Backed by an international investment group, the site (featured in Katie Green’s piece here) on the north side of the A14 at Bar Hill is just outside the Cambridge Green Belt. But it does not appear in the South Cambridgeshire Local Plan 2018-30
See https://cambridge25.com/ for the consultation – and the map of the site below.
Above – from Cambridge25, the site is just outside the Cambridge Green Belt.
The problem for the developers is that the site is not allocated for development.
Above – South Cambs Local Plan 2018, p56
Furthermore, the Northstowe Area Action Plan 2007 as amended by the 2018 Local Plan still applies. Just because there is a lot of growth pressure on Cambridge does not mean that developers get to run riot. Hence also the Cambridge Growth Company will be taking an interest in any speculative applications – especially those that go against their emerging proposals. (Recall Peter Freeman’s speech in Cambridge back in May).
Air Quality is also an issue at Bar Hill along the A14
The South Cambridgeshire Local Plan states:
“Air quality issues within South Cambridgeshire have been linked directly to the volume of traffic that runs through the district, specifically along the A14. The A14 is congested on a regular basis between Bar Hill (to the west of Cambridge) andMilton (to the north north-east of Cambridge). This has resulted in the declaration of an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and PM10 along a stretch of the A14 between Bar Hill and Milton.”
Which will be a challenge given they want to build an employment site…
“…Providing 1,200 new jobs and training opportunities”.
Their pitch appears to be that the site will provide local jobs for the residents of Bar Hill and those moving into the new homes at Northstowe. If it did get built, inevitably there would be some employees that would live close by. But given the existing huge housing shortage in Cambridge, it’s almost impossible to predict with any meaningful accuracy what percentage of staff will be coming in using active travel and/or public transport, vs those coming in by car. (There is no railway line or existing light rail stop on site).
Given the existing traffic jams and poor air quality in the area, it’s hardly a selling point for the proposed employment park. (Would you want to relocate to an area with such poor air quality that local government established an Air Quality Management Area – one that it has little power in enforcing?)
No. Me neither.
Anglian Water’s potential opposition on grounds of water supply
Above – from last weeks’ Cambridge Independent via my earlier blogpost.
It will be interesting to see how they deal with new planning applications for large developments such as this following the pulling of funding for the relocation of the Cambridge Water Works.
Food for thought?
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