Issue details

This decision relates to specific delegations to the Lead Member for Planning Policy and Delivery agreed by Cabinet at its meeting held on 1 October 2021.

The Local Plan is being prepared jointly for the Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council authority areas, the First Proposals consultation documents were considered by the following meetings:

• Joint Local Plan Advisory Group 8 September 2021
• South Cambridgeshire District Council Scrutiny & Overview 21 September 2021
• South Cambridgeshire District Council Climate and Environment Advisory Committee 21 September 2021
• Cambridge Planning & Transport Scrutiny Committee 28 September 2021
• South Cambridgeshire District Council Cabinet 1 October 2021

Cabinet:

a)    Agreed the Greater Cambridge Local Plan: First Proposals (preferred options) (Regulation 18) (Appendix A) for public consultation;

b)    Noted the First Proposals Sustainability Appraisal (Appendix B) and Habitats Regulations Assessment (Appendix C) and agree them as supporting documents to the First Proposals that will also be subject to public consultation;

c)    Agreed the following supporting documents to the public consultation:

·       Topic papers for each theme (Appendix D)

·       Statement of Consultation, including the Councils’ consideration of and responses to representations received to the Issues and Options consultation 2020 (Appendix E);

·       Duty to Cooperate Statement of Compliance (Appendix F);

·       Draft Duty to Cooperate Statement of Common Ground (attached at Appendix G)

·       Equalities Impact Assessment (Appendix H);

d)    Agreed the findings of the following background document that has informed the First Proposals and is proposed to accompany the public consultation:

·       Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (Appendix I and errata at appendix J);

e)    Noted the findings of the following background documents that have informed the First Proposals and are proposed to accompany the public consultation (see Background documents to this report):

·       Greater Cambridge Local Plan: First Conversation (issues and options) (Regulation 18) data release published September 2020

·       Interim Evidence published in November 2020

·       New Evidence published August 2021;

f)      Agreed that any subsequent material amendments be made by the Lead Member for Planning Policy in Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council, in consultation with respective Chairs and Spokes;

g)    Agreed that any subsequent minor amendments and editing changes that do not materially affect the content be delegated to the Joint Director of Planning and Economic Development in consultation with the Lead Member for Planning Policy in Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council, in consultation with respective Chairs and Spokes.

Following the meetings, and in liaison with JLPAG members, amendments have been identified to the Local Plan First Proposals document and supporting documents, responding to issues raised at the meetings and providing clarifications on a number of other issues identified by officers. These amendments are provided in a schedule appended to this decision as appendix 1 (which includes Annex 1: Greater Cambridge Local Plan: First Proposals Sustainability Appraisal (October 2021) and Annex 2: Greater Cambridge Local Plan: First Proposals Sustainability Appraisal Non-Technical Summary (October 2021), both revised to reflect changes in the schedule, and Annex 3: a finalised version the Greater Cambridge Local Plan Preferred Options Transport Evidence Report).

The purpose of this decision is to approve these amendments.

Note: To ensure an aligned agreement on these documents between Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council, the Cambridge City Council Executive Councillor for Planning and Transport is also taking an out of cycle decision on them at the same time.