Issue - meetings

Cabinet:

(a)  considered the main issues raised in the public consultation, and the comments of Scrutiny and Overview Committee;

(b)  agreed responses to the representations received and agreed consequential proposed changes to the SPD as set out in the Consultation Statement and Schedule of SPD Changes (attached as Appendices A and B to the report from the Joint Director of Planning and Economic Development);

(c)  subject to (a), adopted the amended Bourn Airfield New Village SPD; and

(d)  delegated to the Joint Director of Planning and Economic Development in liaison with the Deputy Leader, the authority to make any necessary editing changes to the SPD prior to publication including to the figures and spatial framework diagram to ensure consistency with the agreed text of the SPD.

This decision was first published on Friday 4 October and so the deadline for call-in is Friday 11 October at 5pm.

Appendices A, B and C are available only on the Council’s website.

Cabinet:

(a)  considered the main issues raised in the public consultation, and the comments of Scrutiny and Overview Committee;

(b)  agreed responses to the representations received and agreed consequential proposed changes to the SPD as set out in the Consultation Statement and Schedule of SPD Changes (attached as Appendices A and B to the report from the Joint Director of Planning and Economic Development);

(c)   subject to (a), adopted the amended Bourn Airfield New Village SPD; and

(d)  delegated to the Joint Director of Planning and Economic Development in liaison with the Deputy Leader, the authority to make any necessary editing changes to the SPD prior to publication including to the figures and spatial framework diagram to ensure consistency with the agreed text of the SPD.

Councillor Dr. Tumi Hawkins addressed Cabinet as the local Ward Member for Caldecote. She acknowledged the work undertaken by officers since the meeting in June 2019. However, some issues remained outstanding. These included

·         Access to and from the A428:

·         Traffic calming in local villages

·         Noise

·         Land use

Councillor Hawkins expressed frustration with the view that a vehicular access from the A428 dual carriageway to the Bourn Airfield site was inconsistent with Highways England policy. Traffic calming in nearby villages was an acknowledgement that rat-running was a serious possibility. Councillor Hawkins said that sites like Bourn Airfield were not necessarily going to be self-sufficient: people would still need to travel, including by private cars. Vehicular access to the Broadway was of concern to the residents of Bourn village: that road was simply not capable of carrying the anticipated amount of extra traffic. There was ongoing concern about the extent of the separation between Bourn Airfield and Caldecote, which should be enough to dispel fears about coalescence. Councillor Hawkins concluded by saying that the preservation or enhancement of the quality of life must be of paramount importance. Following her statement, Councillor Hawkins withdrew to the public gallery, took no part in the debate and did not vote.

The Deputy Leader (Statutory) introduced the debate.

Councillor Brian Milnes (Vice-Chairman of the Scrutiny and Overview Committee) said that South Cambridgeshire District Council had to accept that there was no prospect of an A428 access for the foreseeable future. Accordingly, he said, it was crucial that a high-quality public transport system be in place from the outset. Councillor Milnes drew attention to the summary of the Scrutiny and Overview Committee’s deliberation forming part of the report at agenda item 6. The Leader endorsed the need for public transport.

Referring to the issue of direct access to the A428, the Joint Director of Planning and Economic Development said that the two principal considerations were safety and capacity. While the Supplementary Planning Document was constrained by policies contained within the Local Plan, he told those present that our consideration of the planning application for the new village  will be informed by a dedicated transport assessment, which will test the access assumptions in much more detail and which will be carefully scrutinised by officers including by  Cambridgeshire County Council and Highways England.

The Strategy and Economy Manager said that the Local Plan process had been very robust in relation to transport. The Supplementary Planning Document had been consistent in establishing mitigation measures to address the danger of rat-running as it was required to do by Local Plan policy.

The Leader commended efforts being made by South Cambridgeshire District Council in partnership with other stakeholders, including the Greater Cambridge Partnership and the Cambridge and Peterborough Combined Authority.

Councillor Peter Topping said that South Cambridgeshire District Council should be more proactive in demanding direct access from Bourn Airfield to the A428. This would help to buy goodwill from local villages otherwise threatened with rat-running.

