Leader slams plan for 'enhanced' village

SOUTH Cambridgeshire District Council is "morally bound" to limit the growth of Cambourne, its leader has claimed.

Developers' plans to increase Cambourne's population by 50 per cent would "destroy people's faith in good planning," said Coun Daphne Spink, speaking at a public inquiry.

"The effect on Cambourne would be to make it not a village but a settlement that was neither a village nor a town and it would not be getting the advantages of either," said Coun Spink, who represents Cambourne.

"When planning permission was granted, surrounding villages were assured it would not grow any bigger.

"Cambourne was planned as a village and purchasers were given that assurance. We are very proud of Cambourne in South Cambridgeshire - we feel it is an example of good planning.

"We've had many visitors from all over the country to come and see it. To destroy that would not only be detrimental to the people living here, but to people's faith in good planning."

The consortium of developers who built Cambourne want to add an extra 1,599 homes to the settlement, but a limit of 3,300 houses was set in the original plans.

The new proposal - dubbed Cambourne Enhanced - was turned down by South Cambridgeshire District Council at a planning meeting last year, but developers have appealed against the decision, leading to a public inquiry.

Coun Spink claimed the additional homes would lead to a "tremendous" increase in traffic on the A428, and would put pressure on infrastructure and medical and emergency services.

She said a balance of houses and recreational land had been achieved and this balance would be lost.

But Philip Parry, of RPS Transport, who researched the transport implications on behalf of the developers, said public transport would suffer if the plan was turned down.

Developers have been subsidising bus services between Cambourne and Cambridge but this agreement will come to an end in July. Mr Perry said Cambridgeshire County Council had insufficient funds to subsidise the route, but building more houses would make the Stagecoach service financially viable.

"We certainly do not want to build 1,500 houses just to provide a bus service," responded Coun Spink.

The inquiry, at South Cambridgeshire Hall, Cambourne, is scheduled to continue for a further week.