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Village IssuesThis page provides news on GEAG's position on a range of specific village issues. It will be regularly updated as events unfold.
Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment | Green End Estate | Lupin Field | Hatley Road Solar Array | Gamlingay Eco-Hub
Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment The Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) is a major exercise to find new sites for housing in South Cambridgeshire. In June 2011, South Cambridgeshire District Council invited developers and landowners to propose sites that they considered suitable for housing development. In October 2011, the Council published the locations of the sites which they had identified. These include eight sites in Gamlingay. The locations of these sites are identified in the map which can be accessed here:
It is not likely that all of these sites will be built on right away. SCDC will assess each site during 2011/12 and will publish an SHLAA report with their recommended options. There will then be a public consultation on the potential site options as part of the 'Issues & Options' consultation on the new South Cambridgeshire Development Plan, anticipated to take place in Summer 2012. GEAG will, of course, make its views known as part of that consultation, but we are extremely concerned about these proposals because Gamlingay lacks the transport infrastructure and social amenities to support an increase in population. More information will be posted as it becomes available...
The Green End Development GEAG recognises that the current Green End site has passed its sell-by date and will need to be redeveloped. Green End is a 'brown field' site and, as such, is an appropriate location for development. We hope to work with the developers to encourage them to provide a new development that meets the highest environmental standards and which helps build a stronger community in Gamlingay. We responded to RPS Planning and Development, who are leading this stage of the consultation, in October 2010. Click here to read GEAG's response to the consultation In September 2011, some more details of the proposed development emerged. GEAG's understanding is that the development will be a mixture of housing, light industry, and flexible office space as follows:
The above is very close to what GEAG had proposed as the best solution in our original response to the consultation, and we are pleased that our views appear to have been taken into account. We will continue to scrutinise the planning documents as they emerge, and we hope to work constructively with the developers to ensure the greenest possible outcome. We also feel that work will need to be done to improve road safety, particularly where traffic and people enter and leave the development, while the development itself should be built in such a way that encourages people to use other transport modes than the car. We will continue to raise these as issues. Until more detailed documents come to light, the options that were displayed in 2010 will stay on this website. The files below are quite large (>1MB) and are PDF files. They will open in a new window.
Further information about the Green End development will be made available when we have it.
The Lupin Field A developer has put forward the Green End 'Lupin Field' as a possible site for a social housing estate of around 25 houses. GEAG is opposed to any development on this piece of land. Our view is that developing this open, agricultural land would substantially alter the character of the western edge of the village and encourage the village to sprawl westwards. We are also concerned that Gamlingay lacks the transport infrastructure and social amenities to support an increase in population, beyond that already likely to occur as a result of the Green End and Station Road developments. We have written to the Parish Council with our views. Click here to read our letter of 8 September 2011
Hatley Road Solar Array A planning application was made to install an array of 212 solar panels to the rear of Mulberry Farm (the egg farm) on Hatley Road. These would generate electricity to power the farm and to sell back to the national grid. (Click here to see the full planning application.) GEAG supported this proposal since it will cut the village's carbon footprint and help make Gamlingay more resiliant in the event of future energy shortages. The panels will be unlikely to be visible from the road, and the land they occupy is not of high ecological value, so the benefit to the environment greatly outweighs any impact. We set out our views on this development in more detail in a letter written to the Parish Council on 8 September 2011 (click here to read it). We were delighted to hear that the Parish Council and, later, South Cambridgeshire Council granted planning permission for this development, and we hope that they will both continue to support renewable generation projects into the future.
The Gamlingay Eco-hub GEAG thinks the eco-hub is an important and exciting development. By replacing the currently derelict community centre, it will help build a stronger community as well as bringing down Gamlingay’s carbon footprint. We recognise that it is a substantial investment for the village and we believe that the Parish Council and the eco-hub management team need to be open about their plans and their expenditure. We are also putting pressure on the eco-hub management team to ensure that the development will genuinely meet the highest possible environmental standards. More information about the eco-hub can be found at their website: http://www.gamlingay-ecohub.info/
The Community Wind Turbine GEAG very strongly supports the proposed community wind turbine. We believe it will help to cut the carbon footprint of the village, will help the village to contribute to globally important cuts in CO2 emissions, and by providing an income stream for community projects will help to build a stronger local community. We will put pressure on the developers to ensure that impacts on local wildlife are minimised, but we do think that the benefits to the environment in terms of carbon reduction greatly outweigh the visual impact of the proposed turbine. In short, the turbine is a green project that the village can be proud of. In February 2012, GEAG provided a formal response to the turbine planning application. Click here to read it More information about the proposed turbine can be found at their website: http://www.gamlingay-community-turbine.co.uk/
The Station Road Development GEAG is not convinced of the need for new developments on ‘green field’ sites. In this case, however, there is little we can do as outline planning permission has already been granted. If the Station Road development must go ahead, however, we will urge the developers to meet the very highest environmental standards. More information on Station Road will be posted here when it becomes available.
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* This page is: http://www.geag.org.uk/issues.htm, first created in September 2010 * |