 Hey, good morning everybody and welcome to the second of our great Cambridge chair planning panel sessions This is on first conversation and in call for sight stated that we released last week and We had one of these sessions yesterday, which is very busy had a hundred of people here and hopefully we get the same today and I'll run how the sessions going to work and For those of you who haven't been to one before we're getting a little bit used to these now I think this is mine and Hannah's certainly third webinar in two days. So so hopefully we'll make as seamless as possible and Essentially, we've got an hour and in which we've got our panel here, which I'll introduce you in a minute and Hannah and John are going to run through some slides explain exactly what we've done in terms of the release of data What it means and then there will be a couple of questions that we've already been asked and then hopefully We should leave a lease to her half an hour maybe more for questions at the end and All the questions that you ask we will answer those we don't get you today We'll put on the website and put answers on there too And if you go to the website there will be all of the links and FAQs of questions We've already been asked so you should be able to see them there and So without further ado, I shall go around the panel and introduce them And then we'll just do a tiny bit of housekeeping before we get on to the Presentation so I'm going to go around to my right first Unfortunately, it's not a table so screen so I'm going to go around to Hannah. Do you want to introduce yourself Hannah? Hi everybody, my name is Hannah Loftus I work with the shared planning service leading on communications and public engagement generally in our communities Thank you, Hannah Caroline Hello, I'm Caroline Hunt. I'm a strategy and economy manager working on the local plan with a particular focus on strategic matters I'm Nadine. I'm the local plan project manager working with the team to ensure the local plan gets delivered Thanks Nadine and John John Dixon planning policy manager also working on the local plan And we've got Stephen today as well Yes, good afternoon everyone I'm Stephen Kelly on the joint director of planning and economic Thanks Stephen and up in the top. We've got Joe Burnham She's our tech wizard so she's doing all the logistics for you to bring it to bring this to you seamlessly so so thanks Joe Yeah, as I said, we've got an hour. So there will be time for questions There's no chat function in the box down the bottom There is a question and answer function and you can put your questions in there You can ask questions anonymously and we leave your name on there We won't be telling reading out anybody's names just to let you know the session is being recorded So you will be able to view it back on our YouTube channels And they will be on both the SCDC and the Cambridge city Websites and also on our great account is shared planning with us which we'll put a link up at the end So without further ado, I'm gonna hand over. I think is it John starting first and hand over to John Dixon He's gonna start the presentation for you Okay, everybody here comes some slides We're running these presentations really to tell you about the data We've just released give a full understanding of what it includes And make sure people understand how it should be interpreted and really what happens next in a local plan making process I should stress at this stage. This is a purely a data release phase No decisions have been taken on any issues raised in comments No decisions have been taken Regarding any site submitted is purely publishing at the moment white information is be received following the consultations We've already completed Um, first of all, it's probably worth giving a quick reminder about where we are overall in our plan making process As you'll see plan making actually takes A number of years from when you start at the very beginning on the early ideas what the plan might be doing All the way through to adoption We started Back in 2019 with some initial evidence and early engagement with Our key stakeholders. We had some workshops with our our members parish councils, for example And we talked them through about what's the issues our first conversation consultation might be looking at We then carried out a pretty major consultation exercise in january february Earlier this year when hopefully many of you Came across us where we got out and about around the district. We published some key questions We needed some early feedback on in plan making and asked for your thoughts through various ways, which we'll come on to in a minute um We then move on and we're at that stage. We're publishing the information we've received through that consultation Our next step will be we're currently preparing various Evidence bases to inform the plan looking at those real strategic choices. We've got available to us In plan making and we hope to take back some of that information to Our member working group later this year We'll then throw that up with some further engagement again with our key stakeholders like parish councils and so on resident associations For the range this year the next key public consultation stage however Is in summer autumn 2021 when we go out there and say well having done some of that work This is the preferred option for the plan and get Full engagement feedback on that from the public Um allowing people to comment on the proposals and the ideas the councils have come up with for the plan That's not the end of the public consultation There are several further stages have you seen our diagram there when we publish the draft plan And then the plan we propose to submit for adoption. There will be full chances to engage at that point as well Once you've been through all through all those consultations, we then go to An examination when the plan is tested by an independent inspector as well And they eventually write the report and say where the plan is sound and the council can adopt So it is a long process quite early days, but there's lots of opportunities to engage as we go through it And next slide please And I'll hand over to Hannah to take you through some more details about what we consulted on and some of the information we've received through that consultation Thanks, John. So yes as John has just outlined. We had a 10-week consultation back in January and February which was Pre-COVID luckily so we could do a lot of getting out and about and talking to people about what they'd like to see and so forth The focus really was on that the big themes that might shape the plan going forward And we did use a lot of different methods to encourage participation if you do look on our website We have a summary report actually that sets out some of that information about how we got feedback And what we've learned from that So now what we're publishing is everything that everybody told us during that consultation We were asking about the big themes and where we should build and other matters But also two of those questions were suggestions for where development should be located and also where we might look to Protect or extend our green infrastructure network It's really important as John mentioned to understand. This is just what people have told us at this stage is only the raw data There's no conclusions assessment of whether those comments are good comments or bad comments No conclusion of whether the sites are suitable sites or unsuitable sites But it