Appendix A: Glossary

Academic staff 

A person with a contract of employment with an existing higher education institution and / or an affiliated institution, to undertake a role in teaching, research, or provide academic support (professors, lecturers, researchers and other faculty members who hold academic positions) which: (i) is for a term of note less than six (6) months, and (ii) exceeds eighteen (18) hours working time per week. 

Academic visitors 

A person who undertakes teaching or academic research at an existing higher education institution or an affiliated institution as uncontracted academic staff. 

Active frontages 

Building frontages that serve to enhance the visual and physical interaction between people inside the building and the external surroundings, contributing to the creation of a vibrant pedestrian environment. 

Aggregates 

Aggregates take a number of different forms. Primary Aggregates include naturally occurring sand, gravel and crushed rock typically used for a variety of construction and manufacturing purposes. Recycled Aggregates are typically produced from construction and demolition wastes. Secondary Aggregates are aggregates typically derived from a range of industrial and mineral wastes such as power station ash, glass, and mineral site spoils. 

Area Action Plan (AAP) 

A local plan document setting out policy and proposals for a specific area. 

Affiliated institutions 

The Animal Health Trust, Babraham Research Institute, British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge Assessment, Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre, Cambridge University Press, European Bioinformatics Institute (European Molecular Biology Laboratory), Faraday Institute, MRC Laboratory for Molecular Biology, National Institute Agricultural Botany, Sanger Institute, the Wellcome Trust, The World Monitoring Conservation Centre, Woolf Institute, or such other affiliations as may be agreed in writing with Cambridge City Council or South Cambridgeshire District Council. 

Affordable housing 

Housing for sale or rent, for those whose needs are not met by the market (including housing that provides a subsidised route to home ownership and/or is for essential local workers); and which complies with one or more of the following definitions: 

  a. Social Rent: meets all of the following conditions: (a) the rent is set in accordance with the Government’s rent policy for Social Rent; (b) the landlord is a registered provider; and (c) it includes provisions to remain at an affordable price for future eligible households, or for the subsidy to be recycled for alternative affordable housing provision. 

  b. Other affordable housing for rent: meets all of the following conditions: (a) the rent is set in accordance with the Government’s rent policy for Affordable Rent, or is at least 20% below local market rents (including service charges where applicable); (b) the landlord is a registered provider, except where it is included as part of a Build to Rent scheme (in which case the landlord need not be a registered provider); and (c) it includes provisions to remain at an affordable price for future eligible households, or for the subsidy to be recycled for alternative affordable housing provision. For Build to Rent schemes affordable housing for rent is expected to be the normal form of affordable housing provision (and, in this context, is known as Affordable Private Rent). 

  c. Discounted market sales housing: is that sold at a discount of at least 20% below local market value. Eligibility is determined with regard to local incomes and local house prices. Provisions should be in place to ensure housing remains at a discount for future eligible households. 

  d. Other affordable routes to home ownership: is housing provided for sale that provides a route to ownership for those who could not achieve home ownership through the market. It includes shared ownership, relevant equity loans, other low cost homes for sale (at a price equivalent to at least 20% below local market value) and rent to buy (which includes a period of intermediate rent). Where public grant funding is provided, there should be provisions for the homes to remain at an affordable price for future eligible households, or for any receipts to be recycled for alternative affordable housing provision, or refunded to Government or the relevant authority specified in the funding agreement. 

Affordable workspace 

Workspace that is provided at rents maintained below the market rate for a specific social, cultural, or economic development purpose. 

Agent of change principle 

The principle places the responsibility of mitigating the impact of nuisances (including noise) on new development. This includes from existing nuisance generating uses, ensuring that residents and users of the new development are protected from nuisances, and existing uses are protected from nuisance complaints. Similarly, any new nuisance-generating development will need to put in place measures to mitigate noise impacts on existing development close by. 

Amenity 

Element of a location or neighbourhood that helps to make it attractive or enjoyable for residents and visitors such as parks, gardens, peaceful environments or access to community services and facilities. 

Apart-hotel 

Self-contained accommodation (C1 Use Class) providing short-term occupancy at a nightly rate that combines serviced apartment level accommodation with hotel facilities. This will usually include concierge and room service, and include formal procedures for checking in and out. 

