All 23 sites put forward by land owners for potential residential and business development in Histon & Impington have been rejected by Greater Cambridge planners in their first draft proposals for the region’s Local Plan, including ambitions for Cambridge Science Park to be extended into the village.
Trinity College proposals for a 400-acre Research and Development campus in Green Belt land south of Milton Road, Impington, are among those that would not get the go-ahead if the draft proposals are finalised. Among a range of objections, planners found the development “would have a significant adverse impact to the wide and local landscape character views and visual amenity.” It would, they said, be “a significant encroachment in the landscape”, including “permanent removal of agricultural open fields and an urbanisation of rural countryside.” They also concluded there is “no capacity for growth” of traffic relating to the site, and that if any plans were to be approved, they would “need to ensure no net increase in vehicles trips on the Strategic Road Network.” Nonetheless Trinity College has a 20-year option on the land and is thought likely to appeal any planning constraints that arise.
Planners have also turned down sites suggested by Chivers off Milton Road and all the sites proposed by Cambridgeshire County Council, including the land at Buxhall Farm adjacent to Park Primary School and the Infants’ School, playing field and Early Years Centre in New School Road. Other sites rejected include land around Cambridge Road, Clay Close Lane, Impington Lane, Woodcock Close, Cottenham Road, Park Lane and Croft Close.
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The proposals will now be considered by Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire District councillors through their respective committee processes. A final list of sites will be put out for public consultation at the beginning of November. Residents’ involvement in the process will be vital to ensuring that the interests of the village are respected and unwanted development sites don’t creep back into the Local Plan at a later stage.
Wider impact
The Local Plan will determine where new homes and jobs in the region will be developed to 2041 and beyond. Almost 900 potential sites were suggested by developers, landowners and planners, but after testing them against criteria including flood risk, transport, biodiversity and heritage impacts, only 19 have been chosen.
The proposals are rooted in extensive public consultation carried out in early 2020, when respondents overwhelmingly said that climate change was the top priority for the plan. As a result, the proposed sites are those that planners believe are most likely to minimise carbon emissions, maximise biodiversity and enable green space improvements, while achieving central government-imposed goals for growth in the region.
The sites proposed for all new homes and jobs in Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire are close to high quality public transport and within walking and cycling distance of local destinations and services, to minimise future car use and set “a clear path to a net zero carbon future”. But they come with a clear warning to central government that the scale of new building will depend on urgently increasing the area’s future water supply
Although most new sites have been suggested in and around Cambridge, the new towns of Northstowe, Cambourne and Waterbeach would also continue to be developed. One of the objectives of the Local Plan is to protect the rural character of the villages, and only 4% of homes – 384 in total over the next 20 years – would be on sites in rural areas.
Only 4 sites would build on Green Belt land – including an extension to the biomedical campus around Addenbrooke’s hospital. 40% of the homes built on sites which provide 10 homes or more would be social rent, affordable rent, shared ownership or discounted market sale properties.
Concerns
Current development sites already underway in the region will deliver around 1,770 new homes per year up to 2041, including the new housing at Darwin Green, across the A14 from Impington. On top of this, the Local Plan needs to allocate sites for another 550 homes a year in order for housing to keep pace with the increase in jobs in the area.
Although the scale of development proposals for the region is daunting – and the draft Plan certainly won’t be welcome by all – there could be serious consequences if communities and Councils don’t accept it.
The increase in local jobs has outstripped the amount of housing being built and that housing has become even less affordable, leading to increasing commuting. Under national planning rules, Local Plans need to demonstrate that they will meet local needs for housing. If they don’t, then unwanted speculative development may have to be permitted in places that damage the environment and disturb communities.
Cllr Dr. Tumi Hawkins, Lead Member for Planning at South Cambridgeshire District Council, explained: “The government requires us to meet the number of new homes that the evidence is showing us are needed. If we do not, the plan may not be signed off by the government’s planning inspectors, and we may end up having to accept developers’ proposals for homes in locations that could harm the environment. And without planning for homes where and when they are needed, we will see increases in house prices, rent and pollution as people will have to travel further. These proposals aim to achieve a greener way of living.”
The Greater Cambridge Local Plan is being developed by the Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Service, a partnership between Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire District Councils. The proposed sites are available to view here.
Planners’ assessments of the development sites put forward in Histon (from p184) & Impington (from p278) can be found here.