is really in the interest of us in transparency terms us publishing for you everything that's been sent to us that we possibly can Are published there is a little reduction of personal data in accordance with our privacy statements We're putting back in the public domain As you probably won't know it's all available on our website And then the full submissions are in our consultation system office to consult which is all publicly visible from there as well We've also published excel files of our data sets So those are the call for sites the call for green sites and also the comments received That's again in the interest of open data and a more digital planning Means that you can download those you can filter or analyze or analysis if you'd like to there's also an interactive map Which is linked through to the full records for each site So if you find your site, you're interested on the map There's a link there that will take you through to the full site submission and likewise the other way around And pdf maps for those of you who might be more interested in something static Just a little bit about what we got back from the first conversation And I think we're really excited about the level of response we got here And how we can use that to help shape the strategy going forward We had over eight and a half thousand responses Which we're now publishing those range from the kind of quick comments that people could leave on our website Those could be left anonymously We're just a sort of one click way of people leaving some comments and ideas for us Through to the more lengthy comments through email submissions And through the opus to consult system for our registered users as well And it includes over 650 development site suggestions 21 green site suggestions and lots of comments from our events as well This slide just shows you a few more of the kind of headline statistics about the reach here So, you know, we're aware that some people wanted to comment Some people just wanted to find out more and I think that's been really great as well to just have a lot more available online For people to learn educate themselves get up to speed with some of the key issues Some of the things you told us In terms of the big themes climate change was the highest priority and I think that's really great for us because really it is Our priority too and we want to make sure that we are Meaning there's a challenge head on and I'm seeing how plan can help us with that So that was when when we asked respondents to rank the four big themes that are the leaves on the tree in this diagram Climate change was lots of other things associated with that like tree cover like actually the design of development How that should be more passive more adapted to a heating climate and a wet climate in the future Came along with that We also asked you to rank Where you would like to see new development prioritized And densification of existing built-up areas was ranked top by the largest number of respondents, but we did hear a lot of reviews here Just saying that it is not just a numbers game here It's whilst we take account of the really matter and the points made So we're now in the middle of a full analysis of those comments And we'll be reporting back on how they've been taken into account How they've been shaped the the future strategy once we get to the preferred options consultation next year Just a little bit about the call for sites So as many of you will know if you've been following planning for some time Um, this is something that national planning guidance says we should do They say we should hold a call for site suggestions Exercise, but we also look for other sites that fit our spatial strategies So it is not just about seeing what people send us and then picking out of that pool of sites We also do look for other sources of housing land supply and employment land supply as well All of these sites get very rigorously tested through a process that ends up in a Not very naturally named report called the housing and employment land availability assessment That will be a lengthy report which will be published next year Which will go which will go through all of the sites and test them and show you the workings out about why some may or may not be more suitable than others It is worth knowing that on this map, obviously we have many many more sites Suggested than we actually need for development going forward. So it is a There will be a lot of narrowing down that happens over the coming months We received around 16,000 Pares worth of land suggested to us And if you add up what would be it equates to Over 220,000 homes and over five million square of a non-residential floor space Comparing to what we might need to plan for in the next plan We suggested in the earlier consultation that we might be looking at between 5,000 and 30,000 additional homes on top of what's already in the existing plans So that's the kind of green pie slice on this chart here as compared to the whole of the circle Which represents the quantity of sites that we were Sent to support as suggestions So you can see that you know, there really is no need to think just because you see these very large land on a map That we're going to be looking to adopt You know a large proportion of them into the local plan definitely won't be a large proportion Um, there is a comparison with previous plans here as well You know, we this is not a different process from what has happened in the past. We had called for sites We tested them and other sites suggested And the final allocations that were again a very small proportion of the land that was submitted to us at those early stages And published at those early stages as well Just on the core for green sites again Anybody could send a land just like with the development sites anybody can suggest anything Um, so we did have a really wide range of sites if this map looks familiar That's because somebody did actually suggest the whole of the cambridge green belt as a potential site for green infrastructure Someone else put in cambridge airport someone That the cambridge great park concept that she may know about from some local stakeholders who are interested in green spaces That was also submitted A bit like with the core for development sites These aren't the only sites we consider for expanding green infrastructure far from it We've had a green infrastructure evidence based study Which is ongoing at the moment and that has been asking many community groups as well over the summer About where green and structural in their areas should be protected expanded prioritized So just as we do look for other sources of development land that haven't looked for other green sites And we consult our partners You know in terms of the green green networks different green networks and the different green Agencies involved with green infrastructure. We ask their views as well about that So just to sum up what does this mean? It is a normal part of plan making which is about identifying some of our options and being transparent about that And I'm sure many of you have The government wants us to become more transparent and more digital in how we plan This is really part of our efforts in also doing that And opening that how that process works allowing you to ask as many questions as you want But there is no judgment about whether any of the comments or sites have merit And you will be consulted very fully on this at the next stage The preferred option stage we will as as john's outlined