Battery storage 

An energy storage system that captures energy produced to be uses at another time. They are suitable for a range of applications, including vehicles and buildings. 

Biodiversity 

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. 

Biodiversity Net Gain 

A requirement of the NPPF and Environment Bill 2020 that seeks to ensure new development minimise losses of biodiversity, helps to restore ecological networks, and provides an overall increase in natural habitat and ecological features. 

BREEAM 

(Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) 

BREEAM is a set of standards for measuring the environmental performance of a range of new and existing building types. It covers energy and water performance, construction materials, waste, ecology, pollution and health. Under this scheme, buildings that meet the standards are rated either ‘pass’, ‘good’, ‘very good’, ‘excellent’ or ‘outstanding’. 

Built environment 

The physical human-made surroundings where people live, work and visit. 

Brownfield land 

See ‘Previously Developed Land’. 

Build to Rent (BTR) 

Purpose built housing that is typically 100% rented out. It can form part of a wider multi- tenure development comprising either flats or houses but should be on the same site and/or adjoined with the main development. Schemes will usually offer longer tenancy agreements of three years or more and will typically be professionally managed in single ownership and management control. 

Building density 

Building density is the “floor area ratio” – the ratio of built floor area to land area. This is the most widely used measure for limiting the bulk of development on any given plot of land. 

Cambridge cluster 

Refers to over 1,400 technology, biotechnology, services providers and the support companies and organisations that employ over 40,000 people in the Cambridge region. 

Cambridgeshire Historic Environment Record (CHER) 

A database that comprises of information on undesignated heritage assets, archaeological sites and historic buildings in Cambridgeshire. 

Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority 

A legal body made up of two or more councils that work together to decide and carry out region-wide decisions. The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, founded in March 2017, is made up of representatives from eight organisations. These are Cambridge City Council, Cambridgeshire County Council, East Cambridgeshire District Council, Fenland District Council, Huntingdonshire District Council, Peterborough City Council, South Cambridgeshire District Council and The Business Board. The Combined Authority is led by an elected Mayor; the Leaders of Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council, together with those of the five other authorities sit on the Combined Authority Board. The Combined Authority is held to account by several committees made up of representatives from partner local authorities. 

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Minerals and Waste Plan 

Comprises a suite of documents including the Core Strategy and Site-Specific Proposals Plan adopted by Cambridgeshire County and Peterborough City Councils. There is also an adopted Proposals Map, which shows allocated sites and areas of search for future minerals and waste facilities, and safeguarding areas for existing and future facilities. 

Cambridgeshire Quality Charter for Growth 

A charter designed to ensure that new developments across Cambridgeshire are well- designed and attain high standards with regards to the basic principles contained within the four broad themes that the document is structured around: community, connectivity, climate and character. 

Car barn 

A multi-storey car park which is positioned on the edge of a district or neighbourhood in order to reduce the number of vehicles using residential streets. They can be designed so that they complement their local environment. 

Car club 

Car club is a membership scheme that offers people use of a car on a pay-as-you-go basis. 

Circular economy 

An economic model in which resources are kept in use at the highest level possible for as long as possible in order to maximise value and reduce waste, moving away from the traditional linear economic model of ‘make, use, dispose’. 

City Wildlife Site (CiWS) 

A non-statutory designation for sites of nature conservation interest within an urban environment. 

Climate change adaptation 

Adjustments made to natural or human systems in response to the actual or anticipated impacts of climate change, to mitigate harm or make the most of beneficial opportunities. 

Climate change mitigation 

Action to reduce the impact of human activity on the climate, primarily through reducing greenhouse gas emissions. 

Cluster 

Concentrations of companies in related activities, recognisable suppliers, service providers and institutions, which are cooperating, competing and collaborating to build competitive advantage, often across traditional sector boundaries. Such concentrations often depend on access to specialist skills and infrastructure within a specific area. 

Co-housing 

A community-led housing development where each household has a self-contained private home as well as access to shared community spaces. 

Co-living 

Large scale purpose built and managed residential accommodation, often comprising self- contained studios, with extensive communal facilities. 

