Role

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The Forum is a statutory consultee for planning matters impacting South Newnham at a national, regional and local level. Other Consultees include Departments in the Local Planning Authority, Ward Councillors, Cambridgeshire County Council, Natural England, the Environment Agency, and Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England. At a national level, the Committee may contribute to formal planning consultations; for example the Forum contributed to the White Paper entitled “Planning for the Future” in August 2020. At a regional level the Forum objected to the Cambourne to Cambridge Busway.

 

The Committee provided input to Cambridge City Local Area Plans, having actively engaged with City Planners on the 2018 Local Plan and has provided input on the latest plan that is being developed by Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire.

At a local level the Forum is responsible for supporting planning applications that actively meet the requirements of the National Planning Policy Framework (2019) and comply with the current Cambridge City Local Plan (2018), the South Newnham Neighbourhood Plan, and the West Cambridge (2009) and Newnham Croft (2013) Conservation Area Appraisals.

Where planning applications do not meet these requirements, the committee may object to the application and reference the applicable Policies that have not been complied with.

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Planning process - responding to planning applications

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The Forum is notified each week of all new planning applications across Cambridge City, including Newnham. Near neighbours who could be affected by a planning application are also notified by Cambridge City Council. The notification gives details of the Application Type, Case Officer, Site, Proposal and Web Link. The web link allows people to view the details of the planning application including documents, drawings, and comments from other parties.

The Forum will respond and make comments to support near neighbours who are objecting to a Planning Applica6on, and when community or residential amenity may be affected, e.g. Queens’ College Owlstone Croft, Barton Greenway and Haslingfield Greenway. All comments are based on the Cambridge Local Plan 2018 Policies and since the successful Referendum, the South Newnham Neighbourhood Plan 2024 Policies.

The most frequently occurring planning applications are concerned with the Built and Green Environment, covered by the Cambridge Local Plan Sections on Balanced Supply of Housing, Protecting and Enhancing the Character of Cambridge, and Climate Change. A response to a planning application is drafted by a member of the Forum committee and circulated to the committee members, or other affected residents. When the text is confirmed by the committee, the Forum response is forwarded to the case officer to be published on the Planning Portal, where it can be viewed by all interested parties.The Forum also responds to planning matters that affect the whole community, e.g. the TTRO for Grantchester Street, and the Cambourne to Cambridge Busway, and in these cases the Forum will seek membership views and circulate their response to the membership.

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Values

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The Committee works to fairly represent Forum members and the residents of South Newnham on planning matters in line with applicable planning policy and free from personal interest.

Committee members must declare any personal or business ‘conflict of interest’ with the activities of the Forum and may not vote on a matter where they have a potential conflict of interest.

Committee members may submit planning applications and are expected to fully comply with applicable Planning Policies both in word and spirit such that any planning application made by them represents best practice.

The Forum encourages applicants to talk to their neighbours before submittng a planning application and are also willing to help applicants understand the planning policies that apply.

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