We will be showing you what we think the evidence base for the preferred strategy is and what that preferred strategy should be And then what the preferred post sites that go with that might be and at that point We'll be asking you for all of your opinions on that As we talked about it is evidence led it is about developing the right strategy and then finding the sites that fit And when we consult we'll be saying to you firstly, do you think we've got the right strategy? Do you think we're right about how we've interpreted the evidence and secondly, are they the right sites? Do you agree that those sites fit that strategy? Well, do you think some of them are good and some not so good? And we're asking you to thoroughly kick the ties with us and and tell us what you think at that point in time John do you want to just take over on a few more of the next steps in terms of the evidence base and so forth? Thanks. Yeah, so uh, all the sites will be thoroughly tested and we'll be looking to see if they are suitable Available and deliverable will be testing against well all the environmental issues you'd expect us to be looking at So for example, are they at flood risk? What would be the landscaping impact and so on so that evidence base will very much look at the real details around those sites before we make any Decision we'll also be looking at how those sites fit in let's say the overall strategy of the plan So looking at all this issue if we talk through those big themes in choosing the sites we put in the plan How would how would strategies deliver against those themes? We will go through all the comment to receive through the consultations And indeed one of the things we'll need to produce When we get to that that next formal stage next year will be a statement of consultation Showing how we've taken them into account um, the local plan will also be backed up by a long list of evidence on a variety of topics Um, as I mentioned earlier, we are doing some initial work on those which we hope to publish to our joint local plan advisory member group uh, later this year really again exploring those uh, strategic choices available to the plan When they go to our members, they will be published online. So they will be available to view so anyone can read them We're looking to hold some more stakeholder workshops as I mentioned, uh, we held some workshops before we moved on to the first conversation consultation with our parishes and With local stakeholders, you know groups like the environment AC National England and so on all the groups you expect to engage with um Last time round I have to say that was um, large rooms filled with Dozens and dozens of people and I suspect the challenge We're going to have in planning those events later this year is how we do it online But I think we're becoming fairly adept with working online. So I'm sure we'll find a way around it And again, the next big step would be Our full public consultation on preferred options In summer often next year Thanks very much, john And I think we're going to we're going to take some questions and hopefully that The presentation has given you a bit of clarity about what it is we're talking about and answer some of your questions already I think apologies for the bit of poor audio there. Hannah's got some audio issues I think one of the things that we have noticed in not having Some halls to be doing on to consultation workshops In is that we all need to have very very good board bandwidth So um, it's certainly something we should be planning for right? And I think I'll take some questions from the beginning. We try as I said, we try and get through them all But keep them coming. There's quite a lot of you on tend to start with to keep them coming So are you currently receiving comments on the sites that have been submitted or does that come later? So I'm going to hand that one over to Nadine Um, yes in short, we are still inviting comments part of the reason of publishing The information in the way that we have done is to reflect that we started the corporate sites In the early part of last year. So there's there's been quite a lot of time since then And we want to make sure that before we get into the real Missy gritty details of assessing these sites. We've got the most up-to-date information to hand um, and while we said we wanted Uh, uh, well, we've closed the consultation or the corporate sites or news sites any comments that you're able to provide now We would welcome but as soon as possible is Thanks very much Nadine and all can I just pull can I just add just to be clear what we're talking about is being um making sure we've got um Uh, a factual information from from people on those sites This isn't a public consultation at this stage on the sites We've received that will come further down the line once we've undertaken assessments and when we consult on the preferred option next year Just in case that wasn't entirely clear. I thought it was perhaps worth emphasizing Thank you Caroline. Yeah, absolutely is worth emphasizing This is just a bit of a data release or just publishing some of our data now at the moment And okay, so what is the overall development strategy that we've born to decision making on the suitability of the site Is there a greed development hierarch? I think I'm going to come back to you for that one Caroline Thanks paul. Um Well the short answer that is no there isn't a um agreed Strategy at this point. So each time you prepare a new plan you you you look afresh at the appropriate approach to Planning for your development needs and that's both the amount of development and ways how you distribute that development So obviously we have adopted plans and that gives us a starting point to assess But we will be looking afresh taking account of all the factors that are important Today as we're preparing this plan and into the future in identifying. What's the most appropriate development strategy? And as I said in the presentation, we're looking at a range of different strategy options And what would be the right? hierarchy of development within that so Um, this time I think it's fair to say we have a you know an increased Emptiness on particularly climate change and how we address some of these issues Um, so we will be looking very much afresh. So no at this point. There's not an agreed strategy at this point Thank you Caroline. So I'm going to take some questions that were put at the beginning so A couple of process questions. Can we sign up to email updates on on the local plan? And Hannah's nodding her heads. I think you can sign up to email updates for everything that's happening as we're as we're moving things through So say when we sort of five minutes towards the end of this session We will put up All of the channels that you can get hold of us on and then you'll be able to get into that website and sign up for those email updates there And again evidence-based studies are being commissioned for the joint local plan advisory group meeting on october So the evidence base is that we've commissioned have been commissioned for some time now So i'm longer than others because we've asked our Consultants to be doing quite a lot of work. Um, all of the details again are up. I think off the top of my head There's probably about 10 10 studies is there john come over to you for that now, but I think there's more than 10 so the plan will likely be supported by a number of studies We did publish a list actually it's not so convenient available We published a list to