Community-led housing 

A housing development taken forward by, or with, a not-for-profit organisation, that is primarily for the purpose of meeting the needs of its members or the wider local community, rather than being a primarily commercial enterprise. The organisation should be created, managed and democratically controlled by its members, and membership of the organisation should be open to all beneficiaries and prospective beneficiaries of that organisation. It may take any one of various legal forms including a co-operative society, community benefit society and company limited by guarantee. The organisation should own, manage or steward the development in a manner consistent with its purpose, potentially through a mutually supported arrangement with a Registered Provider of Social Housing. The benefits of the development to the community should be clearly defined and consideration given to how those benefits can be protected over time, including in the event of the organisation being wound up. 

Commuted sum 

A financial contribution towards the future provision of physical infrastructure or social amenities on-site, that is secured through a s106 agreement. 

Conservation Area 

Areas of special architectural or historic interest, that are preserved or enhanced for their character or appearance. You can finds more information on the Councils’ websites: Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire. 

Conservation Area Appraisals 

Appraisals that describe the significance and character of Conservation Areas and make recommendations for their preservation. 

Construction Environmental Management Plan 

A Plan that outlines how a construction project will avoid, minimise or mitigate effects on the environment and surrounding area. A CEMP will often detail the implementation of measures in accordance with environmental commitments outlined in an Environmental Statement, Policy requirements, requirements of planning conditions, planning obligations, or other legislative requirements. 

Creative industries 

Industries which have their origin in individual creativity, skill and talent and which have a potential for wealth and job creation through the generation and exploitation of intellectual property. The Department for Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) has grouped the creative industries into the following sub-sectors: advertising and marketing, architecture, crafts, design and designer fashion, film, TV, radio and photography, museums, galleries and libraries, music, performing and visual arts, publishing, IT, software and computer services (includes video games). 

Cultural activity 

This includes a wide breadth of creative and communal activities spanning the public, private and third sectors, performed by all sizes of organisations from global providers to dedicated lone creatives. Cultural activity can include a wide range of curated opportunities and services that bring people together and enhance the environment and people’s lives. It can include independent businesses, community spaces, markets, mixed sporting occasions, fairs, and arts activities. It encompasses all the creative industries including museums, outdoor events, venue provision and programmes, festivals and the visual arts, which includes artist spaces, permanent, temporary, and socially engaged public art. 

Cultural/creative hub/district 

A cultural/creative hub should be able to clearly demonstrate suitable capacity to curate an ecosystem of cultural activities and, or creative artists or organisations (public or commercial). They should feature most (if not all) of the following: affordable creative workspace, learning infrastructure, networking and collaborative spaces, affordable accommodation, live/workspace or affordable temporary accommodation for visiting artists, cultural attractions, and skills, networking and business support programmes. In areas where more than one cultural/creative hub exists, close enough to form interrelated links/activities/trips these would form a cultural/creative district. These should feature/host most of the following: workspaces and studios, cultural institutions, evening/nighttime economy uses, public realm interventions and visual identity, formal/informal collaboration networks, place branding & promotion, and community engagement. 

Cultural infrastructure 

Spaces that allow cultural activities to happen on a permanent or transitory basis. Examples include: a gallery, a village hall, an arts centre, a bespoke high-end film studio, a workshop on an old farm, a museum, a pop-up space in a vacant shopping unit, a public house, a theatre, a cinema and a park used annually for a festival. 

Custom and self-build housing 

Housing built by an individual, a group of individuals, or persons working with or for them, to be occupied by that individual. Such housing can be either market or affordable housing. A legal definition, for the purpose of applying the Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015 (as amended), is contained in section 1(A1) and (A2) of that Act. 

Defined Development Extent 

(previously settlement boundary or development framework boundary) 

Define where policies for the built-up areas of settlements give way to the more restrictive policies for the countryside. 

Design and access statement 

A statement that accompanies a planning application to explain the design principles and concepts that have informed the development and how access issues have been dealt with. The access element of the statement should demonstrate how the principles of inclusive design, including the specific needs of disabled people, have been integrated into the proposed development and how inclusion will be maintained and managed. 

Designated Heritage Assets 

Buildings, sites or landscapes that have been officially recognised as having a degree of historical or cultural significance, and that are a consideration in planning decisions. 

Design code 

A set of design requirements that provide specific, detailed parameters for the physical development of a site or area. The graphic and written components of the code should build upon a design vision, such as a masterplan or other design and development framework for a site or area. 

Development 

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

Digital infrastructure 

Infrastructure, such as small cell antenna and ducts for cables, that supports fixed and mobile connectivity, therefore underpinning smart technologies. 

