Object

Representation ID: 7552

Received: 03/09/2021

Respondent: Cambridge Meridian Academies Trust

Agent: DLP Planning Limited

As drafted, these representations consider that the Council’s Preferred Strategy Options published for consultation will continue the failure to specifically address the role and requirements of Lincroft Academy. This jeopardises CMAT’s ability to effectively delivery the expansion in the Pupil Allocation Number (PAN) required immediately as well as precluding delivery of any future strategy for enhancement and further expansion of the facilities including relocation of the Lovell Road Playing Fields.
This issue principally arises from the failure of the Council to produce any settlement-specific Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDP) to support consultation on its Preferred Options. Paragraph 8.35 of the consultation document states that this will only be produced once the development strategy has been chosen and infrastructure requirements can be identified. There are three principal issues with this dealt with in the remainder of these representations:
1) The requirement to increase the Pupil Allocation Number (PAN) to approximately 240 pupils at Lincroft Academy is a known and immediate requirement and requires support through the Plan’s strategic policies in all scenarios. This, however, is an increase upon ‘limitations’ imposed in planning conditions attached to past planning permissions.
2) None of the Council’s Preferred Strategy Options identify further village-related growth at settlements outside of narrowly defined parishes within the A421 corridor. In the case of Lincroft Academy specifically this fails to reflect continued pressure on school places arising from recent and committed development. For the settlement of Oakley, fails to reflect that support for further residential development to optimise the potential for enhancement of community facilities will maximise the potential to contribute towards sustainable development and deliver substantial net gains across the wider strategy.
3) The evidence base provided by the Infrastructure Delivery Plan should be completed in-tandem with the review of the settlement hierarchy, whereby these representations endorse Oakley’s reclassification as a Key Service Centre to better reflect the important role of Lincroft Academy and to support further expansion of enhancement of the facilities as required in the future.