The plan was approved by councillors at a South Cambridgeshire District Council Full Council meeting today (Thursday 27 September) after Government inspectors who were independently reviewing the plan, reported that they had found it sound.
Adoption of the Local Plan in South Cambridgeshire today means the Council will now use the plan as the cornerstone in all planning decisions made for the area.
The Plan also contains the key housing sites the Council will be expecting to see developed over the coming years. Only a proportion of the homes (listed below) at the larger sites would be built by 2031:
- A new town north of Waterbeach – approximately 8,000-9,000 homes
- A new village at Bourn Airfield – approximately 3,500 homes
- An expansion to Cambourne to the west – planning permission has already been granted for 2,350 homes
- Homes on land north of Cherry Hinton and west of Teversham – 1,200 homes (420 in South Cambridgeshire. The remaining homes are in Cambridge City)
- Around 900 homes in the better served South Cambridgeshire villages
- Continue to develop Northstowe – around 10,000 homes
- Continue to build homes in existing growth sites on the edge of Cambridge (Southern Fringe, Cambridge East, Darwin Green and Eddington)
The plans also allow for the extension of the Cambridge Biomedical Campus at Addenbrooke’s Hospital and the Peterhouse Technology Park on Fulbourn Road.
The Council submitted the Local Plan in March 2014 for independent examination and Government Inspectors took over four years to assess it.
The examination of the Plan was carried out jointly with the plan for Cambridge City Council’s area. That plan was also submitted in March 2014. The Planning Inspectors’ examinations included reviewing evidence supplied by the two Councils, representations of objection and support made during public consultations, site visits and a series of hearings.
A Full Council meeting for Cambridge City Council is being held on Thursday 18 October when a final decision on their plan will be made.
South Cambridgeshire District Council and Cambridge City Council committed to an early review of the Local Plans as part of the City Deal agreement. This was also a recommendation of the Planning Inspector. The review will commence in 2019 with submission for examination in 2022.
Cllr Aidan Van de Weyer, Deputy Leader and Lead Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Transport at South Cambridgeshire District Council, said: “I am pleased we now have a final, sound and agreed plan that provides us and our communities certainty over how the area will be developed over the next decade or so. I am disappointed it took the planning inspectors so long to review the plan and get to this stage, but we must now look forward and work with existing communities, especially those living nearest to where new homes will be built, to make sure they are at the heart of developing plans.
“One of our big priorities is to ensure we have housing that is generally affordable to live in. This means we need a range of homes that are affordable once you include all your living costs.
“This plan is more than delivering new homes, it is about building true communities where people love living and working. This includes making sure they have the right facilities, such as GP surgeries, and excellent transport links. We are absolutely committed to working with the Mayor, Greater Cambridge Partnership and County Council to make sure transport improvements go hand-in-hand with homes.”
The Inspectors’ final reports can be found by visiting:
www.scambs.gov.uk/local-plan-examination