District centre 

A group of shops, separate from the town centre, usually containing at least one food supermarket or superstore, and non-retail services such as banks, building societies and restaurants; boundaries are defined on the Cambridge policies map. 

East West Rail link 

The East West Rail scheme will re-establish a rail link between Cambridge and Oxford to improve connections between East Anglia and central, southern and western England. The central section will link Bedford to Cambridge. 

Energy infrastructure masterplanning 

Spatial and strategic planning that identifies and develops opportunities for decentralised energy and the associated technical, financial and legal considerations that provide the basis for project delivery. 

Equality Act 2010 

The Equality Act legally protects people from discrimination within the workplace and wider society. The Act protects individuals from discrimination based on nine protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, maternity and pregnancy, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation. 

First Homes 

First Homes are a specific kind of discounted market sale housing and should be considered to meet the definition of ‘affordable housing’ for planning purposes. 

Specifically, First Homes are discounted market sale units which: 

 a .must be discounted by a minimum of 30% against the market value; 

 b. are sold to a person or persons meeting the First Homes eligibility criteria (see below); 

  c. on their first sale, will have a restriction registered on the title at HM Land Registry to ensure this discount (as a percentage of current market value) and certain other restrictions are passed on at each subsequent title transfer; 

  d .after the discount has been applied, the first sale must be at a price no higher than £250,000. 

First Homes Exception Sites 

A First Homes exception site is an exception site (that is, a housing development that comes forward outside of local or neighbourhood plan allocations to deliver affordable housing) that delivers primarily First Homes as set out in the First Homes Written Ministerial Statement. 

Future proofing 

Ensuring that designs are adaptable and take account of expected future changes. 

Greater Cambridge 

The combined areas of Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire. 

Greater Cambridge Local Plan 

Refers to the join Local Plan being prepared for the Greater Cambridge area by Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council. 

Greater Cambridge Partnership 

The Greater Cambridge Partnership is a partnership between Cambridge City Council, Cambridgeshire County Council, South Cambridgeshire District Council, the University of Cambridge and the Business Board of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority to support continued growth of the Greater Cambridge area. Local delivery body for a City Deal with central Government, bringing powers and investment, worth up to £1 billion over 15 years. 

Green Belt 

A statutory designation made for the purposes of checking the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas, preventing neighbouring towns from merging into each other, assisting in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment, preserving the setting and special character of historic towns and assisting in urban regeneration by encouraging the recycling of derelict and other urban land. Specific Green Belt purposes have been set out for Cambridge. 

Green infrastructure 

A network of multi-functional green space, urban and rural, which can deliver a wide range of environmental and quality of life benefits for local communities. It includes a wide range of elements such as country parks, wildlife habitats, rights of way, commons and greens, nature reserves, waterways and bodies of water, and historic landscapes and monuments. 

Grey belt 

Land in the Green Belt that is not subject to major policy constraints defined in footnote 7 of the National Planning Policy Framework and is either previously developed land, or does not strongly contribute to the national purposes of checking the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas, preventing neighbouring towns from merging into each other, and assisting in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment. 

Gypsies and Travellers 

Persons of nomadic habit of life whatever their race or origin, including such persons who on grounds only of their own or their family’s or dependants’ educational or health needs or old age have ceased to travel temporarily or permanently, and all other persons with a cultural tradition of nomadism or of living in a caravan, but excluding members of an organised group of travelling showpeople or circus people travelling together as such. 

Health impact assessment (HIA) 

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. 

Healthy New Towns 

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. 

Heat island 

Urban areas are often warmer than the surrounding countryside, especially at night, as materials like tarmac and stone, absorbs and stores heat. 

Heat networks 

Heating networks are systems for distributing heat generated in a centralised location for residential and commercial heating requirements. The heat is often obtained from a co-generation plant burning fossil fuels but increasingly biomass, although heat-only boiler stations, geothermal heating and central solar heating are also used, as well as nuclear power. 

Heritage Impact Assessment 

A Heritage Impact Assessment is a tool used to evaluate how a proposed development may impact heritage assets. 