Regarding rat-running the Joint Director of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11

Cabinet

(a)             Agreed the content of the draft Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) attached at Appendix A to the report from the Joint Director of Planning and Economic Development subject to the recommended changes set out in Appendix B to that report;

(b)             Approved the draft SPD for public consultation in accordance with for public consultation in accordance with Regulation 13 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 for a period of six weeks;

(c)             Approved the consultation arrangements set out in the Consultation Statement (Appendix C);

(d)             Delegated authority to the Joint Director of Planning and Economic Development, in liaison with the Deputy Leader (Statutory), to agree the draft Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and draft Habitats Regulation Assessment (HRA) Screenings Reports for consultation alongside the draft SPD, including with the three statutory bodies; and

(e)             Delegated authority to the Joint Director of Planning and Economic Development, in liaison with the Deputy Leader (Statutory), to make editorial changes to the draft Bourn Airfield SPD and supporting documents for consultation (to comprise minor amendments and factual updates and clarifications).

This decision was first published on Friday 7 June and so the deadline for call-in is 5pm on Friday 14 June.

Appendices A, C and E have previously been printed as part of the Scrutiny and Overview Committee agenda dated 21 May 2019. They are available on the website by typing this short URL (case sensitive) into a web browser and pressing Enter

https://bit.ly/2QsboVk

Appendices B and D are attached to the printed version of the agenda and also available online.

Cabinet

(a)          Agreed the content of the draft Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) attached at Appendix A to the report from the Joint Director of Planning and Economic Development subject to the recommended changes set out in Appendix B to that report;

(b)          Approved the draft SPD for public consultation in accordance with for public consultation in accordance with Regulation 13 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 for a period of six weeks;

(c)           Approved the consultation arrangements set out in the Consultation Statement (Appendix C);

(d)          Delegated authority to the Joint Director of Planning and Economic Development, in liaison with the Deputy Leader (Statutory), to agree the draft Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and draft Habitats Regulation Assessment (HRA) Screenings Reports for consultation alongside the draft SPD, including with the three statutory bodies; and

(e)          Delegated authority to the Joint Director of Planning and Economic Development, in liaison with the Deputy Leader (Statutory), to make editorial changes to the draft Bourn Airfield SPD and supporting documents for consultation (to comprise minor amendments and factual updates and clarifications).

Councillor Dr. Tumi Hawkins declared a non-pecuniary interest as the elected Member for Caldecote Ward, in which the site of the proposed new village was located. She also declared that she lived on West Drive in Highfields Caldecote, which was directly east of, and next to, the new village, meaning that her property was among the closest to the boundary of the new village.  Following concerns raised by Bourn Airfield site developers, arising because of Councillor Hawkins’ previous participation in the campaign to stop the inclusion of the airfield in the Local Plan, and having sought and received legal advice from South Cambridgeshire District Council’s Monitoring Officer, Councillor Hawkins addressed the meeting as the local Member and then withdrew to the public gallery, took no part in the debate and did not vote.

Cabinet considered a report seeking its agreement for the draft Bourn Airfield Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) to be published for consultation.

The Joint Director of Planning and Economic Development introduced the report, highlighting several aspects. He focussed on access for cars, the village centre and eastern boundary.

Access for cars. The basis for resisting the formation of a new access onto the A428 was three-fold – national policy, the Greater Cambridge Partnership’s proposals for quality public transport between Cambourne and Cambridge, and South Cambridgeshire District Council’s aspirations for a low-carbon future.

Village Centre. The proposed location of the village centre had been determined by the need to relate it to the public transport corridor, school, the early delivery of retail, and community infrastructure.

Eastern boundary. The spatial framework had been revised so that the eastern boundary had a more mediated merging of soft landscaping and built development.

The Leader said that the Scrutiny and Overview Committee would have an important role to play as the process unfolded.

Andrew Taylor, representing Countrywide (developers of a village at Bourn Airfield) addressed the meeting. He said that his company was committed to working with South Cambridgeshire District Council to deliver a high quality development. Countrywide would participate in the consultation process.

Councillor Dr. Tumi Hawkins made the following statement:

“For the avoidance of any doubt, I and residents of Bourn and Highfields Caldecote accept that this new village will be built in accordance with the adopted Local plan. Going forward, we want to play our part in ensuring the harms identified in its inclusion in the plan are mitigated properly through the planning process. This SPD is one of the steps in that process.

Following the scrutiny committee meeting on 21 May 2019 I note that officers have taken some of the concerns on board, as stated in today’s papers. However, these amendments do not completely address those issues, and it is important for residents of Bourn and Caldecote that we continue to press for this.

1: Separation between Highfields Caldecote and Bourn Airfield.

The papers state on page 100 that I have misinterpreted Policy SS/7 para 6b to mean the strategic landscape will all encompass  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10