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 and Economic Development 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 either four or five years’
worth of housing against their local housing need. National
planning policy also sets out the circumstances in which a minimum
of four years’ worth of housing applies, and also the
requirement to provide
an additional buffer where there has been significant under
delivery of housing.

 
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 and
five-year supply calculations.

 
4.   
The housing land supply for Greater Cambridge has
been calculated:
a.   
based on their local housing need, 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 no 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 6.5 years of housing land
supply for the 2024-2029 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 four or five-year
housing land supply (as appropriate). 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 6.5
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 13,796 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 23,275 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 37,071 dwellings
are expected to be delivered between 2011 and
2031.Although
this new housing trajectory anticipates that housing delivery in
Cambridge will be less than the housing requirement for 2011 to
2031 included in the adopted Cambridge Local Plan 2018, the
Council has 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 2024) 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.
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 and Economic Development where
they are technical matters.