes) and 30% intermediate tenures. The expectation is also to deliver 25% First Homes in line with the NPPF and transitional guidance.
4.59. Overall MGH is supportive of the proposed policy direction, but that the need for viability testing may arise in some areas. Housing affordability is a key issue for equality both nationally and more significantly, within Greater Cambridge. It is also an international issue. International companies able to offer better living standards with a smaller portion of wages needed to pay for living accommodation can tempt workers from the UK to other destinations across the globe. The government and local authorities recognise in the Oxford-Cambridge Arc document that median house price to median income ratio has been increasing across the UK, and is increasing more significantly across the Arc.
4.60. Savills estimates that for its economic potential to be reached, 9.6 million sq ft of business floor spaces is needed across the Arc, with 680,000 homes beyond the existing pipeline. If the Arc is to deliver its employment potential, housing affordability must be addressed through the building of significant numbers of homes.

Infrastructure policies

4.61. Significant infrastructure is being brought forwards in the Greater Cambridge area, including EWR. Additional Park and Ride provision is also planned, together with the C2C. MGH supports the proposed policy direction, including Policy I/ST which seeks to deliver sustainable and inclusive communities by minimising the need to travel and reducing travel distances. We agree that new development should be located appropriately to maximise the benefits of investment in this new strategic infrastructure, which has the ability to increase the availability and use of more sustainable modes of transport and thereby address the environment and on quality of life impacts of car use.
4.62. Local infrastructure such as schools, health facilities and leisure facilities should be key elements of new development if it is to be sustainable and contribute to the creation of robust, mixed-use communities. Such infrastructure is best delivered where its effectiveness is maximised across both existing and new communities.
4.63. The MGH proposals at North Cambourne would deliver new infrastructure that serves the new community, but also serves the existing community at Cambourne. New residents would benefit from the existing services and facilities provided at Cambourne, with new infrastructure broadening choices. The extension of Cambourne will deliver new options for education, additional community facilities with opportunities for cultural facilities, and a broader leisure offer that could include for example a swimming pool or local cinema. Smaller developments, for example in many of the surrounding villages, are not able to deliver such opportunities because neither the existing community or the new development provide sufficient critical mass to support them.
4.64. Utilities will need to be carefully considered alongside new development proposals. As the move to electric cars takes place, the burden on the electricity grid (for vehicle charging) becomes much greater. New developments will need to consider new ways of generating electricity to enhance and supplement grid supply. Options to generate renewable energy on site will be fully investigated to maximise the output potential in a compatible manner with the proposed masterplan. This is currently likely to include rooftop photovoltaic panels, but other sources of energy, such as heat sharing, may become apparent as the masterplan is developed. Such an investment in new infrastructure can best be achieved on larger, mixed use developments that allow heat to be used efficiently by transfer from employment buildings, which need heat during the day, and homes that require maximum heating during the evenings.
4.65. Delivery of the Local Plan, and its ability to be found sound, is contingent on water supply being adequate without causing f environmental harm, including excessive demand on the chalk aquifer. A number of measures are being explored – including water transfers and imports. However, current evidence says that the planned reservoirs and improvements to supply will be too late in the plan period to meet the need of the preferred trajectory.
4.66. An ‘Integrated Water Management Study’ is part of the evidence base, with inputs from Stantec. At the Regional level we understand that the water companies are looking at the co-creation of a regional plan – that will be the subject of consultation next year (albeit the final document may not be available for the GCP Examination in Public).
4.67. We note that, on water supply and wastewater treatment, the Stantec supplementary paper states that specific constraints which require management and/or further investment associated with the preferred spatial option (Option 9) are connected to growth at Cambourne. At Cambourne there are local wastewater treatment capacity constraints although opportunities to supply Cambourne with fresh water from outside the area easing likely short term local supply shortages.
4.68. Usage in Cambridge Water Area is also notably high (143 litres per person per day) compared to standard national requirement for new homes – so the area is at risk of serious water stress without significant measures to improve supply. The proposed approach to reduce / re-use would be a move towards 80 litres per person per day, which the Councils say doesn’t add much more to the cost of development according to the LPA. The scheme will aim to target this lower value with a combination of low flow fittings, and potentially rainwater harvesting systems, either on an individual building level or as a centralised system, incorporated within the development SuDS strategy.