our members when we went to them in june So there was a list on our cabinet agenda on our june paper. Perhaps we can put a link to that on our freaking asked questions um So there's a there's a list of sort of studies we're commissioning. There's a there'll also be topic papers So for example on housing on employment and so on We'll put together a topic paper saying the issues we've looked at What are requirements are to respond to nationally? The options we've considered and setting out really why we'll be choosing the approach We're choosing so they'll accompany the preferred option stage next year Thanks john and then to pick that last question up that was related to these is the how Can we get more details of how the technical workshops will work? Will they include workshops per topic and who will get an invitation? I think there's a couple of questions around that so we're kind of as john said we're looking at the logistics of these Now they are consultations. They are essentially just some workshops to You know talk about some of the stuff that we've already just mentioned now We will be probably running them for the same people who got invited to our stakeholder workshops I think it was at the back end of last summer. So the initial ones just before the issues and options consultation itself As we've mentioned the logistics are slightly changed now in terms of how we run these so although there's some Good stuff in what we can do online We're going to have to think very carefully about exactly how we have these You know will manifest themselves possibly as webinars, but we will put all the details up more We'll post if you do sign up for updates on the website Then I'm sure that we can arrange for that You know for you to have updates on how to access those and you'll get invites through for those of you will be invited to them Okay, so moving on Let's go back up to the top. Does the council anticipate housing supply can be provided in the local plan? Without allocating any residential green belt sites. So I think I'm going to come to you for that Caroline I think it's really an issue around it's going to be a question around strategy. So in pure, you know, pure land takes Considerations clearly there's a lot of land outside the green belt within greater Cambridge And a lot of land within the built area of Cambridge as well We will though need to look at what are the reasonable options available to us And there's a wide range of those as you saw in the presentation everything from densifying within Cambridge Building on the edge of Cambridge new settlements villages along public transport corridors. So there's a range of different Ways we could distribute the growth that we'll need to plan for And we will have to look at this early stage on whether There are any exceptional circumstances. That's the national test. It is a high bar that would have to be Met But at this stage we can't say that there won't be any development in the green belt We have to go through the process of looking at the reasonable options and working out what the most appropriate strategy Is and that's a really important part of the process that we have an open mind at the beginning of the process And work that through we recognise the importance of green belt though and obviously that will play into our considerations I think it's just worth saying we asked a question in the first conversation specifically In fact, there were a couple of questions about green belt issues in general So those will also help inform the view that we take. So I think there's some really useful and interesting points raised there Around the whole range of green belt issues, not just around climate but biodiversity and many other things as well Yeah, absolutely. And this is obviously being one of the major Parts about the theme for our local plan as well. So you can kind of segue into that. I've got a question here It's great to see the public supporting increased tree cover And can you consider setting a tree canopy cover target for areas of new development would then trust suggest an ambitious target 30% now john, I don't know whether you might be able to answer that question So tree cover obviously is important not only for biodiversity but you're providing shade in part of responding to climate change So climate change at biodiversity are both very much important issues For the plan to look at I think there are issues we'll certainly be looking at whether they're picked up through the urban design policies And whether that will be something we can pick up in a future design guide for example but also There is the plans are always supported Protecting enhancing biodiversity through developments There is a new specific requirement coming from government to achieve net gain through development So it's going to be interesting to see how we can use those proposals to Use tree cover as part of that response as well. So it is a really interesting one to move forward And yes, it's an important issue to the council as well Great. Thanks very much john So how will sites that are taken Sorry, can I say that again? How will sites that are in the current local plan But have not yet seen develop to be taken into account? I've seen Caroline who's flushing us. She probably want to take this from being our current local plan expert Uh, well, I'm not sure about that pool. Um, but uh I think it's fair to say that you know your starting point would be that Sites within your current plans are likely to get rolled forward into the next plan But absolutely we have to look at whether they remain Um, deliverable and whether they remain suitable in the context of our any new strategy that we are we identify in the plan So, um, if there's been a change in circumstance, for example Uh, then we would have to look at that, um, afresh But we need to be able to be confident that a site is still deliverable so, um A number of our allocations in both the adopted plans have already got permission, but where they haven't we will look carefully at them Thanks, Caroline. We're just seeing a couple of questions around the, um joint Local plan advisory group So you can find all of the details because it's a it's a public group You've got to find all of the details of of the membership of that group on either of the council's website website Audience lift Hannah, can you Yeah, see if we can get that on to our own website so we can sign post it at least Um, we haven't set a date for that meeting yet because we're still working through the the the program of of those kind of Stakeholder workshops and what we've got to have in place for those. So that will be those two questions and Okay question around testing sites here Um, this is obviously going to be our pretty much what we're going to be really focused on doing for the next few months And so when testing sites, how will legal constraints especially natural and historical heritage being taken into account? I suspect all three of you wouldn't mind answering that question But I'm going to give it to Nadine to start with and then others can jump in if they want Okay, so in terms of testing it'll be so the sites will be tested against the known information that we've got And when we get to the point where we're publishing The sites and our assessment of those will publish that alongside the methodology that we've used. So it's all clear and transparent in terms of the specific Quiteria that will be set out in that methodology And do you have anyone else going to add into that