Cambridgeshire Green Infrastructure Strategy
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Cambridgeshire Green Infrastructure Strategy Page 1 of 176 June 2011 Contributors The Strategy has been shaped and informed by many partners including: The Green Infrastructure Forum Anglian Water Cambridge City Council Cambridge Past, Present and Future (formerly Cambridge Preservation Society) Cambridge Sports Lake Trust Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Biodiversity Partnership Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Environmental Record Centre Cambridgeshire County Council Cambridgeshire Horizons East Cambridgeshire District Council East of England Development Agency (EEDA) English Heritage The Environment Agency Fenland District Council Forestry Commission Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group GO-East Huntingdonshire District Council Natural England NHS Cambridgeshire Peterborough Environment City Trust Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) South Cambridgeshire District Council The National Trust The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire & Peterborough The Woodland Trust Project Group To manage the review and report to the Green Infrastructure Forum. Cambridge City Council Cambridgeshire County Council Cambridgeshire Horizons East Cambridgeshire District Council Environment Agency Fenland District Council Huntingdonshire District Council Natural England South Cambridgeshire District Council The Wildlife Trust Consultants: LDA Design Page 2 of 176 Contents 1 Executive Summary ................................................................................11 2 Background and Purpose.........................................................................15 2.1 What is Green Infrastructure? .........................................................15 2.2 Background to the Green Infrastructure Strategy...........................16 2.3 Why is Green Infrastructure important for Cambridgeshire? ..........17 2.4 Why review the 2006 Green Infrastructure Strategy? .....................20 2.5 Purpose of the Green Infrastructure Strategy.................................22 2.6 Guide to the document ...................................................................23 3 Developing the Cambridgeshire Green Infrastructure Strategy .............26 3.1 How the Strategy fits together........................................................26 3.2 Objectives of the Strategy ..............................................................29 3.3 Green Infrastructure Themes ..........................................................30 3.4 Overarching factors that influence Green Infrastructure ...............30 3.5 Data analysis and spatial data analysis for the themes and other issues 31 3.6 Biodiversity......................................................................................32 3.7 Climate Change ...............................................................................33 3.8 Green Infrastructure gateways........................................................34 3.9 Heritage...........................................................................................35 3.10 Landscape........................................................................................36 3.11 Publicly accessible open space........................................................37 3.12 Rights of Way...................................................................................38 3.13 Other influencing factors ................................................................40 3.13.1 Economic Development ............................................................40 3.13.2 Health.......................................................................................41 Page 3 of 176 3.13.3 Water and Land Management...................................................42 3.14 Developing the Strategic Network...................................................44 3.14.1 Strategic areas .........................................................................47 3.14.2 Target areas .............................................................................49 3.14.3 Projects ....................................................................................49 3.15 Assessing the Strategic Network against the Strategy’s objectives 51 3.16 Identifying Delivery Mechanisms .....................................................54 4 The Strategic Network............................................................................57 4.1 Strategic areas Overview.................................................................57 4.2 Strategic Area 1: River Nene ...........................................................60 4.2.1 Description ...............................................................................60 4.2.2 Strategic area projects (see Appendix 15 for further details).63 4.2.3 How do the target areas deliver strategy objectives? .............63 4.2.4 Target Area 1.1: Wisbech.........................................................65 4.2.5 Target Area 1.2: Whittlesey.....................................................66 4.2.6 Target Area 1.3: March ............................................................68 4.2.7 Target Area 1.4: Nene Washes and River Nene (Old Course)...70 4.3 Strategic Area 2: Huntingdonshire Fens and Woods........................72 4.3.1 Description ...............................................................................72 4.3.2 Strategic area projects (see Appendix 15 for further details).74 4.3.3 How do target areas deliver strategy objectives?....................74 4.3.4 Target Area 2.1: Great Fen ......................................................75 4.3.5 Target Area 2.2: Ramsey..........................................................77 4.3.6 Target Area 2.3: Huntingdonshire Ancient Woodlands ............78 4.4 Strategic Area 3: Great Ouse...........................................................80 4.4.1 Description ...............................................................................80 4.4.2 Strategic area projects (see Appendix 15 for further details).82 Page 4 of 176 4.4.3 How do target areas deliver strategy objectives?....................83 4.4.4 Target Area 3.1: Grafham Water .............................................85 4.4.5 Target Area 3.2: St Neots.........................................................86 4.4.6 Target Area 3.3: Ouse Valley/Paxton Pits................................87 4.4.7 Target Area 3.4: Huntingdon....................................................89 4.4.8 Target Area 3.5: St Ives............................................................90 4.4.9 Target Area 3.6: Fen Drayton...................................................91 4.4.10 Target Area 3.7: Needingworth................................................92 4.4.11 Target Area 3.8: Earith ............................................................93 4.4.12 Target Area 3.9: Chatteris .......................................................94 4.4.13 Target Area 3.10: Block Fen.....................................................96 4.4.14 Target Area 3.11: Ouse Washes................................................97 4.5 Strategic Area 4: Eastern Fens and Towns ......................................99 4.5.1 Description ...............................................................................99 4.5.2 Strategic area projects (see Appendix 15 for further details) 101 4.5.3 How do target areas deliver strategy objectives?..................101 4.5.4 Target Area 4.1: Littleport.....................................................103 4.5.5 Target Area 4.2: Ely ...............................................................104 4.5.6 Target Area 4.3: Soham .........................................................105 4.5.7 Target Area 4.4: Ely Ouse ......................................................106 4.6 Strategic Area 5: Chippenham Fen................................................108 4.6.1 Description .............................................................................108 4.6.2 How do target areas deliver strategy objectives?..................110 4.6.3 Target Area 5.1: Chippenham Fen .........................................110 4.7 Strategic Area 6: Cambridge and surrounding areas .....................112 4.7.1 Description .............................................................................112 Page 5 of 176 4.7.2 Strategic area projects (see Appendix 15 for further details) 116 4.7.3 How do target areas deliver strategy objectives?..................116 4.7.4 Target Area 6.1: Northstowe..................................................118 4.7.5 Target Area 6.2: Wicken Fen and Anglesey Abbey.................120 4.7.6 Target Area 6.3: Cambridge...................................................122 4.7.7 Target Area 6.4: Cambourne..................................................130 4.7.8 Target Area 6.5: Wimpole ......................................................132 4.7.9 Target Area 6.6: West Cambridgeshire Woodlands................133 5 Local Authority Issues and Green Infrastructure Priorities ..................137 5.1 Introduction...................................................................................137 5.2 Cambridge .....................................................................................137 5.2.1 Key issues for Cambridge .......................................................137 5.2.2 Green Infrastructure priorities for Cambridge.......................138 5.3 Cambridge Fringe Sites..................................................................138 5.4 South Cambridgeshire....................................................................138