Policy BG/RC: River corridors

Consultation is open from 3 August 2026 9:00am to 25 September 2026 5:00pm

1. Development along river corridors and their tributaries must demonstrate how it:

a. Ensures that the location, scale and design of development protects and enhances the character, biodiversity, visual amenity and historic significance of river corridors and connected locations;
b. Protects, enhances and restores natural features, including:

i. Supporting the renaturalisation of the rivers and their processes;
ii. Restoring natural floodplains and integration of nature based solutions to protect communities at risk of flooding; and
iii. Establishing riparian habitats where appropriate.

c. Protects and enhances the existing landscape of river corridors, referring to the Greater Cambridge Landscape Character Assessment and the Local Nature Recovery Strategy for guidance;
d. Protects and enhances views to and from the river;
e. Supports enhanced access to, from and along river corridors for walking and cycling, whilst balancing this with the need to protect and enhance habitats for biodiversity, including:

i. For the river Cam, supporting the delivery of a continuous Cam Valley Trail;
ii. Enhancing connections between the rivers and other green spaces;
iii. Providing improved wayfinding and interpretation resources.

f. Supports tourism and recreation associated with river corridors in appropriate locations, whilst ensuring that this does not impact negatively on the other roles of a river.

Riparian Buffer Zones

2. To help protect water quality and watercourse habitats, development proposals should retain or reinstate a buffer zone of at least 10 metres from the watercourse bank top, or 5m from a ditch bank top, according to the River/Ditch definitions set out under current BNG User Guidance. Within these riparian buffer zones, no development shall be permitted except for domestic extensions, soft landscaping, small amenity areas, or proposals where it is necessary for the nature and function of the development, such as essential infrastructure. In these exceptional cases, details proportionate to the scale and nature of the development must be submitted for approval to demonstrate:

That the development needs to be located within the riparian buffer zone and that there are no suitable alternatives;
That the proposed development will not cause significant harm to watercourses over the lifetime of the development;
How the riparian buffer zone will be protected; and
That there will be no loss of floodplain storage or impedance to flood water flows.

3. Development proposals whose primary aim is to restore river function and habitats will be supported.

Supporting information

5.72. Our rivers, and in particular the River Cam and Ouse, and their tributaries, provide a variety of critical roles in Greater Cambridge. The policy seeks to address the following key roles, challenges and opportunities for our river corridors:

A deﬁning role in our landscape, heritage and townscape;
Supporting habitats;
Water storage;
Supporting leisure, recreation and health; and
Supporting tourism.

5.73. Development proposals should consider guidance from the Greater Cambridge Green Infrastructure Opportunity Mapping Recommendations Report (2021) and Greater Cambridge Landscape Character Assessment which identify key features to protect and opportunities for enhancement of river corridors.

5.74. Different applications will have differing characteristics such that the roles, challenges and opportunities referred to above will need careful consideration and balancing, for example ensuring that public access does not harm biodiversity. In particular, to avoid harming sensitive wildlife in certain areas, the proposed continuous Cam Valley Trail is not proposed to follow the riverbank or floodplain along its full length.

5.75. The policy establishes riparian buffer zones around watercourses to protect important watercourse habitats from harm that can arise from development during construction and use. Some small-scale development, such as domestic extensions or landscaping proposals, may not be inappropriate within these riparian buffer zones, whilst other types of development may need to be located within these riparian buffer zones due to their nature or function, such as marinas, moorings, river jetties, boathouses, and other types of water-reliant uses or infrastructure (such as essential infrastructure to address both surface water and wastewater drainage). In these cases, applicants are required to submit details as part of a planning application to demonstrate that the proposed development will not cause signiﬁcant negative impacts to watercourse over the lifetime of the development, and how the watercourses and associated aquatic environments will be protected.

5.76. It should be noted that Section 25 of the Land Drainage Act 1991 requires riparian landowners to maintain ordinary watercourses. To support the management of water courses, Cambridgeshire County Council have developed the Watercourse Reinstatement Guide (2022). Applicants should also note that construction or alterations within an ordinary watercourse (temporary or permanent) require consent from the Lead Local Flood Authority under section 23 of the Land Drainage Act 1991.

Tell us what you think

For further guidance on how to submit comments, please see the Representation Guidance Note.

All comments must be received by 25 September 2026 at 5pm.