carolina john? So I think it's obviously clear to say we very much look at The natural historic issues So we will be working with our conservation colleagues to look at the impact of sites on heritage assets like conservation areas listed building schedule monuments or make sure they're fully assessed and on the natural areas biodiversity and so on the same we have within the council officers who are Especially in biodiversity And we'll be consulting those and clearly more widely as I mentioned earlier consultees and the plan include Natural England the environment agency and so on so very much be engaging those stakeholders as well as the planning managers So I think the answer is we'll thoroughly test those issues Yeah, absolutely another question here about the workshops So And about who will be invited to them who will be invited to the workshops? How are you dealing with the highly paid lobbyists who are already contacting local stakeholders to make their case? And I'm sure you're all aware, you know being in an area like this There's lots of people with lots of interest and you know, that's that's a great thing to have a lot of interest in something That we're doing and you know We have a statutory duty to prepare a plan and it's a you know without prejudice really So we will be inviting communities and those stakeholders to have been involved in the beginning of that And we have to take all comments on board or news on board when we Do go out to consult potentially next summer on the third options But in the meantime, we will be you know, we're trying to be as open with you as possible That's why we're doing some of these workshops and trying to you know, tell you what we're doing So, you know, we know that there's a lot of noise around but we are trying to take everything on board and be fair about how How we how use it Okay, so Let's carry on And or question about getting the email updates five times over can we check our database? We will indeed do that you should be so lucky to get them get them five times So that that will at least you won't you won't forget Hannah I could just come in on that. Yeah apologies to people who may get them more than once It is quite finnishly difficult to manage those databases for various GDPR and other reasons We have to have many lists and we do know that some people are on them twice We are doing our best and we are trying to cleanse them as much as we possibly can so apologies So another key issue, I mean we had a lot a lot of questions around this yesterday Actually, it's only the first one time. I've seen a question come up about it now Obviously, it's a key issue for this area in transport. So what role will transport planning play and John? I'll come to you for that Well, it it's absolutely key. Obviously responding to climate change and so on, which is one of our big themes Also the excessive economy and simply the ability people move around and meet the data they need We will be preparing a transport evidence base to accompany the plan That's going to be exploring the pros and cons of the different choices we have available to us Particularly looking at the impact of our options on not only the roads and how the impact on traffic But one of our main it has to be how we can support people to move more sustainably so using public transport, cycling and walking and so on We'll need to look at how we Where we locate development itself so people can access jobs, services and facilities locally And not need to get in their car for example So it's going to be absolutely key and we're going to be working with other organizations like the combined authority, the county and so on As they're in the highways authority and transport role as well to make sure we're fully informed About their role as well There's a lot of major infrastructure proposal in this area we'll need to consider and consider how how How developed they are in their processes. So for example east west rail and so on and consider how they can influence the plan But we'll be looking to all those issues as we go forward Caroline. Do you want to add anything I've missed? Uh, no, I think that maybe captures the point, you know, this the level of confidence that the local planning authorities need to have in big new planned infrastructure Is is quite high because we we have to show that our strategy is deliverable And part of that is that the infrastructure in place to support strategy Will come forward so That's obviously something that we will have to have a very close eye to as as we go forward with Some of those really big bits of infrastructure that could be quite significant in shaping strategies in this plan and and and beyond into the future But we'll have to look carefully at that and the level of confidence there is as we develop the plan Yeah, absolutely. Um, I notice that on all the maps Cambridge city is black and white and not annotated. What will the local plan say about the city? Hannah I'm just gonna ask you this question quickly Sorry, the um, so I think what the questioner means is that it doesn't look like there are many colored Blobs that were on the map within the city itself Um, I think there's two things to say there firstly Sometimes these things can be a little bit deceptive So obviously some of the sites that people have put forward which are outside of the city are really really big areas of You know currently farmland or undeveloped land And the kind of density or intensity of development you might get on those sites is much Lower than the kind of development you might get or intensity of development on on the site in the city There are city sites and we actually have an inset map so you can see in a little bit more detail There's a pdf inset map that shows you that But you know, I think there's another wider point which is about the other sources of supply and how we look at the city More generally, it's not just about the sites that people suggest to us. It also is about the strategy Maybe john might want to talk a little bit more about how that process works Yeah, so clearly this is a local plan that's jointing it very much will provide the planning policies allocations and designations and so on for both areas We'll need to look at what the best strategy is for the city and as mentioned earlier It will be about whether there are other opportunities within Cambridge and not just the small number that have been suggested to make sure we Do all things you'd expect us to do with a plan for Cambridge looking at areas that can be improved enhanced and how we can meet those Housing employment and other needs as part of grade to Cambridge. So it's not been forgotten It's merely part of that particular mapping and the sites that receive through that process That's great. Thank you very much john And I've got a question for handle of this here So you've actually had your name button in our in our in our questions and answers So it's good that you're here to to answer this one. So the question is Hannah Is it correct that architect handle of this who is handling cams local plan engagement work with fish fifth studio on the master plan For the london tens gateway development corporation the strategy underpinning the master plan for this was One of creating dense housing zones via linear parks and cycling infrastructure Notably fifth studio have the cambridge greenways contract and are working with cppf for those of you who don't know that's cambridge pass for present and future And w w t b c n and m t. I think that's