South Cambs Lib Dems welcome evidence supporting green and inclusive Local Plan

South Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats have welcomed the publication of evidence that will allow local communities to shape the future development of our area over the next 20 years and beyond.

As part of the process for creating a new joint Local Plan, South Cambridgeshire District Council and Cambridge City Council have published studies on a range of topics, including the environmental impact of different strategies, water resources, likely growth rates and infrastructure requirements.

Pippa Heylings, Liberal Democrat parliamentary spokesperson for South East Cambridgeshire, said:

“We are experiencing a climate crisis and a collapse in biodiversity. More residents than ever responded to the first consultation on our new Local Plan, and climate change was ranked highest amongst the themes it should address. We now have firm evidence that shows it is possible to respond to your concerns, with an ambitious plan that supports our aims of making the area carbon neutral and doubling nature - whilst also balancing growth with the water supply and the recovery of our chalk streams.

“The residents of South Cambridgeshire are already very engaged in creating a greener and fairer future. The number of sign-ups to the Solar Together scheme, for community bulk- purchase of solar PVs and batteries, was the highest in the country. The response to the district council’s zero carbon grants has also been fantastic. And many villages are putting together great Neighbourhood Plans and Village Design Guides, which give them a voice in shaping development and making green space available.”

Ian Sollom, Liberal Democrat parliamentary spokesperson for South Cambridgeshire, said:

“The evidence that the councils have published today is hugely important in discussions about how we shape future development. It is clear that simply putting large numbers of new homes into already overstretched villages is not sustainable.

“Our area really needs more genuinely affordable homes to be built in sustainable locations with good transport links. This new independent research shows how we can achieve that.

“The Liberal Democrats in South Cambs want to protect what makes our villages special, and we will be working closely with communities across the district to make sure that their voices are heard.”