Appendix 5 Cambridge Southern Fringe Area Action Plan Draft
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Cambridge Southern Fringe Area Action Plan Preferred Options Report – INITIAL DRAFT July 2004 Appendix 5 Cambridge Southern Fringe Area Action Plan Draft Preferred Options Report - 1 - Cambridge Southern Fringe Area Action Plan Preferred Options Report – INITIAL DRAFT July 2004 Cambridge Southern Fringe Area Action Plan Preferred Options Report Introduction This Preferred Options Report provides the opportunity for stakeholders and the general public to contribute to the planning of the Southern Fringe of Cambridge in as far as it relates to South Cambridgeshire District Council, namely: • South of Hobsons Conduit and the City Boundary towards Gog Magog downs, Wandlebury and Great Shelford. • The Monsanto land, to the south and west of the City boundary towards Byron’s Pool and Harston. This area cannot be looked at in isolation and has to be considered in conjunction with the work currently being undertaken by Cambridge City Council as part of the Cambridge Local Plan Review, where the areas to the east and south-east of Trumpington and to the south and west of Addenbrooke’s Hospital have been identified for major growth as urban extensions to Cambridge. This report is being published to stimulate debate and to invite comments on the preferred options drawn up by the District Council for the development of this area. In getting to this stage, the District Council has already begun a dialogue with key stakeholders who will contribute to the development of the Southern Fringe. This included a Workshop in October 2003, which explored some of the guiding principles for the location and development of the Southern Fringe The District Council has carried out consultation with statutory bodies as required under the new Local Development Framework (LDF) system of plan making to help with the identification of preferred options. A summary of the comments received and the proposed Council’s response is attached at the end of the report. The Workshop and comments from statutory bodies and joint member steering groups have helped the District Council to draw up its Preferred Options, but it is important to involve the wider community before the District Council finalises its plans that will then be submitted to the Secretary of State. Comments on this Preferred Options Report are invited during a 6 weeks’ period after which the District Council will consider the comments received and draft the Area Action Plan for the Southern Fringe ready for submission to the Secretary of State at the end of January 2005. At that time, there will be a formal opportunity to - 2 - Cambridge Southern Fringe Area Action Plan Preferred Options Report – INITIAL DRAFT July 2004 make representations on the plan and these will be considered by an independent Inspector at a Public Examination, likely to be held in the Autumn of 2005. The Area Action Plan for the Southern Fringe in South Cambridgeshire will identify: a) Land for housing development on the Monsanto land, to the south of the city b) Proposals for enhanced landscaping and public access to the wider countryside c) Creation of identity d) Revised Green Belt boundaries The purpose of the Area Action Plan is to establish: • A vision for the Southern Fringe; and • To set out policies and proposals to steer the development of the Monsanto site; • To increase accessibility to the wider countryside; • To enhance landscaping and biodiversity; • To mitigate for the visual impacts of development within the city; • To protect the setting of Cambridge; • To create meaningful gateways to and from the city; • To address greenbelt boundary review. The Area Action Plan will address the full range of land use and planning issues that need to be taken into account in bringing forward the development of the Southern Fringe. In doing so, it will also include a suite of plans comprising: • A Site Allocation Plan which will show: o How the area will be developed as urban extensions of Cambridge (this will need to be consistent with any allocation made in Cambridge City Council’s plans). o The proposed extent of the built-up area of the Monsanto land, including open space and roads (in part in the South Cambridgeshire AAP and in part in the City Council’s plans). o Any Green Belt and any associated countryside recreation areas. • An Off-Site Infrastructure Plan which will show all off-site land which will be required to provide infrastructure directly related to the development of the Southern Fringe. For completeness, it will show the proposed Guided Bus route, key transport links and the urban extensions to Clay Farm/Showground, Glebe Farm, the Bell School and Addenbrooke’s (although these will be shown on the Local Plan proposals map and Supplementary Planning