national trust and wildlife trusts who as members of natural cambridge have Have already prior to our prioritized plans for curated parks within with cambridge ahead very long question Hope you've got all of it, Hannah So someone yeah, it's true that I did work with fifth studio very long time ago. It's back 2004 2005 in actual fact So all that I remember working with john press scott on the london tens gateway can you believe it really is um a long time ago when that was um The strategy and yes, I did work with them at the time on it was actually um the lee river park strategy that we worked on And I did some engagement work with local stakeholders Um, I think you know, it's really interesting to look back over the history of some of the kind of wider plans across the country That's something that the team definitely are doing You know, we are looking at at some of the best practice and also the the things that haven't worked out well from other parts of the country and other sites In the past as well as some of the new ideas that have come forward From from thinkers and and when you look at the spatial strategies work that will will be publishing in due course We'll see that we've definitely taken on board some of those ideas. But of course, we're not london We're definitely not the terms gateway, which was you know, many many thousands of hectares of brownfield land very very different landscape there Yeah, thanks. Thanks. Hannah. It's good to have somebody famous on the on the team and you know I think one of the things where he said it's you know having a You know the industry is not actually as big as all that so actually having and getting the best people in To do the work that we'd like to do is is actually, you know You tend to see the same faces about but and you know, I think in terms of the Cppf and the wildlife trusts and the national trust and natural Cambridge ship You know, these are all as we said at the beginning. They're all stakeholders. And you know, they're all part of the area as well So we are talking to all of our partners and stakeholders and residents and citizens equally And so, you know, hopefully that clarifies that Thanks Hannah Okay, so let's back to a few more. We've got six questions still got 15 minutes left So it'd be great to see some more questions coming through And we have got some FAQs as well from previous sessions. So we'll go through some of those as well Maybe to jog people's thoughts And I'm going to go to a site assessment one now. So how will sites be assessed on their impact on operations? Existing neighbouring sites industry So I think we've talked a little bit about how we're going to assess the sites But I'm going to give that back to John just to clarify on those particular issues That's an interesting question. So it's quite a specific one I think if if a site I'm using the example if a site was next to an industrial site We do one of the consultees will be working with Looking at sites is our environmental health team So they will tell us if a site potentially have Has or would be impacted by neighbouring use or equally if it could impact on the neighbouring use Um So quite a specific one, but we do again look at look at those impacts and their interrelationship between sites and the joining sites Thanks, John. Anybody else want to come in on that one? Caroline, did you want to add anything on that? Or are you happy with John's answer? Not always happy with John's answers anyway Um Yes, I mean, I think john john's answered that um, you know, obviously really helpfully. Um We absolutely take account of um Existing uses um in considering the suitability of Uh possible new sites for the local plan. So that's absolutely whether they're compatible with um Existing uses uh or or whether that suggests that they're not a suitable site for a particular use Thanks, Caroline. I know there's one here that you probably will want to answer as well Is what is the position on village development and having worked quite hard on our previous local plan for south cams? I'm sure you'll be interested in answering that one Um Yeah, I mean village development is always an interesting one, isn't it because our villages are um really important parts of our our communities And it's how you Ensure the villages Maintain viable vibrant lively support existing local services and so on But in a way that doesn't overload those services as well and recognizes that sometimes moving from our villages to jobs or services elsewhere is It's difficult or in certainly difficult by public transport. Um, and and maybe requires Using the car and obviously thinking about climate change and sustainability generally You know, we're trying to reduce use by by the car So we will be looking in in a rounded way I think as we develop the the new local plan about what what feels the right The the right way for Looking at possible development At villages and we've asked questions about that again in the first conversation So we will be looking closely at the sort of responses that you've given us and working closely with parish councils As as we move forward through the process, there'll be part of this one of the stakeholders in in the autumn Uh to hear what local views are And I suspect those views may vary from different villages Those whether they're bigger or smaller, but also where they're located and and and sometimes just The nature of that particular community in a particular village. So, um I I think we'll be looking Carefully at that and I don't think we're clear at the moment precisely which way the plan will go or quite what it will say Let's go on that's really helpful. Um How will the benefits and other ecosystem services and stemming from the green belt We mentioned that is a very tricky question. I'm not sure we can probably fully answer that But I'm going to open it up to everybody's let's start with john because he's done a little bit of work with this already So again, it comes down to the evidence base. We're producing and we are producing a green infrastructure strategy to support the plan And that's really looking at what the opportunities are to enhance a green infrastructure and by that I mean Ecology sites or open spaces green spaces And we're looking to do is see as well as as well as you know housing employment and other services We need to enhance green infrastructure as well. So in that way, there may be opportunities to enhance the green belt When we're looking at science specifics, certainly we're looking at the impact of proposals on the green belt In quite a lot of detail. So we would hope to understand the impact if Any land were to be removed what the impact on the green belt was and one of the studies will also be publishing is a green belt Study to look at those issues Yeah, that's great as anyone else got anything else on that They wanted to add in I just um, I'd actually just give a little bit of a plug because we did talk about some of these things in the northeast Cambridge area action plan webinar on biodiversity, which was a couple of weeks ago And we had dan weaver who's one of our ecologists and various other people from across Actually both councils and the county talking about this. So They went into a bit more detail about the measurables and that kind of thing And I do recommend you have a listen on that if you're interested in that theme Yeah, I think that's right Hannah and actually just to kind of keep with that plug You know, so we have run around about I think eight sessions for the northeast