HOW TO BUILD A COMMUNITY ?
NO ONE DENIES THERE SHOULD BE MORE HOMES BUILT IN THE UK, THERE ARE APPARENTLY LESS BEING BUILT NOW THAN IN ANY PERIOD FOR THE LAST 70 YEARS,
I PERSONALLY DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH ANOTHER VILLAGE OR TWO ADJACENT TO CAMBOURNE.

ALTHOUGH THIS DOES GO AGAINST THE VIEWS OF THE PLANNERS WHO NOW SAY THAT ANY NEW DEVELPMENT SHOULD HAVE GOOD TRAVEL LINKS, HENCE THE PROPOSAL TO DEVELOP AREAS NEARER TO CAMBRIDGE.

IT WILL ALSO UPSET LOCAL VILLAGES WHO OPPOSED CAMBOURNE AND WERE PROMISED THAT IT WOULD BE LIMITED TO 3300 HOMES.

ANY NEW DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL WOULD HAVE TO PROVIDE ADEQUATE COMMUNITY FACILTIES.

WE NEED TO BE AWARE THOUGH THAT THE DEVELOPERS HERE ARE PLANNING TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF HOMES ON THE EXISTING FOOTPRINT BY OVER 50%. WITH APPARENTLY NO INCREASE IN COMMUNITY PROVISION, FOR EXAMPLE COMMUNITY CENTRE, SPORTS PROVISION ETC. CAMBOURNE WAS ORIGINALLY WELL PLANNED TO ENSURE THAT THESE FACILITIES WERE ADEQUATE WILL NOW HAVE TO COPE WITH FAR HIGHER NUMBERS.

THE DEVELOPERS ARE CURRENTLY DOING THEIR BEST TO KEEP THESE PROVISIONS AS SMALL AS POSSIBLE, AS YOU WILL HAVE READ IN THE CAMBOURNE CRIER, THEY ARE PROPOSING THAT SOME OF OUR SPORTS AREAS SHOULD INCLUDE CAR PARKS AND VERGES AS OPPOSED TO USEABLE SPORTS AREAS.

THEY ARE ALSO PROPOSING TO KEEP OUR CARAVAN/TRAILER STORAGE AREA MUCH SMALLER THAN WAS PLANNED. THE COMMUNITY CENTRE LAND MAY ALSO BE CUT. THEY HAVE ALREADY PROPOSED MOVING THE GOLF DRIVING RANGE (NOT THE GOLF COURSE) TO A NEW SITE SO THAT IT CAN BE REPLACED BY HOUSING.

THE ATTRACTION OF CAMBOURNE FOR MOST OF IS THAT IT WAS NOT GOING TO BE A BAR HILL.

I AM CURRENTLY INVESTIGATING HOW MUCH SPACE IS REQUIRED FOR A TRAILER/CARAVAN STORAGE AREA. THE 106 LEGAL AGREEMENT STATES THIS SHOULD BE UP TO 2 ACRES.

ALL THE INFORMATION I HAVE FROM THE CARAVAN CLUB AND THE CARAVAN STORAGE SITE OWNERS ASSOCIATION INDICATE WE WILL NEED AT LEAST 1.5 ACRES. THE DEVELOPERS ARE SAYING WE ONLY NEED ABOUT HALF AN ACRE.

THERE WERE "AGREED AMMENDMENTS TO THE MASTER PLAN" INDICATING THAT AT LEAST 1.6 ACRES WERE REQUIRED.

BUT THE DEVELOPERS ARE LOOKING FOR AS MUCH LAND AS POSSIBLE TO BUILD THOSE EXTRA 50% MORE HOUSES AND ARE DISPUTING WHETHER THIS AGREEMENT WAS AGREED AT ALL.........

THEY SEEM QUITE AGREEABLE HOWEVER TO VARIATIONS BY LETTERS THAT WERE SENT BY THEM IN THE MID NINETIES, AND MISINTERPRETED, IE "WE ARE INCREASING THE SPORTS AREAS TO 46 ACRES" BUT FAIL TO POINT OUT THAT THEY ARE COUNTING CAR PARKS AND VERGES AND DITCHES.

IN A PERFECT WORLD THE DEVELOPERS WOULD BE KEEN TO KEEP TO THE SPIRIT OF AGREEMENTS, EVEN WHEN SO CALLED AGREEMENTS CAN BE MIS-INTERPRETED, UNFORTUNATELY THEY SEE A WAY OF MAKING HUGE PROFITS AND DON'T SEEM TO CARE.......... AT ALL

reply from Ian Douglas from the developers 4/11/2002
The document 'Agreed Amendments to the Master Plan' has never progressed beyond being a Draft document, as evidenced by the fact that the Section 106 Agreement has never been amended, and has never been formally agreed by the Developers. As a result, there is currently no agreed minimum size for the Trailer Park.
The breakdown of sports facilities within the defined acreage was covered in correspondence many years ago - not by the document you refer to.

IT SEEMS ACTUALLY THAT THE "APPROVED AMMENDMENTS TO THE MASTERPLAN" HAVE BEEN "AGREED" AND INDIVIDUALLY THEY ARE IDENTIFIED AND VERIFIED BY VARIOUS COMMUNICATIONS, ON FILE AT SOUTH CAMBS DISTRICT COUNCIL !