Policy BG/GI: Green infrastructure

National planning policy sets out that Local Plans should take a strategic approach to maintaining and enhancing networks of habitats - for wildlife - and green infrastructure – for people, recognising the wide range of benefits that such green spaces can provide.

This policy will require all development proposals to include green infrastructure to provide a range of benefits appropriate to its type, scale and location. Additional green infrastructure design principles are included in other policies in this Plan. Further to green infrastructure design principles, the policy identifies a number of principles relating to the planning process to ensure the successful delivery of green infrastructure.

Drawing on extensive engagement with partners and local groups, our Green infrastructure Opportunity Mapping Baseline Report identified the existing

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

green infrastructure network – including nature conservation sites, and also other green spaces such as green spaces designated for heritage, Public Rights of Way and water spaces - and the opportunities and challenges the network faces.

Drawing together these opportunities, challenges, and existing and proposed projects in the area, including responses to the Call for Green Space sites, the

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

Green Infrastructure is a multi-functional network of public green spaces and routes, landscapes, biodiversity and heritage. 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.

Opportunity Mapping Final Report (2021) identifies fourteen area-specific and dispersed long term priority enhancements to this network – described as strategic initiatives - helping to provide the wide-ranging benefits that green infrastructure brings as noted above. Examples of initiatives supporting the Councils’ doubling nature ambitions include the enhancement of the Fens to the east of Cambridge and additional woodland planting in the Western Gateway close to Cambourne, while other initiatives are focused on providing green space for people to enjoy thereby relieving pressure on our nature sites, such as the proposed ‘Green Lung’ for North Cambridge, located between Northstowe, Waterbeach and the edge of Cambridge.

In developing these ideas we’ve talked with partners including Natural Cambridgeshire, the Wildlife Trust and Natural England, to ensure our initiatives complement and support existing projects such as Natural Cambridgeshire’s landscape scale green infrastructure areas, and the Cambridge Nature Network Priority Areas. The emerging Environment Bill requires the identification of Nature Recovery Networks at a regional level – an aim reflected in our

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

Environmental Principles - our nature-focused green infrastructure initiatives inform our view of our priority local ecological network as local components of this wider Network.

As our green infrastructure evidence sets out, delivering these initiatives will take time. There may be a range of projects that will help deliver each initiative, with different projects potentially being led by different organisations. Significant partnership working will be required to achieve each initiative; they will also require funding from a range of sources. Explicitly identifying these initiatives and their objectives in the

Short form for the Greater Cambridge Local Plan, which sets out policies to guide the future development of Greater Cambridge. It also sets out where future development will take place, and identifies land for new housing, community facilities, shops and employment. It is the key document use to determine planning applications for new development in the Greater Cambridge area.

will not restrict development in the broad areas they cover. Instead, it will enable us to ensure that the design of development within these priority initiative areas contributes to delivering the initiatives’ long-term priorities.

Contributions secured for off-site net gain will allow us to invest in these projects.

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.

contributions where space is not delivered on site could also be used.  As set out in BG/EO we are still developing these standards, and they will be consulted on at the draft plan stage.

Feedback to the First Conversation consultation relevant to green infrastructure included stating that the Plan should protect existing green spaces and ensure that green space is provided on site. A number of responses stated that we should plan strategically for a green space network, connecting existing green spaces including opportunities crossing the boundary of

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

. Comments highlighted that the Plan should help improve access to green space, including by providing significant new green spaces close to where people live, but also noted the importance of balancing public access with the need for undisturbed natural habitats.

1. No policy – Not considered a reasonable alternative as national planning policy requires plans to address

Green Infrastructure is a multi-functional network of public green spaces and routes, landscapes, biodiversity and heritage. 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.

.

2. Identify the green infrastructure strategic initiatives in a supplementary planning document rather than in the plan itself - This alternative is not the preferred approach, as it would not provide such strong support for the initiatives.

3. Restrict development within respective green infrastructure strategic initiative areas - Not considered a reasonable alternative as the strategic initiatives include very broad areas within which it would not be appropriate to restrict development.

4. Include an urban greening factor in the policy - This alternative is not the preferred approach, as we think that measurement of

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.

Net Gain and Urban Greening via a metric-based assessment systems would be likely to overlap, making it overly complex to run two of these concurrently. The Plan does though require urban greening measures (see BG/TC, CC/DC and CC/FM).

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

  Short form for the Greater Cambridge Local Plan, which sets out policies to guide the future development of Greater Cambridge. It also sets out where future development will take place, and identifies land for new housing, community facilities, shops and employment. It is the key document use to determine planning applications for new development in the Greater Cambridge area.

  : Topic paper 3:

  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  

• Greater Cambridge Green Infrastructure Opportunity Mapping Baseline Report (2020) 

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

  Green Infrastructure is a multi-functional network of public green spaces and routes, landscapes, biodiversity and heritage. 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.

  Opportunity Mapping Final Report (2021) 

South Cambridgeshire

Short form for the Greater Cambridge Local Plan, which sets out policies to guide the future development of Greater Cambridge. It also sets out where future development will take place, and identifies land for new housing, community facilities, shops and employment. It is the key document use to determine planning applications for new development in the Greater Cambridge area.

2018 

• Policy NH/6:

  Green Infrastructure is a multi-functional network of public green spaces and routes, landscapes, biodiversity and heritage. 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.

   

Cambridge

Short form for the Greater Cambridge Local Plan, which sets out policies to guide the future development of Greater Cambridge. It also sets out where future development will take place, and identifies land for new housing, community facilities, shops and employment. It is the key document use to determine planning applications for new development in the Greater Cambridge area.

2018 

• Policy 8: Setting of the city 

• Policy 19: West Cambridge Area of Major Change 

• Policy 67: Protection of open space 

• Policy 85:

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

  delivery, planning obligations and the Community

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

  Levy 

Our consultation for this phase is now closed.