Policy WS/HD: Creating healthy new developments

1.

This refers to development in its widest sense, including buildings, and streets, spaces and places. It also refers to both redevelopment, including refurbishment, as well as new development.

will be supported where it can be demonstrated that it provides opportunities for residents and workers to adopt healthy lifestyles, contributes to the creation of healthier communities and the reduction of health inequalities. Developments will promote health and wellbeing by: 

  a. Delivering inclusive and healthy design, in particular meeting the needs of disabled people, older people and young children (Great Places) 

  b. Requiring the delivery of community and health facilities to meet the needs generated by the development and have regard to and support the delivery of local strategies to improve health, social and cultural well-being. (Wellbeing and Social Inclusion) 

  c. Providing, protecting and enhancing accessibility to green and blue open spaces for sport and recreation (

The variety of life in all its forms. This includes the plant and animal species that make up our wildlife and the habitats in which they live.

and Green Spaces). 

  d. Providing opportunities to access healthy food, including through allotments and food growing opportunities (

The variety of life in all its forms. This includes the plant and animal species that make up our wildlife and the habitats in which they live.

and Green Spaces). 

  e. Ensuring that development is designed to facilitate, encourage and to prioritise walking, wheeling and cycling and promote accessibility for all (

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

). 

  f. Requiring that new developments are inclusive and provide for the needs of disadvantaged groups and that new houses have sufficient space for residents both inside and outside (Housing). 

  g. Ensuring that developments are designed to mitigate the impacts of climate change including measures to reduce overheating and to maximise appropriate tree canopy shade (Climate Change and

The variety of life in all its forms. This includes the plant and animal species that make up our wildlife and the habitats in which they live.

and Green Spaces). 

  h. Ensuring employment areas have the facilities for active travel (Jobs) 

  i. Minimising the adverse impacts of pollution generated by new development (Wellbeing and Social Inclusion) 

2. Developers of major development proposals are required to consider wider local/regional primary care and other health strategies, as appropriate, to take into account how they can contribute to the aims and objectives of those strategies. 

3. A

A health impact assessment is a tool to appraise both positive and negative impacts on the different affected subgroups of the population that might result from the development. Public participation is considered a major component of the process. It usually assesses a policy or proposal that does not have health improvement as a primary objective. The implementation of the development may result in intended objectives being met but may also result in consequences that are unintended and unanticipated. A HIA is usually forward-looking and done at a time when it is possible to change the proposed development if necessary, such as at the masterplanning stage.

must be prepared for the following: 

  a.

This refers to development in its widest sense, including buildings, and streets, spaces and places. It also refers to both redevelopment, including refurbishment, as well as new development.

proposals between 20 to 100 dwellings or 1,000sq.m to 5,000sq.m gross internal floorspace (GIA) must undertake an extended screening or rapid Health Impact Assessment. 

  b.

This refers to development in its widest sense, including buildings, and streets, spaces and places. It also refers to both redevelopment, including refurbishment, as well as new development.

proposals of 100 dwellings or more or 5,000m2 of gross internal floorspace (GIA) or more must undertake a full HIA. 

  c. Other development which is likely to have a significant impact on health and wellbeing. 

4. Proposals requiring a full HIA must demonstrate: 

  a. How negative impacts identified through the HIA will be addressed. 

  b. How the development will reflect the ten principles of creating healthy places from the

Healthy new towns are those in which people can live and work in a safe, healthy, supportive and inclusive neighbourhood. A healthy town will ensure that people are able to enjoy the options of easy access by public transport and active travel modes (walking and cycling), to services and facilities that are relevant to them. It will also allow people to safely and easily move around their neighbourhood through high quality people focused spaces, while enjoying barrier free access to surrounding areas and to the city centre.

programme or future equivalent. 

Hot food takeaway 

5. Proposals for new hot food takeaways and fast food outlets will not be permitted where they are situated outside of

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

’s designated centres, and within 400m, measured as a direct line, from an existing or proposed primary school, secondary school, further education college or youth centre. 

6. Proposals for new hot food takeaways and fast food outlets must ensure no clustering or cumulative negative impact resulting in the over concentration of hot food takeaways and fast food outlets in the area. New hot food takeaways and fast food outlets will not be supported where they: 

  (a) create or add to a cluster of three of more immediately opposite or adjacent hot food takeaways; or 

  (b) create or lead to more than two hot food takeaways and fast food outlets in a continuous frontage of 10 units or less. 

7. Applications for hot food takeaways and fast food outlets will be refused where they are replacing the last community asset such as a convenience shop or public house in a village or the last convenience shop in a parade of shops that serve a residential area. 