Hi-tech or high technology industry 

Activities including production in fields which include biotechnology, chemicals, consultancy research and development, computer components and hardware, computer software, electronic systems and products, information technology, instrumentation, new materials technology, telecommunications, other forms of new manufacturing process or fields of research and other development which may be regarded as high technology uses. 

Higher density 

New residential and commercial development at a density that is higher than what is typically found in the surrounding context. It does not mean high-rise development. 

Higher Education institutions 

A higher education provider refers to an institution or organisation that offers formal educational programs and courses beyond the secondary level. These institutions include universities, colleges, and specialist colleges and language schools. They provide post-secondary education and award qualifications ranging from undergraduate to postgraduate degrees. Within Greater Cambridge, higher education institutions include the University of Cambridge and Anglia Ruskin University. 

Historic environment 

All aspects of the environment resulting from the interaction between people and places through time, including all surviving physical remains of past human activity, whether visible, buried or submerged, and landscaped and planted or managed flora. 

Houses in multiple occupation (HMO) 

A HMO, depending on the number of occupants, is classed as either: 

• small HMO – this is a shared dwelling house which is occupied by between three and six unrelated individuals who share basic amenities such as a kitchen or bathroom, and who use the HMO as their main or only residence. This falls into use class C4 under the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 2010 
• larger HMO – this is when there are more than six unrelated individuals sharing basic amenities such as a kitchen or bathroom, and who use the HMO as their main or only residence. This falls into the sui generis class under the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 2010. 

Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) 

A government capital grant programme to deliver new physical infrastructure to support new and existing communities and make more land available for housing in high demand areas, resulting in new additional homes that otherwise would not have been built. 

Important Countryside Frontages 

Important Countryside Frontages are defined as areas where land with a rural character either extends into or borders a built-up area, providing an interaction between the street area and countryside, or separates two nearby but detached parts of the built-up area. 

Inclusive design 

Inclusive design results in an environment which everyone can use, to access and benefit from the full range of opportunities available, confidently, independently, with choice and dignity, which avoids separation or segregation and is made up of places and spaces that acknowledge diversity and difference, meeting the needs of everyone in society. 

Incubator space 

Provides start-up and scale-up space for companies, including support and services. 

Infrastructure 

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

Integrated Water Management 

Collaborative approaches to land use and water management that integrate social, environmental, and economic factors to deliver the coordinated management of water storage, water supply, water demand, wastewater, flood risk, water quality, and the role of water in the natural environment. 

Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA) 

Process of assessing the landscape and visual effects of developments and their significance. Assessment should adhere to the Landscape Institute published 3rd edition of Guidelines for Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (GLVIA3). 

Listed Buildings 

Structure considered by the Secretary of State (for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) to be 'of special architectural or historic interest' and included in a list of such buildings. The list is maintained by Historic England and is available online through the National Heritage List for England. 

Local centre 

A cluster of shops and other community facilities that satisfy local needs and are accessible on foot. Usually comprising a newsagent, a general grocery store, a sub- post office and occasionally other facilities such as a pharmacy, a public house and a hairdresser. Boundaries indicated on the policies map. 

Local Lettings Plan 

Local Lettings Plans set out the criteria for allocating and letting Social Rent and Affordable Rent homes within a development to help create balanced, mixed and sustainable communities. For a rural exception site scheme, Local Lettings Plans are used to ensure that priority is given to those with a local village connection. 

Local Plan 

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. 

Local Planning Authority (LPA) 

The public authority whose duty it is to carry out specific planning functions for a particular area. All references to local planning authority include the district council, London borough council, county council, Broads Authority, National Park Authority, the Mayor of London and a development corporation, to the extent appropriate to their responsibilities. 

Local Nature Reserve (LNR) 

Reserves with wildlife or geological features that are of special interest locally. 

Major development 

For housing, development where 10 or more homes will be provided, or the site has an area of 0.5 hectares or more. For non-residential development it means additional floorspace of 1,000m2 or more, or a site of 1 hectare or more, or as otherwise provided in the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015. 

Massing 

Massing is a term in architecture which refers to the perception of the general shape and form as well as size of a building. 

Masterplan 

A masterplan describes how proposals for a site will be implemented. The level of detail required in a masterplan will vary according to the scale at which the masterplan is produced. 

Micro-mobility 

Refers to a range of small, lightweight devices operating at speeds typically below 25 km/h (15mph) and is ideal for trips up to 10km. Micromobility devices include bicycles, Ebikes, electric scooters, electric skateboards, shared bicycles, and electric pedal assisted (pedelec) bicycles.

