Reject the proposed West Fields development from the Greater Cambridge Local Plan

Reject the proposed West Fields development from the Greater Cambridge Local Plan

Started
13 March 2021
Petition Closed
This petition had 1,070 supporters

Why this petition matters

Started by Cameron Holloway

We the petitioners ask Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council to reject proposals for major development on the West Fields in the new Greater Cambridge Joint Local Plan and the upcoming review of proposed sites.

BACKGROUND:

The University of Cambridge and four colleges are planning to build up to 2,800 houses on Green Belt land between Barton Road and the West Cambridge site.

The proposed development (https://www.southwestcambridge.com/) has been submitted for inclusion in the Greater Cambridge Local Plan (https://www.greatercambridgeplanning.org/emerging-plans-and-guidance/greater-cambridge-local-plan/).

A proposal at the same site was rejected from the 2006 Cambridge Local Plan.

On that occasion, Cambridge City Council concluded that (https://www.cambridge.gov.uk/media/2521/issues-and-options-2-part-1-technical-document-b.pdf):

  • Development of this site would have a severe negative impact on the purposes of Green Belt.
  • Large areas of the land north of Barton Road falls within Flood Zone 3 (high risk).
    The western part of the site suffers from poor air quality and noise due to the proximity of the M11.
  • Overall, it was a ‘site with no significant development potential’ due to ‘significant constraints and adverse impacts’.

Following a challenge by Ashwell Property Group, a 2007 High Court judgement (https://www.casemine.com/judgement/uk/5a8ff75360d03e7f57eab4ac) upheld the ruling that the land should not be released from the Green Belt.

We feel that these objections still stand, and that the housing need in Greater Cambridge can be met without removing this site from the Green Belt. We fully recognise the need for new council, social and socially affordable housing in and around Cambridge, to address the current shortage and reduce house prices in the city, but the proposed development would not meet this need. 

We also feel that the South West Cambridge proposal is unsuitable due to: the site’s Green Belt status; the damage that would be caused to animal and plant habitats; the high risk of flooding; the additional abstraction from the Chalk aquifer that would result, when the current level is already unsustainable; the likelihood of increased traffic on Barton Road; and the negative effect on historic views into the city.

We urgently need action to tackle the climate and biodiversity emergencies, and we urgently need more housing that is genuinely affordable. This proposed development delivers neither.

We the petitioners ask Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council to reject proposals for major development on the West Fields in the new Greater Cambridge Joint Local Plan and the upcoming review of proposed sites.

 

Signed and promoted by:

Cameron Holloway (Labour campaigner, Newnham Ward, Cambridge)

Niamh Sweeney (Labour campaigner, Newnham Ward, Cambridge)

Hollie Wright (Labour campaigner, Newnham Ward, Cambridge)

 

Petition Closed

This petition had 1,070 supporters

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