Policy I/EV: Parking and electric vehicles

1. Provision for car and cycle parking within new development must be justified through a vision-led

A comprehensive and systematic process that sets out transport issues relating to a proposed development. It identifies measures required to improve accessibility and safety for all modes of travel, particularly for alternatives to the car such as walking, cycling and public transport, and measures that will be needed deal with the anticipated transport impacts of the development.

/ Statement using a design-led approach, taking into consideration: 

  a. the location and accessibility of the development; 

  b. the type and mix of uses; 

  c. the availability of local services and facilities; 

  d. car ownership levels and provision of electric vehicle charging facilities; 

  e. the need for disabled and inclusive parking; 

  f. the need for parking for visitors and deliveries; 

  g. the need for safe, secure, and convenient cycle parking to accommodate all types of cycles; 

  h. the availability of public transport and active travel routes; and 

  i. highway and user safety issues. 

2. Cycle parking must: 

  a. Be conveniently sited; 

  b. Be Accessible and easy to use; 

  c. Be safe and secure;

  d. Be fit for purpose; 

  e. Be attractive; 

  f. Minimise conflicts between cycles, motor vehicles and pedestrians; 

  g. For shared cycle parking, include a cycle maintenance stand, be well managed and well maintained; 

  h. For residential development, be located in a purpose-built area at the front of the house or within a garage; 

  i. For residents, students and employees, be covered; 

3. Cycle parking provision: 

  a. At least 5-10% of cycle parking provision must be designed to accommodate non- standard cycles and should consider appropriate provision for electric charging points. 

4. Developments likely to be used by people with mobility scooters should incorporate accessible, covered, and secure storage areas, and consider appropriate charging facilitates. 

Use: Residential dwellings 

• Minimum standard: 1 space per bedroom 

Use: Guesthouses and hotels 

• Minimum standard: 2 spaces for every 5 members of staff, 2 spaces for every 10 bedrooms (minimum 2 spaces) 

Use: Nursing homes 

• Minimum standard: 2 spaces for every 5 members of staff, 1 visitor space for every 6 residents (Minimum 2 spaces) 

Use: Retirement homes/sheltered housing 

• Minimum standard: 2 spaces for every 5 members of staff, 1 space for every 6 residents. 1 visitor space for every 6 residents (minimum 2 spaces) 

Use: Student residential accommodation, residential schools, college or training centre 

• Minimum standard: 1 space per 2 bedspaces within City Centre, 2 spaces per 3 bedspaces for the rest of the city and South Cambs, 1 space for every 3 members of staff, 1 visitor space per 5 bedspaces 

Use:  Hospitals 

• Minimum standard: 2 spaces for every 5 members of staff, 2 visitor spaces per consulting/treatment room, 1 visitor space for every 6 bedspaces 

Use: Food retail 

• Minimum standard: 1 space per 25m² 

Use: Non-food retail 

• Minimum standard: 1 space per 25m² 

Use: Retail warehouses 

• Minimum standard: 1 space per 25m² 

Use: Financial and professional services 

• Minimum standard: 1 space per 30m² 

Use: Food and drinks 

• Minimum standard: 2 spaces for every 5 members of staff, 1 space per 10m² 

Use: Pubs and bars 

• Minimum standard: 1 space per 20m² 

Use: Museums, Exhibitions Venues 

• Minimum standard: 2 spaces for every 5 members of staff, some visitor parking on merit 

Use: Sports and recreational facilities and swimming baths 

• Minimum standard: 2 spaces for every 5 members of staff, 1 for every 15 seats provided for spectators and; 
• 1 space for every 25m² net floor area or 1 space for every 10 m² of pool area 

Use: Places of assembly, including: cinema, theatres, stadia, auditoria and concert halls 

• Minimum standard: 2 spaces for every 5 members of staff, 1 space for every 4 seats 

Use: Place of worship, public halls and community centres 

• Minimum standard: 1 space for every 3 seats 

Use:  Offices 

• Minimum standard: 1 per 30m² 

Use: General Industry 

• Minimum standard: 1 space for every 3 members of staff, 1 space per 40m² 

Use: Storage and other B use classes 

• Minimum standard: On merit 

Use: Clinics and Surgeries 

• Minimum standard: 2 spaces for every 5 members of staff, 2 spaces per consulting room 

Use: Non-residential schools 

• Minimum standard: 2 spaces for every 5 members of staff, Cycle spaces to be provided for 50% of primary school children to include a scooter parking area, and 75 per cent of secondary school children, some visitor parking 

Use: Non-residential higher and further education 

• Minimum standard: 2 spaces for every 5 members of staff, Cycle parking for 70% of students based on anticipated peak number of students on site at any one time. 

Use: Crèches and nurseries 

• Minimum standard: 2 spaces for every 5 members of staff, 1 visitor space per 5 children, an area to be provided for the parking of cargo bicycles/trailers 

5. Wherever parking is provided provision must be made for designated accessible car parking spaces for disabled motorists and passengers (Blue Badge holders). Minimum levels of car parking provision for blue badge holders will be required in line with national guidance. Designated disabled parking must: 

  a. Be distributed to minimise pedestrian travel distances to destinations and as close as is feasible to the accessible entrance to the building with which the parking spaces are associated; 

  b. Be provided as a minimum in accordance with Table 2 of the BS 8300-1; 

  c. For uses such as hospitals, medical centres and surgeries, provide evidence reviewing local need and respond with a higher percentage of designated parking if necessary; 

  d. Where charging points for electric vehicles are provided, equivalent provision should also be made; 

6. A site-wide Electric Vehicle charging strategy must be provided for large-scale Major sites detailing the location and phasing of the charge point installations, and grid capacity. Implementation of which would be secured by condition or S106. 