Minor Development 

A minor development is anything smaller than the criteria for major developments. For example, the number of dwellings is between one and nine and the floorspace is less than 1,000sqm or the site area less than one hectare. 

Mixed use developments 

Development comprising two or more uses as part of the same scheme such as shops on the ground floor and residential flats above. This could apply at a variety of scales from individual buildings, to a street, to a new neighbourhood or urban extension. 

Mobility (travel) hubs 

A dedicated space that enables seamless interchange between pedestrians, cyclists and public transport, with facilities such as sheltered waiting area with seating, digital information, cycle parking, dockless cycle/scooter hire, and larger facilities may include café, toilets, parcel collection, car drop-off. 

National Design Guide 

This guide illustrates the characteristics of well-designed places, showing what good design looks like in practice. 

National Model Design Code 

Provides guidance on the creation of design policies and codes to promote well- designed places that are appropriate to the character of the local area. 

National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) 

This document sets out national planning policies for England and the Government’s requirements for the Planning System. The policies in the NPPF must be taken into account when preparing Local Plans. 

National Planning Practice Guidance (NPPG) 

The Government’s planning practice guidance to support the NPPF. 

Neighbourhood Plan 

A plan prepared by a parish council or neighbourhood forum for a designated neighbourhood area. This is described as a neighbourhood development plan in the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. 

Net zero carbon 

Net zero carbon means that carbon emissions cannot exceed zero. In practice, a net zero carbon target means that in addition to phasing out fossil fuels and the role of renewable energy and energy reduction measures, there is also a role for balancing a certain measured amount of carbon released with an amount of carbon offsets, through, for example, tree planting or carbon capture and storage. 

Noise sensitive development or receptors 

Noise sensitive development or receptors are those, both existing and proposed, with human receptors that are most susceptible to adverse noise impacts. These mainly include premises where people live and or sleep overnight including dwellings (houses, flats, bungalows and maisonettes), residential institutions (hospices, residential care and nursing homes), hotels and rooms for residential purposes (including student accommodation / halls of residence, school boarding houses and hostels) and healthcare (hospitals and other medical facilities with accommodation for patients and families). 

Non-Designated Heritage Assets 

Buildings, sites, places or landscapes that have a degree of heritage significance that are considered in local planning decisions, but do not meet the criteria for Designated Heritage Assets. 

Older People 

People over or approaching retirement age, including the active, newly-retired, through to the very frail elderly, and whose housing needs can encompass accessible, adaptable general needs housing through to the full range of retirement and specialised housing for those with support or care needs. 

Open space 

Areas of land not built on and water bodies such as rivers and lakes, regardless of ownership and access. These areas include parks and gardens, natural and semi- natural green spaces, green corridors, outdoor sports facilities, amenity green space, teenagers’ and children’s play areas, allotments and community gardens, cemeteries and churchyards, accessible countryside in urban fringe areas and civic spaces. 

Outline Planning Permission / Approval 

Planning applications that seek to establish the development principles of a site, such as the type, scale and nature of land uses considered acceptable, before a fully detailed planning application is put forward. 

Oxford-Cambridge Arc 

An area covering Oxford, Milton Keynes and Cambridge, identified by the Government as a unique opportunity to become an economic asset of international standing. 

Passivhaus 

Passivhaus buildings provide a high level of occupant comfort while using very little energy for heating and cooling. They are designed and constructed according to principles developed by the Passivhaus Institute in Germany. 

Permeability 

Permeability or connectivity describes the extent to which urban forms permit (or restrict) movement of people or vehicles in different directions. Permeability is generally considered a positive attribute of an urban design, as it permits ease of movement and avoids severing neighbourhoods. Urban forms which lack permeability, such as those severed by arterial roads, or with many long cul-de-sacs, are considered to discourage movement on foot and encourage longer journeys by car. 

Planning condition 

A condition imposed on a grant of planning permission (in accordance with the Town and Country Planning Act 1990) or a condition included in a Local Development Order or Neighbourhood Development Order. 

Planning obligation 

A legally enforceable obligation entered into under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to mitigate the impacts of a development proposal. 

