August planning decisions at South Cambs

I attended a marathon planning committee meeting at South Cambs today, lasting six hours, which is pretty unusual. Planning application volumes have fallen considerably, but there is an increase in applicants coming back to the committee and saying, as happened today for example, can we renegotiate the money we agreed to pay in lieu of including social housing in our development.

There was a huge planning decision to make over the old Bayer chemicals plant near Harston, and the proposals to decontaminate it and build houses on the land. Although different - very different - to what happened in Corby when the local council tried to clear some steelworks itself, which resulted in families suing the council for the health problems and deformities brought about by living on top of land not properly remediated (to use the technical term), we were still very mindful of the duty of care we as a council owe those families who may some day live on that land at Harston.

Less dramatically, there was a planning application in to add another house to the development planned for the disused gravel pit site south of Station Road in Whittlesford, which both Duxford and Whittlesford Parish Councils have opposed. It is behind the hedge at the left of this photo looking west along Station Road. I raised concerns about the traffic that will be trying to get up the very steep unadopted road out of the development and onto Station Road, just as the cyclists and commuters are trying to catch the 0753 to Cambridge. But that side of Station Road is in Duxford, so it isn't really my call: but I will continue to press for a coherent plan for the piecemeal development that is happening alongside the A505 at Whittlesford Bridge.