Document within the City Council’s area). • A Concept Plan which shows in a diagram the redrawn green belt, the proposed access routes, especially cycle and pedestrian, enhanced - 3 - Cambridge Southern Fringe Area Action Plan Preferred Options Report – INITIAL DRAFT July 2004 landscape areas, proposed connectivity to the wider landscape, and how the setting of Cambridge will be respected. The Area Action Plan will provide a context for detailed plans to be prepared before and during the development process: • A Strategic Masterplan and Design Guide will be prepared to accompany any outline planning application for urban extensions of mainly housing at Trumpington and research /hospital development at Addenbrooke’s showing how the Concept Plan will be interpreted. The Strategic Masterplan will show the general disposition of development, roads, services, open spaces and landscaping. Although most of the development will take place within Cambridge City’s boundaries the strategic Masterplan will need to demonstrate how landscape improvements and wider countryside access are to be achieved within South Cambridgeshire as it is this rural area which provides the setting for the development and for the City as a whole and which is the countryside recreational resource for the southern side of the City including the new development. The Design Guide will identify the particular character of the Southern Fringe and set out the general principles for good design of the urban extensions. • A Local Masterplan and Design Code will be prepared to accompany any outline planning applications for the Monsanto site and for associated areas for landscaping and recreational open space. The Local Masterplan will identify on a map base the boundaries of individual uses and developments. The Design Code will set more detailed criteria to create a clear identity for these areas. This Local Masterplan will need to demonstrate how it relates to the wider area south of Trumpington. • Development Briefs will be prepared to accompany subsequent planning applications for individual phases of development within each neighbourhood. These will demonstrate in some detail how development will be achieved. Strategic Development Context Regional Planning Guidance The Regional Planning Guidance for East Anglia (RPG6) identifies the Cambridge Sub-Region as a growth area for the period up to 2016 where the intention is to increase the rate of development from about 2,200 dwellings to 2,800 dwellings per year. The Vision from the RPG strategy requires that the environment is protected and enhanced while the distinctiveness of each locality is maintained. - 4 - Cambridge Southern Fringe Area Action Plan Preferred Options Report – INITIAL DRAFT July 2004 The RPG’s objectives include: • Promoting walking and cycling • Biodiversity • Minimising the development of greenfield sites and maintaining enhance the landscape • Giving appropriate protection to valued landscapes • Respecting the setting of towns and cities and the wider countryside • Maximising development on previously used sites close to existing centres. The following policies in the RPG are relevant: • Policy 24 - Green belt reviews • Policy 27 – Encouragement of walking and cycling and long distance footpaths • Policy 37 - Conserving and enhancing the environment • Policy 39 - Local Nature Reserves • Policy 40 - Archaeology • Policy 41 and 42 - Biodiversity • Policy 48 - Landscape and biodiversity of farmland • Policy 53 - Water resources • Policy 63 - Countryside recreation The RPG requires the house-building rate in the Cambridge Sub-Region to be increased to 2,800 dwellings per year from 2006 and sets out a sequence for development: 1. Within Cambridge on previously developed land 2. On the edge of Cambridge in urban extensions through a review of the Green Belt 3. In a small new town 4. In market towns, rural centres and previously established new settlements 5. On the edge of market towns, rural centres and previously established new settlements. The Southern Fringe, at Monsanto and with the urban extensions at Trumpington and Addenbrooke’s falls into the first two categories of this sequence. The Structure Plan The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Structure Plan 2003 sets out a more detailed strategy for these developments. It identifies in Policy P9/2c that Local Plans will make provision for housing and mixed-use development on land to be released from the Green Belt in a number of locations including: • South and west of Addenbrooke’s Hospital • East and south-east of Trumpington. - 5 - Cambridge Southern Fringe Area Action Plan Preferred Options Report – INITIAL DRAFT July 2004 It states that these areas will help deliver the vision of the City as a compact dynamic city by: • Promoting a sustainable and spatially concentrated