Policies Map 

A geographical map showing the specific locations for new development, areas for protection like nature sites or Green Belts, and environmental designations as set out in the Plan. The map provides visual guidance for considering the policies when making planning decisions. 

Previously developed land 

Land which has been lawfully developed and is or was occupied by a permanent structure and any fixed surface infrastructure associated with it, including the curtilage of the developed land (although it should not be assumed that the whole of the curtilage should be developed). Previously developed land excludes land that is or was last occupied by agricultural or forestry buildings, land that has been developed for minerals extraction or waste disposal by landfill, where provision for restoration has been made through development management procedures, land in built-up areas such as residential gardens, parks, recreation grounds and allotments, and land that was previously developed but where the remains of the permanent structure or fixed surface structure have blended into the landscape. 

Private Rented Sector (PRS) housing 

Properties owned by private landlords, letting agents, or companies that are rented to tenants, often including Build to Rent housing. A landlord (often through a management company or estate agent) will lease the property to tenants under a tenancy agreement. 

Public Art 

A form of artistic expression created for the enjoyment of the general public within the public realm. 

Public House 

A licensed premises that must be open to and welcoming of the general public without requiring membership or residency that allows drinking on the premises without requiring food to be consumed. 

Public open spaces 

Any land laid out as a public garden or used for the purposes of public recreation. This means space which has unimpeded public access, and which is of a suitable size and nature for sport, active or passive recreation or children and teenagers’ play. Private or shared amenity areas, for example in a development of flats, or buffer landscaped areas are not included as public open space. This definition relates to both open space provided within a development, and when considering the provision of existing open space. 

Public realm 

Public realm relates to all those parts of the built environment where the public has free access. It encompasses: all streets, squares, and other rights of way, whether predominantly in residential, commercial or community/civic uses; the open spaces and parks; and the ‘public/private’ spaces where public access is unrestricted (at least during daylight hours). It includes the interfaces with key internal and private spaces to which the public normally has free access. 

Registered provider 

Providers of social housing registered with the Regulator of Social Housing. Includes local authority landlords and Private Registered Providers (such as not-for-profit housing associations, co-operatives and for-profit organisations). 

Renewable and low carbon energy 

Includes energy for heating and cooling as well as generating electricity. Renewable energy covers those energy flows that occur naturally and repeatedly in the environment – from the wind, the fall of water, the movement of the oceans, from the sun and also from biomass and deep geothermal heat. Low carbon technologies are those that can help reduce emissions (compared to conventional use of fossil fuels). 

Research and development (R&D) 

Sector within industry specialising in researching new ideas and developing these products towards being made. 

Reserved Matters Planning Permission / Approval 

Applies to Outline Planning Permissions that have been granted, where the applicant is required to submit and get approval from the LPA on specific details (“reserved matters”) of the proposed development before work can start. 

Residential annexe 

A residential annexe is a separate building or extension to a dwelling that is self- contained or capable of being self-contained, and designed to provide accommodation that is ancillary to the principal dwelling. A residential annexe must be retained in the same ownership as, and be occupied in conjunction with, the principal dwelling, and have an element of functional connection to the principal dwelling. 

Residual waste 

Waste that remains after all recyclable and compostable materials have been segregated. This typically includes non-recyclable waste that is treated either by disposal at a landfill site, put through incineration, or used in energy recovery systems. 

Right to Buy 

Scheme introduced by the Housing Act 1980 which enables secure Local Authority tenants (and some assured Housing Association tenants) to buy their rented home at a discount. 

Rural Exception Sites 

Small sites used for affordable housing in perpetuity where sites would not normally be used for housing. Rural exception sites seek to address the needs of the local community by accommodating households who are either current residents or have an existing family or employment connection. A proportion of market homes may be allowed on the site at the local planning authority’s discretion, for example where essential to enable the delivery of affordable units without grant funding. 

Section 106 (S106) 

A binding legal agreement requiring a developer or landowner to provide or contribute towards facilities, infrastructure or other measures, in order for planning permission to be granted. Planning obligations are normally secured under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. 

Self-contained dwelling 

A dwelling is defined (in line with the Census) as a self-contained unit of accommodation. A self-contained dwelling is where all the rooms (including kitchen, bathroom and toilet) in a household’s accommodation are behind a single door which only that household can use. Non self-contained household spaces at the same address should be counted together as a self-contained dwelling. 