There is a higher propensity to cycle in

The combined areas of Cambridge District and South Cambridgeshire District Councils.

than nationally, and increased use of electric cycles is enabling longer journeys. The plan supports this sustainable mode of travel by requiring space for parking of all types of cycles which is secure and convenient. 

Cycle parking must be at least as convenient to access as car parking, located as close as possible to the main entrance or exit points of buildings and have good lighting and natural surveillance. It must not be sited where it obstructs pedestrian or vehicle movement. All cycle parking is to be easy and safe to access and use. Routes to cycle parking must be well-maintained and lit, clearly signed, and provide unobstructed, 

step-free access, avoiding inconvenient detours, steep slopes, narrow paths, or tight turns. 

Cycle parking must be secure, with high-quality equipment and materials that provide strong support and enable both the frame and wheels to be locked. Spaces should be internal where practicable and appropriate. Facilities must be inclusive for all users and all types of cycles, avoiding any need to lift, drag, or perform difficult movements to park a cycle. Long stay cycle parking should be covered. The design of cycle parking should complement their surroundings, be visually attractive, and be clearly identifiable to users with visual impairments. 

In residential developments, cycle parking should be located in a purpose-built area at the front of the house or within a garage. It may only be located in a rear garden if placing it at the front would conflict with the established character of the surrounding area and if there is no garage available. Shared cycle parking must have a funded maintenance programme and include provision for monitoring and removing abandoned cycles. 

Larger developments and those within accessible locations will need to be able to accommodate space for dockless cycle and scooter hire schemes, such as at mobility (travel) hubs and key destinations. Cambridge City Cycle Parking Guide provides further guidance on the provision and design of cycle parking. 

Car Parking is important so vehicles can be stored safely where they don’t cause highway problems. Parking displacement and inappropriate car parking impacts on quality of place, causes nuisance and can hinder emergency services. However, car parking is land hungry, can be unsightly, undermines the quality of place, and can discourage travel by sustainable modes. 

It is therefore important that the right levels of car parking are provided in the right places. In areas where there are alternatives for travel, such as close to a High Quality public transport interchange and well served by active travel, this could mean limited provision or car free development could be acceptable. In more rural areas where people are more reliant on cars more spaces may be needed. A design-led approach responding to the location and the opportunities it provides is required. The approach will be kept under review prior to the proposed submission stage of this local plan, as the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority review the transport strategy for the area. 

Innovative and flexible solutions to reduce car parking in appropriate locations, such as through smart parking and the provision of car clubs and shared parking, including car barns on the edge of accessible larger developments, are encouraged whilst avoiding displacement parking. Ahead of the proposed submission stage the Councils will give further consideration to the potential for car free development in particular contexts, including the relationship of this with cycle standards. 

Residential garages will only be counted towards car and cycle parking provision where they meet a minimum size requirement; 3.3m x 6m for a car, with an additional 1m at the end and/or 650-750mm at the side of a garage to park cycles. 

Guidance on the design and provision of designated accessible car parking spaces for blue badge holders is set out in BS 8300-1:2018 – Design of an accessible and inclusive built environment – External environment. Code of practice (British Standards institute, 2018), Inclusive Mobility: A Guide to Best Practice on Access to Pedestrians and Transport

Includes transport, energy, water, waste, digital/smart, social and green infrastructure.

(DfT, 2021) and National

The Building Regulations 2010 cover the construction and extension of buildings, providing the minimum standards for design, construction and alterations to virtually every building. Building regulations approval is different from planning permission and you might need both for your project.

. In developments such as hospitals, medical centres and surgeries, which often attract a high number of blue badge holders, applicants must review local need and it will likely be necessary to exceed the minimum standards set out in BS 8300-1. 

The Building Regulations 2010 cover the construction and extension of buildings, providing the minimum standards for design, construction and alterations to virtually every building. Building regulations approval is different from planning permission and you might need both for your project.

require Electric Vehicle charging provision for residential and non- residential developments but is important that in large and strategic developments site wide Electric Vehicle charging needs for other land uses and visitors are considered holistically. Developers must ensure infrastructure for Electric Vehicles is considered and designed-in from the outset and is located so that it does not cause street clutter or conflict with active travel routes and users, and should have regard to section 2.5xvii of Cambridgeshire County Council’s On-street Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Policy which complements the Cambridgeshire Highways Development Management General Principles for Development – January 2023 – Amended, and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy. 

• The combined areas of Cambridge District and South Cambridgeshire District Councils.

  A plan for the future development of a local area, drawn up by the local planning authority in consultation with the community. In law this is described as the development plan documents adopted under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. A local plan can consist of either strategic or non-strategic policies, or a combination of the two.

  : Topic Paper  8:

  Includes transport, energy, water, waste, digital/smart, social and green infrastructure.

  (2025)
• Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Local Transport and Connectivity Plan (2023)

We will consider all comments while developing the next version of the

A plan for the future development of a local area, drawn up by the local planning authority in consultation with the community. In law this is described as the development plan documents adopted under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. A local plan can consist of either strategic or non-strategic policies, or a combination of the two.

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All comments must be received by 30 January 2026 at 5pm.