Cambridge area action plan And some of those sessions really did unpack some of the specific issues and although they are You know specific to that area we had um housing specialists So we had our both our housing team So they really got into the detail around affordable housing and tenure types those all of those Are available on the website So if you really want to get into some of the detail that some of the experts we've already had on Then then please, you know, please go to the links that we'll put up in probably approximately five minutes before the end And we've got a few more questions coming through. Let's try and get through a few more of these And how will supplementary planning documents such as master plans be integrated into the new local plan? And at what point in the process would these be considered for inclusion? So Caroline, I'll ask you to pick this one up Um Generally speaking supplementary planning documents by definition are supplementing Existing policies in our current plan. So for a number of the sites that have spd's In in place and they may well be coming forwards already Where that's not the case and for any new sites actually we will look carefully at What uh, what's the right way forward for making sure that we have the right level of policy guidance and design guidance As well for bringing those forward in a in an appropriate way to make sure that they They bring all the supporting services and facilities they need to bring but also so that the design is really Uh thought through carefully and make sure that these places come forward in a way that is um bringing Benefits to our our communities and and and our areas moving forwards So there may some may get carried forward. There may be some new spd's prepared in the form of time Thanks, Carol. I mean it might be worth mentioning. I'm sure that for those of you who had some awareness of planning We obviously government Put out a consultation for quite some quite radical changes within the planning system coming forward in the white paper which is Open for consultation until the end of october and some of the proposals within that do you know do Approach some quite very radical changes to plan making so You know, we are currently making a plan in the old system And and we are also commenting on that that document and our comments Through the councils will be you know be going through the council process by the end of october So you will be able to see them, but should any of those, you know, um proposals be put into place It will obviously need to change our thinking. So we are very very closely watching Both that and the changes to the planning system Um, right, let's carry on so is there any plan to consider developing a public transport that is actually public So much of public transport is profit driven and therefore doesn't support outlying areas and those people Have to use cars People really think this is slightly out of the remit of planning, but I'm going to open it up to John may only have a few comments on it and anyone else if they want to to feed into it So transport's an interesting one because us as The local planning authority. We're not the local transport authority That would be the camsure and peter of combined authority Now they produce a local transport plan, which is a bit like our local plan, but for transport obviously And you could have a look at that on their website and one of the things they are definitely look at and they have policies on Is the uh models and approach to public transport vision Uh franchising models and so on to public transport. So whilst I can't get into that detail There is a lot of information out there if you go to their their website Maybe that's another one linked to their site. We could put in our FAQs Thank you, John. Um, let me have a look. We're getting quite a few Coming through right here where is when a village is already a vibrant community But fully stretched as far as amenities and services are concerned Further development will destroy The what we have we came here to live as a village not an urban sprawl So and I'm going to ask you, you know, village design guide experts. So Yeah, I mean, I think it is absolutely right that we know that some of our villages had real issues during the adoption period and the examination period for the last local plan We know that there were five year housing land supply issues and They did result in more unplanned development. Um, which I can understand will contribute to some of the views that are expressing that question Absolutely. And that's why in fact a couple of years ago We did start to develop some more design guidance to really give village communities a bit more Of their own say in their own ability to influence and shape development better So we absolutely don't want to destroy Or create urban sprawl around villages that's inappropriate and it is a balancing act, isn't it between supporting the villages that have services in the right place And do in fact want those services to be sustained whether it's shops schools and so forth By having a vibrant and a younger population often and not just an aging population And overwhelming it. So all of those things definitely will get taken into account Um, but you know, we will be also asking you at the consultation stage next year about whether you think our village strategy is correct As caroline has mentioned It's a really interesting one. I think we're we're very very understanding of how Special the villagers are the character that they have and not wanting that to become destroyed in any way Um whilst also accepting that some of the villages are sustainable locations for you know For people to live with the services and so forth of the public transport Thanks Hannah. I'm going to bring my colleague Stephen in and he's didn't answer the question yet And he said he had to pick up one of our east west rail So can you outline the influence that east west rail will have on the spatial and development strategy? For example, can the planning team influence the location of stations to help realize aspirations to reduce car use and encourage walking in sites and transport hubs? Stephen over to you. Thank you. Sorry about that Well, I think the east west obviously we We've started an engagement process with with east west rail We're keen to understand what their expectations and how their timetable Links to the local plan and the spatial strategy timetable At this moment in time Clearly if there are to be new railway stations, we want to make sure that they are absolutely as accessible and as linked in with existing cycle and walking infrastructure as well as Reflect the the the needs of local places The programming indicated by east west rail does appear to be Slightly longer than the program for the local plan timetable, but clearly as we both move forwards We expect to have to reflect around What east west rail provides as an opportunity? but also some of the potential implications and constraints from it Thank you very much Stephen. That's really helpful And so got around about three or four minutes left. So we'll get through some of these these quickly Let's do one about flood risk. We haven't talked about that yet very much So how are you measuring flood risks? Particularly the west fields seem to be of high interest but also implies significant flood risks Yeah, flood is really important and that's absolutely something that every site gets assessed against during the process of developing the housing and