Issue - meetings

Presentation by Planning Officers followed by question and answer session.

 

The Greater Cambridge Local Plan First Proposals consultation can be found on the Greater Cambridge Planning website: https://www.greatercambridgeplanning.org/localplan

The Committee received a presentation from the Planning Policy Manager.

 

The Committee made the following comments in response to the presentation:

      i.          How did lessons learnt from previous Local Plans feed into this one?

     ii.          Suggested that people felt disenfranchised as consultation results were ignored. For example, no-one wanted the Highways Authority proposals for Cherry Hinton Road, but they were implemented regardless.

   iii.          People wanted concrete facts now on what would happen in two years time.

   iv.          The consultation would generate a lot of information that could be used for (academic) research purposes. Requested it be made available if not embargoed eg commercially sensitive.

    v.          People’s housing needs changed over time. For example, Covid led to a shift towards wanting amenity space as people spent more time at home (including working) than they did before lockdown in March 2020.

 

The Planning Policy Manager said in response to questions from members of the committee:

      i.          Officers were working with the Highways Authority to look at the impact of proposals on transport including on rural areas.

     ii.          Proposals that went into the Local Plan would have their transport issues assessed.

   iii.          Local Plans had to be kept up to date. Having (shared) objectives (eg biodiversity) helped to achieve join up across council plans and strategies.

   iv.          The consultation was an opportunity to look at what worked well, or not, in previous Local Plans and review how to improve in future.

    v.          As they developed policies, Officers looked at measurements (such as water usage in current developments) to learn lessons from installation and usage.

   vi.          The consultation set out proposals on how to deliver affordable business space as part of employment developments, as well as how to secure benefits such as apprenticeship schemes from developments.

 

Members of the public asked a number of questions, as set out below.

 

1.    A member of the public from Trumpington Residents’ Association said the following in response to Policy S/CBC Cambridge Biomedical Campus (CBC):

                i.          The Association was strongly opposed to this policy as it was not the best way to meet the health and life sciences needs of the CBC. Why was the policy being proposed when:

a.    It would cause “very high harm” to the Green Belt and would irretrievably damage high quality agricultural land - against both of which there was a presumption in the Local Plan and national planning policy.

b.    It would reduce the gap between Cambridge and its necklace of villages which was essential to Cambridge’s “special character” according to the current Local Plan.

c.    It would surround White Hill with development.

d.    It would take Cambridge’s city edge out to Granham’s Road.

e.    There was already “a large supply” of land allocated for economic development in the current Local Plan amounting to 135 hectares, with a number of sites suitable for the Campus’s needs identified in the Greater Cambridge Employment Land and Economic Needs Study Appendix H.

f.      There was no guarantee that the CBC would not be back for more when the next Local Plan was prepared threatening the amalgamation of Great Shelford with Cambridge.

 

The Planning Policy Manager said:

                i.          The Local Plan set out various advantages and disadvantages that explored the issues raised (in the questioner’s points). For example, the Green Belt Study.

               ii.          People were invited to respond to the consultation. Officers would consider the issues raised and report to Members for their consideration.

             iii.          The Strategy topic paper was available via https://consultations.greatercambridgeplanning.org/sites/gcp/files/2021-11/TPStrategyAug21v3Nov21_0.pdf This set out more detail to supplement the consultation.

 

2.    Regarding Cambridge Airport. What leisure facilities would be built on the Cambridge Airport Site? Given the Cambridge Cultural Infrastructure Strategy, will that ensure enough land was allocated for leisure, sports, and arts, so that we don't end up with large areas for housing but few community facilities, as in Queen Edith's?

 

The Planning Policy Manager said:

                          i.          Officers said detailed planning of the airport site had not yet been done. Welcomed feedback as the Local Plan developed.

                         ii.          Referred to his response to the member of the public at West/Central Area Committee regarding the Wellbeing topic paper and plans to further develop evidence regarding cultural infrastructure.

 

3.    "What consideration have officers given for the proposals for "Cambridge Great Park"? How can they ensure that the land can be safeguarded for this?"

 

The Planning Policy Manager referred to the Green Infrastructure Opportunities Mapping Project detailed in the Officer’s presentation.