Cambridgeshire Local Plan Watch - Autumn 2020
There are efforts to make Cambridgeshire and Peterborough more connected and to spread the economic success of Cambridge across the County. As a growth area, it continues to receive central Government commitment for significant infrastructure improvements.
Key highlights
- Infrastructure – Cambridgeshire is seeing a huge investment in infrastructure and a plan for continued major improvements. This will direct, more than ever, where new homes and jobs will go. There are significant new transport improvements being brought forward by the Cambridge and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) and the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP), alongside nationally-led schemes like East-West Rail.
- Jobs and homes – the Councils have committed to a goal of doubling the GVA (Gross Value Added) of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough area over a 25 year period. If this is to be achieved, around 2,900 homes a year would need to be built in Greater Cambridge – an indicative total of 66,700 homes over 2017-2040. The Councils already have circa 36,400 homes in the pipeline for the period to 2040, but it will be for the new Plan to find sites for the rest. The housing number for Greater Cambridge will ultimately be led by the efforts of the Authorities to truly achieve the economic growth aspirations.
- Sustainability – Environmental matters have never been so prominent, all underpinned by the 2050 zero-carbon direction and the move to support the Cambridgeshire Local Nature Partnership’s vision to double the area of rich wildlife habitats and natural greenspace within Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
- The upcoming Local Plans will be a test to see whether a new policy framework will emerge to put the strong rhetoric into action.
Cambridge City
The Local Plan for Cambridge was adopted on 18 October 2018 and covers the period until 2031. The council is now preparing a joint Local Plan with South Cambridgeshire District Council. See section on Greater Cambridge for further detail.
The Proposed Standard Method increases the minimum number of dwellings from 658dpa to 745dpa. The Housing Requirement set out in the Cambridge City Local Plan 2018 is 700 dwellings per annum.
South Cambridgeshire
The Local Plan for South Cambridgeshire was adopted on 27 September 2018 and covers the period until 2031. The situation is the same as for Cambridge City as the two councils are preparing a joint Local Plan. See section on Greater Cambridge for further detail.
The Proposed Standard Method is 312 dwellings fewer per annum than the 1,085dpa under the current Standard Method.
Greater Cambridge
Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire District has become one shared planning service under the banner of Greater Cambridge. The councils are now preparing a joint Local Plan.
An updated Local Development Scheme was adopted in July 2020, and the key stages are summarised below:
- Additional Informal Stakeholder Engagement - Autumn 2020 (stakeholder workshops due to be held in Nov/Dec).
- Additional Preferred Option Consultation (Reg 18) - Summer/Autumn 2021
- Draft Plan Consultation (Reg 18) - Summer 2022
- Proposed Submission Consultation (Reg 19) – Spring 2023 or Autumn/Winter 2023 (two potential scenarios)
- Submission to Secretary of State (Reg 22) – Autumn 2023 or Spring 2024 (two potential scenarios)
The Council’s timetable reflects two potential scenarios for the later stages of the plan making process (from 2022 onwards), due to the unknowns around the current complexity and uncertainty to the delivery and timescales of a number of major infrastructure proposals being developed in the area (the relocation of the Milton Waste Water Treatment Plant in North East Cambridge, East West Rail and the Mayor’s proposal for Cambridge Autonomous Metro (CAM)).
In broad terms it is likely to be into 2025 that the emerging Local Plan will become adopted along with any land allocation contained within it.
Fenland
The Fenland Local Plan was adopted on 8 May 2014 and covers the period from 2011-2031.
An emerging Local Plan is currently under preparation, with an Issues and Options consultation having taken place from October/November 2019. A Call for Sites exercise was held as part of this consultation, including nominations of Local Green Spaces and views on the Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report.
An updated Local Development Scheme was adopted in July 2020. The draft Local Plan consultation (Regulation 18) is now scheduled to take place in Spring 2021, with the adoption of the Local Plan scheduled for November 2022.
Under the Proposed Standard Method the number of dwellings increases to 844dpa from 538dpa under current Standard Method.
Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire’s Local Plan to 2036 was adopted on the 15th May 2019 and is not expected to be subject to an early review.
Huntingdonshire District Council would not be subject to transitional arrangements and would need to use the Proposed Standard Method figure as their starting point.
Under the Proposed Standard Method the number of dwellings increases to 1,019dpa from 976dpa under current Standard Method.
The Housing Requirement set in the Huntingdonshire Local Plan to 2036 is 804 dwellings per annum.
East Cambridgeshire
The East Cambridgeshire Local Plan 2015 became five years old on the 21 April 2020. Officers published a ‘Second Review’ of the Local Plan in April 2020 which determined that:
“its Local Plan 2015 does require to be revised, but only partially and only in respect of its strategic housing policies. Of those policies, Policy GROWTH1 needs to be revised, because it has an out of date housing requirement. Other strategic housing policies may also be updated during the course of updating GROWTH1, should that be necessary”.
The outcome of the Second Review is likely to be determined at Full Council this Autumn.
Under the Proposed Standard Method the number of dwellings decreases to 554dpa from 597dpa under current Standard Method.
Peterborough
The Peterborough Local Plan to 2036 was adopted on 24 July 2019 and is not expected to be subject to an early review.
Peterborough would not be subject to transitional arrangements and would need to use the Proposed Standard Method figure as their starting point.
Under the Proposed Standard Method, the number of dwellings increases to 1,282dpa from 926dpa under current Standard Method.
The Housing Requirement set out in the Peterborough Local Plan 2019 is 971 dwellings per annum.
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Non-Statutory Spatial Plan
The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Non-Statutory Spatial Plan Part 2 is under preparation and was due to be publicised by now. There is no formal position by the Authority for when the delayed Part 2 may yet emerge.
In any event, as a non-statutory document, there is no requirement for formal consultation, and it will not carry the status of a Development Plan Document.
