Dear consultee,

We have now published the responses we received to the Greater Cambridge Local Plan First Conversation consultation in early 2020 (including the Call for Sites and Call for Green Sites), and the 2019 Call for Sites. The responses can be viewed on our website, www.greatercambridgeplanning.org/localplan.

What does this mean?

We are publishing all the comments and sites we have received, so you can see the full results of the consultation in the interests of transparency. We are publishing all the sites submitted to us and, as would be expected, this adds up to far more land than we will need for new development. The suggested development sites and green sites we have received have no planning status at this stage, and the Councils have not made any judgement about which sites may be appropriate for development in the future.

We will now be developing the spatial strategy for the Plan, taking into account the comments received in the consultation about the big themes and vision for the area. Sites will only be selected if they fit with the wider aims of the Plan and are shown to be sustainable. Far more land has been suggested by landowners than will be needed for new development, and sites will be rigorously tested for their suitability.  The Councils’ suggested spatial approach and preferred sites will be put forward for full public consultation next year.

We will be holding some webinars to answer any questions you have about the information we are publishing. The webinar details are:

Monday 21 September, 12-1pm

Q&A1 – join the online Zoom webinar event

Passcode 221515

Tuesday 22 September, 12-1pm

Q&A2 – join the online Zoom webinar event

Passcode 739543

What happens next?

We will hold the next formal public consultation, on the preferred options for the Local Plan, in summer or autumn 2021. We will inform you when the dates for this consultation are finalised.

In the meantime, we are working on evidence that will inform the plan, alongside reviewing the comments and testing the sites received through the consultation.

Later this autumn we are planning to publish a report on some initial findings of key evidence, including scenarios for the jobs and homes we should plan for, and for strategic spatial options. These will be tested against the Councils’ overarching themes of climate change, biodiversity and green spaces, wellbeing and social inclusion, and great places. We will also be talking to community groups including Parish Councils and Residents Associations, stakeholder organisations, and other bodies about these initial findings, so we will be in touch about this with you in due course.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any queries about the above.

Many thanks,

Greater Cambridge Local Plan team