Good physical and mental health is related to good quality housing and developments, well designed street scenes, well laid out neighbourhoods, quality and efficiency in transport systems, opportunities to experience community, leisure and cultural services activities and access to green and open space. 

Ten principles for creating healthy places were developed through NHS England’s

Healthy new towns are those in which people can live and work in a safe, healthy, supportive and inclusive neighbourhood. A healthy town will ensure that people are able to enjoy the options of easy access by public transport and active travel modes (walking and cycling), to services and facilities that are relevant to them. It will also allow people to safely and easily move around their neighbourhood through high quality people focused spaces, while enjoying barrier free access to surrounding areas and to the city centre.

(HNT) programme. The new town at Northstowe, became a demonstrator site for the programme. The principles are: 

1. Plan ahead collectively 
2. Assess local health and care needs and assets 
3. Connect, Involve and empower local people and communities 
4. Create compact neighbourhoods 
5. Maximise active travel 
6. Inspire and enable healthy eating 
7. Foster health in homes and buildings 
8. Enable healthy play and leisure 
9. Develop health services that help people stay well 
10. Create integrated health and well-being centres. 

Each principle includes a range of actions in order to create a healthy new place. Applying the principles across the

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.

will help to address the health and wellbeing of all new residents, and will also create an opportunity to address some of the existing health inequalities that are displayed locally. 

Health Impact Assessments (HIA) are promoted by Public Health England as a method of ensuring that positive health outcomes can be delivered through new development. A HIA is a method of considering the positive and negative impacts of development on the health of different groups in the population, in order to enhance the benefits and minimise any risks to health. A HIA includes specifically a consideration of the differential impacts on different groups in the population, because certain groups are potentially more vulnerable to negative impacts from development such as those on a low income, people involved in the criminal justice system, minority ethnic groups, young, disabled (physically and learning) and older people. 

The health and wellbeing impacts of development can vary depending on the type, scale, and location of development. Thresholds have therefore been included within Policy WS/HD to identify when the need for a HIA must be considered. For smaller developments an extended screening stage or rapid HIA can be undertaken to determine if a full HIA is required. The extended screening includes a desk-based assessment of a development’s prospective health impacts, drawing data from a literature review and analysis of relevant quantitative data. A rapid HIA requires a small steering group and often uses the approach of a participatory stakeholder workshop. 

This typically involves a brief investigation of health impacts, including a short literature review of quantitative and qualitative research, and the gathering of knowledge and further evidence from a number of local stakeholders. Guidance on how to undertake extended HIA screening and a rapid HIA is available within the

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

Health Impact Assessment SPD (April 2025). 

A HIAs may also be required for a development proposal with potentially significant health and wellbeing impacts, even if the above thresholds are not exceeded. Examples of applicable development include: 

• This refers to development in its widest sense, including buildings, and streets, spaces and places. It also refers to both redevelopment, including refurbishment, as well as new development.

  proposals that include potentially hazardous uses or installations; 
• Developments in areas with limited infrastructure or facilities; 
• Developments in areas that have a higher proportion of protected characteristic groups. 

Applicants should engage in pre-application discussions with the Local Planning Authority to determine the need and/or scope of a HIA for a particular development proposal. 

Whilst they have an established role in the existing retail offer, where hot food takeaways and fast food outlets are within walking distance of schools and youth facilities, these uses have the potential to promote behaviour which is harmful to health. Controlling the development of hot food takeaways and fast food outlets within walking distances of places where young people gather will limit children’s exposure to less healthy food choices. 

National Planning Policy states that applications for hot food takeaways and fast food outlets should be refused outside town centres when they are in close proximity to schools and other places where children and young people congregate, unless the location is within a designated town centre or where there is evidence that a concentration of such uses is having an adverse impact on local health, pollution or anti-social-behaviour. Policy WS/HD provides further detail as to how this policy will be applied in

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

. 

Concentrations of hot food takeaways and fast food outlets can damage the health of local communities by reducing choice and providing a plethora of opportunities for less healthy food choices. The policy seeks to avoiding clustering of these uses to ensure a balanced mix of uses within a village or shopping parade and to prevent such outlets from dominating. We are also exploring whether such controls should also be applied to other uses that have health impacts, such as betting shops, and would be interested on receiving views on this issue through the consultation.

Shops and public houses within a village or shopping parade with a limited retail presence are valuable community resources that provide residents, particularly those without a car, with access to goods and services and to human contact. Protecting this use from changing to hot food takeaways and fast food outlets helps to contribute to better physical and mental health outcomes for local residents and support the vitality of local communities. 

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: Wellbeing and Social Inclusion

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.