Purpose

Purpose:
To agree the proposed response
to West Suffolk Local Plan (Regulation 19) Submission Draft
consultation.
 
West Suffolk Council is
carrying out consultation on its Submission Draft Local Plan
between 30 January and 12 March 2024.
 
The consultation materials are
available online:

West Suffolk Local Plan (Regulation 19) Submission
Draft January 2024 - West Suffolk Planning Policy Consultations
(inconsult.uk)
 
 
Background:
 
The Submission Draft is the final
stage in the preparation of this plan. West Suffolk previously
consulted on Issues and Options in October to December 2020 and
Preferred Options in May to July 2022, to which joint responses
were made by Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire
District Council. Responses to this final submission draft will be
sent alongside the Local Plan and supporting evidence to be
examined by an independent inspector appointed by the Secretary of
State.
 
The Local Plan
contains planning
policies and allocations for the growth of West Suffolk over the
plan period of 2023 to 2040. It contains the council’s
spatial and land use vision, objectives and spatial strategy which
identifies where development will take place and how places within
the district will evolve and be shaped. Policies in the plan set
out how West Suffolk aims to deliver housing, employment, retail,
community, cultural and leisure activities and protect and enhance
the environment. There is a focus on meeting the needs of
communities through the delivery of affordable homes, the climate
emergency, health and well-being, green infrastructure and
protection of the environment.
 
Main
Issues:
 
Content in
the West Suffolk Local Plan Submission Draft relevant to Greater
Cambridge includes: 
 

Meeting their objectively assessed development needs
in full – the identified need is for 13,702 homes (net) in
the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2040, and 15,486 homes (net)
have been planned for.

Provision for 86 hectares of employment
land. 

Growth is directed to the most sustainable
settlements which have the existing infrastructure and/or capacity
to expand infrastructure and reduce the necessity of car use
wherever possible.

No new housing allocations proposed close to the
South Cambridgeshire boundary.

The plan recognises the issue of water stress in the
district and wider area and the impact this is having on chalk
streams, and proposes measures which seek high standards of water
efficiency for new residential and non-residential
development.

The plan seeks to address the climate emergency by
requiring development to demonstrate it has taken into account the
climate and environment emergency through good design and inclusion
of measures to build in resilience and adapt to or mitigate the
impact of climate change.

The plan seeks to improve the provision of green
infrastructure and supports opportunities to extend coverage and
connectivity through cross boundary provision.

 
Proposed main response
points:
The proposed
response, set out in Appendix A, focuses on matters which could
impact on Greater Cambridge and include water stress and the impact
this is having on chalk streams, sustainable development and
addressing the impacts of climate change, the opportunities for
delivering cross boundary green infrastructure, strategic
employment, and Duty to Cooperate. 

Content

For the Joint Director for
Planning and Economic Development and Lead Cabinet member for
Planning Policy and Delivery agree the response to the West Suffolk
Local Plan (Regulation 19) Submission Draft consultation as set out
in Appendix A.
 
A
parallel decision is being considered by Cambridge City Council to
be agreed, and delegated authority is given to the Joint Director
for Planning and Economic Development to agree any minor amendments
to the response agreed by the City Council that are consistent with
the response at Appendix A.