Skyline 

An outline of land and buildings defined against the sky known as the skyline of the city. 

Smart energy management 

Smart energy management is a modernised electricity grid that uses information and communications technology to monitor and actively control generation and demand in near real-time, which provides a more reliable and cost-effective system for transporting electricity from generators to homes, business and industry. 

South Cambridgeshire District Design Guide 

A supplementary planning document that promotes high-quality and sustainable development across the South Cambridgeshire District, through a focus on appropriate and well-designed developments. 

Specialist accommodation or specialist housing 

Any residential accommodation for occupation by older people, people with disabilities, and vulnerable people with specific housing needs. Any student accommodation, other types of residential institutions related to education uses (such as boarding schools) or hospitals are not included within this definition. 

Standard method 

A government formula that helps councils to work out how many homes are needed in a given local area. Details of the standard method can be found on the government’s ‘planning guidance – Housing and economic needs assessment’ website. 

Start-up 

The early stage of a new business. 

Strategic site 

A significant area of land identified in local development plans for a major, long-term development, often providing a mix of uses including housing, employment, and infrastructure. 

Student accommodation 

Accommodation for sole use by students or academic staff provided in individual, self- contained units either as part of a shared student accommodation development or an individual proposal, or bedrooms in either halls of residence (PBSA) or shared houses (HMOs) with shared facilities. 

Sustainability Appraisal (SA) 

Prepared alongside the plan to appraise the social, environmental and economic effects of a plan and alternative approaches to help ensure that decisions made will contribute to achieving sustainable development. 

Sustainable development 

Development meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The UK Sustainable Development Strategy Securing the Future sets out five ‘guiding principles’ of sustainable development: living within the planet’s environmental limits, ensuring a strong, healthy and just society, achieving a sustainable economy, promoting good governance, and using sound science responsibly. 

Sustainable drainage systems (SuDs) 

Sustainable drainage systems control surface water run-off by mimicking natural drainage processes through the use of surface water storage areas, flow limiting devices and the use of infiltration areas or soakaways. 

Sustainable modes of transport 

Any efficient, safe and accessible means of transport with overall low impact on the environment, including walking and cycling, low and ultra-low emission vehicles, car sharing and public transport. 

Townscape 

Townscape is the landscape within the built-up area, including the buildings, the relationship between them, the different types of urban open spaces, including green spaces and the relationship between buildings and open spaces. 

Transport assessment 

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. 

Travellers 

Travellers refers to both Gypsies and Travellers and Travelling Showpeople. 

Travelling Showpeople 

Members of a group organised for the purposes of holding fairs, circuses or shows (whether or not travelling together as such). This includes such persons who on the grounds of their own or their family’s or dependants’ more localised pattern of trading, educational or health needs or old age have ceased to travel temporarily or permanently, but excludes Gypsies and Travellers. 

Travel plan 

A long-term management strategy for an organisation or site that seeks to deliver sustainable transport objectives and is regularly reviewed. 

University or college campus site 

These are the sites owned by Anglia Ruskin University, the University of Cambridge, or the colleges of the University of Cambridge, that include student accommodation or other buildings where educational activities occur. This will include libraries, lecture halls, student centres, halls of residence and dining halls. 

Use Classes Order 

The Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 (as amended) puts uses of land and buildings into various categories known as use classes. Planning permission is not needed when both the present and proposed uses fall within the same class. The current use classes were last updated in September 2020.

Vacant buildings credit 

Where a vacant building is brought back into any lawful use, or is demolished to be replaced by a new building, the developer will be offered a financial credit equivalent to the existing gross floorspace of relevant vacant buildings when the local planning authority calculates any affordable housing contribution which will be sought. 

Vernacular buildings 

Architecture that is concerned with domestic needs rather than public and commemorative buildings, often in keeping with the traditional style of the area that has developed over time. 

Vibration 

The oscillatory motion of an object or particles around an equilibrium point, often as a result of a disturbance of a solid or fluid. 

Walkable (neighbourhood) 

Areas typically based on 400m (five-minute walking time) catchments with facilities available within a five and ten-minute walk from home. 

Wheeling 

Term used to refer to the use of manual and powered wheelchairs, and other mobility scooters. 

Zero carbon development 

Zero carbon development is development that results in no net emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.