Purpose

Purpose
 
1.    
The purpose of this report is:

a.    
To agree the Greater Cambridge Housing Trajectory
and Housing Land Supply Report (Appendix 1 of this decision) to be
published on the Councils’ shared planning service website.
The Greater Cambridge housing trajectory and housing land supply
calculations have been prepared jointly with Cambridge City
Council, consistent with the adopted Local Plans.

b.    
To delegate any further minor editing changes to the
Greater Cambridge Housing Trajectory and Housing Land Supply Report
to the Joint Director for Planning where they are technical
matters.

 
Greater Cambridge Housing Trajectory and Housing Land
Supply
 
2.    
National planning policy requires all local planning
authorities with an adopted plan of more than five years old to
identify and update annually a supply of specific deliverable sites
sufficient to deliver a minimum of five years’ worth of
housing against their local housing need calculated using the
standard method. National planning policy also sets out a
requirement to provide a buffer of 5% or 20%, depending on historic
housing delivery.

 
3.    
The Greater Cambridge housing trajectory is used by
Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council to
calculate their housing land supply and also to show anticipated
housing delivery against their housing requirement in the adopted
Local Plans. The Councils have prepared the Greater Cambridge
housing trajectory and five-year supply calculations based on
national planning policy and guidance for housing trajectories,
five-year supply calculations, and the standard method for
calculating local housing need.

 
4.    
The housing land supply for Greater Cambridge has
been calculated:
a.    
based on their local housing need (from the standard
method, published by the Government in December 2024), as the
adopted Local Plans are now more than five years
old,
b.    
jointly for Greater Cambridge, as set out in the
adopted Local Plans, and
c.    
with a 5% buffer, as set out in national planning
policy.
 
5.    
The Greater Cambridge housing
trajectory and housing land supply calculations show that jointly
for Greater Cambridge, the Councils have 5.5 years of housing land
supply for the 2025-2030 period. The Councils have taken a robust
and conservative approach to assessing the deliverability and / or
developability of each of the sites in the Greater Cambridge
housing trajectory.
 
6.    
National planning policy and guidance sets out the
circumstances where planning policies should be considered out of
date when making decisions on planning applications, and this
includes where the Council cannot demonstrate a five-year housing
land supply. On the basis of the housing land supply calculations
in the Greater Cambridge Housing Trajectory and
Housing Land Supply Report (which is Appendix 1 of this
decision), this does not apply to Cambridge or South
Cambridgeshire, as the Councils jointly have 5.5 years of housing
land supply.
 
7.    
The Cambridge Local Plan 2018 sets a housing
requirement of 14,000 homes to be delivered between 2011 and 2031.
The new housing trajectory shows that 14,202 dwellings are expected
to be delivered in Cambridge between 2011 and 2031, based on
current information on anticipated phasing and delivery of sites.
The South Cambridgeshire Local Plan 2018 sets a housing requirement
of 19,500 dwellings to be delivered between 2011 and 2031. The new
housing trajectory shows that 24,096 dwellings are expected to be
delivered in South Cambridgeshire between 2011 and 2031, based on
current information on anticipated phasing and delivery of
sites. Together the Local Plans set a housing
requirement of 33,500 homes between 2011 and 2031 for Greater
Cambridge. The new housing trajectory shows that 38,298 dwellings
are expected to be delivered between 2011 and
2031.The
Councils have already
started preparing a new Greater Cambridge Local Plan, and as part
of this the Councils are considering the appropriate level of
housing need for Greater Cambridge, along with where development
should be located and the specific sites to deliver new
homes.
 
Next Steps
 
8.    
Once agreed by the
Lead Cabinet Member for Planning at
South Cambridgeshire District Council and the Executive Councillor
for Planning, Building Control and Infrastructure at Cambridge City
Council, the Greater
Cambridge Housing Trajectory and Housing Land Supply document
(April 2025) will be published on the Councils’ shared
planning service website.
 

Content

That the Lead Cabinet Member for Planning
agrees:
 
(a) the Greater Cambridge Housing Trajectory
and Housing Land Supply Report (Appendix 1 of this decision) to be
published on the Councils’ shared planning service website;
and
 
(b) to delegate any further minor editing
changes to the Greater Cambridge Housing Trajectory and Housing
Land Supply Report to the Joint Director for Planning where they
are technical matters.

Reasons for the decision

The Greater
Cambridge housing trajectory is used by the Councils
to calculate their housing land supply and to show anticipated
housing delivery against their housing requirement in the adopted
Local Plans. The housing trajectory and housing land supply
calculations are required to be updated annually.
 
The new
five year period starts on 1 April 2025, and therefore calculations
for this period (2025-2030) need to be agreed
and published.

Alternative options considered

Option 1: To not
publish the Greater Cambridge Housing Trajectory and Housing Land
Supply Report.
 
Reason
for Rejection: National planning policy and guidance requires all
local planning authorities with an adopted plan of more than five
years old to identify and update annually a supply of specific
deliverable sites sufficient to deliver a minimum of five
years’ worth of housing against their local housing need
(from the standard method). A new housing trajectory is required to
establish the Greater Cambridge housing land supply for the
purposes of making planning decisions.