Plans for 3,500 homes at Bourn Airfield given green light after water supply delay

Planning permission for around 3,500 homes at Bourn Airfield has been issued following a three-year delay amid concerns over water supply.

The decision comes following the establishment of a Water Scarcity Group for Cambridge with £8m of initial funding.

South Cambridgeshire District Council leader, Cllr Bridget Smith, said: “Our focus has quite rightly been on ensuring that we only issued the formal planning decision for Bourn Airfield once there was more clarity on the sustainable future of Greater Cambridge’s water supply.

“The progress made to date and the continuing work with government means we are now satisfied this development, which is part of our adopted 2018 Local Plan, should be allowed to progress. There continues to be a delicate balance to strike between bringing forwards the homes which we know we desperately need whilst protecting our environment.

“We have long said we cannot simply pursue growth at all costs, and the time and care which we have taken to reach this point shows just how seriously we take this responsibility. We look forward to this new village – and all the facilities it will bring – coming forwards in the years ahead.”

The application from the landowners and developers Countryside for the former Second World War airfield was considered by South Cambridgeshire District Council’s planning committee in February 2021.

However, discussions to agree details relating to infrastructure requirements, and more recently water supply issues in Greater Cambridge, had caused the planning permission to be delayed.

Formal planning permission has now been issued and in addition to securing 40 per cent of the new homes as affordable housing, the completed legal agreement with the landowners will provide in excess of £100 million of funding for new health facilities, schools, community and transport infrastructure.

More than 45 per cent of the site will be dedicated to open spaces, green elements such as woodlands, footpaths, bridleways and hedges and recreation areas.

The Bourn Airfield decision follows the granting of planning permission last month for the University of Cambridge’s West Cambridge campus off Madingley Road. This includes new academic, research and commercial space, plus community facilities and public open spaces.

Cambridge City Council’s planning committee voted to approve those plans in 2021 – but, similarly to Bourn, formal planning permission could not be issued until outstanding queries around water supply were addressed.

Speaking about the West Cambridge site, Cllr Katie Thornburrow, executive councillor for planning, building control and infrastructure at the city council, said: “We are pleased to have finally been able to approve the proposals for the West Cambridge site, which will provide much-needed new academic and research space for our world-leading University of Cambridge along with new community facilities and public open spaces, and will help create sustainable travel routes.

“The time taken to finalise the approval shows how seriously we take the environmental challenges facing Greater Cambridge, particularly around the area’s water supply. We worked very closely with government and partners until we had the clarity we needed on how these questions could be resolved.

“We want to support and enhance Cambridge University’s research capacity, but not at the price of damage to the environment or over abstraction of our precious water supply. We believe both innovation and our environment can thrive into the future, and we are working to enhance new water supply options, significantly improve management of water demand, and invest in resilience of our streams, rivers and the local environment so that we can properly support future development of the area.”

During the past year especially, there has been significant activity and focus on addressing water scarcity issues in Greater Cambridge.

Council leaders have been pressing government ministers since early 2023 on the need for national support to address the challenges facing the area. In response, the government established the Water Scarcity Group with representatives from the regulator, the Environment Agency, government departments, the water industry and councils.

Some £8 million has been earmarked to date to enable projects aimed at addressing the short- and long-term need for increased water efficiency and new sources of water supply other than groundwater.

The way in which water supply challenges are dealt with in the planning process has also been clarified during the last 12 months.