The Local Plan Consultation on plans for 22,000 new jobs and 5,000 additional new homes in South Cambridgeshire up until 2031 has been extended by two weeks.
Council bosses took the decision to extend the consultation as a background assessment included with the recently published draft Local Plan for consultation had not been updated with the latest information used to compile it.
Planning officials have confirmed that all the latest information – such as how many homes could be built on the proposed sites – was used when compiling the draft Plan, but as the data contained in one document from earlier assessments had not been updated, South Cambridgeshire District Council has taken the decision to extend the consultation so everyone has at least six weeks to view it and have their say.
Cllr Pippa Corney, South Cambridgeshire District Council’s cabinet member for planning policy and localism, said
It is important to note that we have used all the latest information to compile the draft Local Plan for public consultation and therefore these updates do not have any effect on which sites are being proposed for development. However, we want to make sure everyone has easy access to the latest information in the assessments used to compile the Plan and that is why we have extended the consultation by an additional two weeks so the public has extra time to consider it.
The updated information will be available on the Council’s website by Monday 2nd September.
The proposed new homes being consulted on are in addition to those already committed to in South Cambridgeshire’s earlier Local Plan, mainly on the edge of Cambridge and at the new town of Northstowe.
As we outlined previously the Plan would see a new town built north of Waterbeach, a new village at Bourn Airfield and a major extension to Cambourne to support new jobs being created in Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire.
Around 900 of the new homes needed are also planned in six of the district’s larger villages which have the best services and public transport links. These will also help make sure the Council has a flexible plan for the future as larger new towns and villages take more time to deliver.
During two earlier phases of the public consultation over 30,000 comments were made.
In this final stage anyone responding to the consultation will be given the choice of saying whether they support or object to the draft Plan in a format set by government. This will make sure views can be passed on to an independent inspector who will consider whether the plan needs to be changed before it is finalised.
All views will be considered at a meeting of all councillors next spring to review comments before the plan is submitted to government for independent examination.
The extended consultation will close at 5pm on Monday 14 October – a two-week extension to the original date. To have your say please visit the Local Plan web pages or you can attend one of the remaining public exhibitions in September.
Further information and a simplified response form are also being included in South Cambridgeshire District Council’s residents’ magazine which is delivered to all homes in the district.
Anyone who has already commented during this consultation will be contacted to be given the option to update their views. Anyone who responded to previous consultations is also being contacted to inform them of the extension.