Employment land availability assessment. I can't say those words in order. It's terrible healer. We call it in-house, but that's not helpful for you guys Flood risk as we know and with climate change is increasingly important and the environmental agency and others are You know really developing this area of work in terms of how we assess it and also what we look for in terms of Future-proofing development for the future. So, you know when new development comes forward It has to prove that it is not only safe right now from flood risk But it's also safe for the lifetime of that development into the future So it is actually quite high bar that is placed with flood issues Developers would need to show how they would make that safe And we would need to have confidence in any defences that were coming forward being actually delivered It's not just a sort of hope value on whether or not we think defences or other measures might come into place We need to have a high degree of confidence that they are actually going to happen Anna, thank you very much. So we might even get through all of these. So I'm going to answer the question We had a similar question yesterday Apparently you answered the question yesterday around the appointment of economic consultancy sqw who worked on Cambridge Ahead's spear data and strategy spear for those of you who don't know the Cambridge Ahead's economic competitive or independent economic review is one that I can't say properly And by saying you're also using Cambridge econometrics to assess the data but they too Work closely with Cambridge Ahead Will there a review of this data be post-COVID? The whole world of office work by definition houses might change especially per Since spear data was not peer reviewed on what basis do you appoint consultants? Similar issues applied to consultants stand tech appointed on the water cycle They're working with developer urban and civic on water speech. How can this be independent advice? So a lot of things unpack there in terms of the economic data We are aware our economic data was commissioned in a pre-COVID world We understand that you know things have changed dramatically We you know even now it's impossible to say exactly what will happen And everything any of us could actually make a view on that We will be doing further work with with our economic debt And there's absolutely no doubt about that And we have to work with what we have at the moment what the available data is at the moment In terms of I think this is around a conflict of interest I think you know we are a public organization We're a public body we go through very strict rigorous procurement And legislation and you know in terms of plan making We have an examination at the end of it too So it's kind of double robust really and you know we ask our all of our consultants To provide us with any conflict of interest they might have And so we can understand and manage that So you know I don't feel like that we have any issues with that at all And you know most of the really good consultants work on you know Huge numbers of projects and have to manage that on a regular basis So you know it's something that's quite you know It's quite normal within the industry And you know we have to have independent advice That's the bottom line you know it's unacceptable But that's not to have that And in terms of Can I just add on the on the water cycle study Because we know that that's such a big issue We're also having that independently reviewed by another independent academic reviewer So that's another level of check if you like on that particular study Because we know that that's very very key for us to get right Yeah and I suppose you know they're within Within a specific industry of specialism or skill set There's only a certain number of experts And there's certainly only a certain number of experts Who have some local knowledge as well So local knowledge is also really important to us Because have understand local issues So you know you know those criteria are important as well And cool we're running over I think I'll do one more question And then we will definitely get the rest of these up online And also please make sure that you you know You put in questions to you know put in Go and visit the website have a look And see if there's anything there we've missed Please give us your feedback And let me have a quick look Just one more that's been sitting there for a while We should just planning white paper Paul Because I know that's going to be an important one Yeah let's just do that Where is that Planning reform agenda aims to grant Outline planning permission from allocations How will development and management Aims and strategic sites expertise Be brought into the local plan Great okay so I'm going to pass this to John first Probably a difficult question for him to answer I'm sure that one of us will also be able to chip in as well So the white paper at the moment Is just a consultation I think that's important to say And both Cambridge and South Cambridge here Councils will be responding to it alongside A huge amount of other parties and the public and so on So I think it's important to wait and see what happens But we will need to understand What the requirements of the new plan would be Because it would be a very different looking plan To our current local plans If their proposals are taken on what's in the paper at the moment All I can say is we will clearly need to draw in that expertise We have a lot of good knowledge and expertise in house For example on urban design and development management And I think the key change would be We need to draw a lot of that more into the plan making side Than perhaps the development management side But I think it is still early days for us to think about that And we'll be very interested to see what the outcome Of some of that white paper consultation is Yeah absolutely John And it is very premature to be even thinking about that But as I said at the beginning we are You know we'll be responding to that And you know it may well be handy Let us know what you think If you're interested in seeing what the views of the council Are you'll be able to find them Probably by the end of October Once we release that information But maybe we could even run a couple of sessions On you know on discussing some of that And it's wider implications But everything that we've said today I think we've still got seven questions left But we will pick them up on our website And we'll get them answered for you You can go there I think you'll see in the slide there that Joe's put up I would say thank you so much for coming along And all of your questions I mean it's been great to have such a level of interest really And you know we've had a really really good turn out The last two days for these two sessions And some really really good questions Some really thoughtful questions And I hope that we've on some way to answering some of those Please also feedback on the format Of how we've done this this time Well we are slightly limited with physical contact now So this is the way that We are going to be trying to do things But maybe a little bit more regularly And a little bit more focused And let us know if you're doing that good format And I'd like to thank everybody on the panel here Today who's contributed And they're getting used to being able to do this And have their faces on the screen And I wish you all a fantastic Tuesday And a brilliant rest of your week everybody Thanks everybody Take care Bye bye