The South Cambridgeshire Local Plan is extremely important as it has a huge influence on how we live, work and enjoy our leisure time. It is the document against which all development proposals are measured and judged. The Local Plan sets out future land use and planning policies for the area until 2031.
Matters covered include:
- where new development should take place and what should be protected from development
- the number of new homes and jobs that should be planned for
- the services and infrastructure that are needed to support this change.
Local Plans, along with national planning policy, are the foundation of decision-making on planning applications.
Adopted South Cambridgeshire Local Plan
The South Cambridgeshire Local Plan [PDF, 15.5MB] was adopted on 27 September 2018. [PDF]
The Local Plan and its adoption documents are available to view in our document library.
Adopted Policies Map
The Adopted Policies Map (September 2018) shows geographically the policies in the development plan.
Review of Adopted Local Plan Policies
Autumn 2023 marked 5 years since the Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire Local Plans were adopted. Ahead of the new joint Greater Cambridge Local Plan reviews have been carried out in June 2023 and January 2025. These check whether there are any relevant changes in national policy that might have influence on the importance given to adopted policies in determining planning applications.
Preparation of the South Cambridgeshire Local Plan
There were a number of stages in the preparation of the Local Plan including:
- evidence gathering
- issues and options consultations
- consultation on the submission of the local plan
These were all undertaken between 2011 and 2014.
South Cambridgeshire District Council submitted the plan for examination in March 2014. An independent examination, to test the 'soundness' of the plan, was undertaken between March 2014 and August 2018.
In August 2018, the Inspectors that conducted the examination issued their Inspectors’ Report and Schedule of Main Modifications. The report concludes that the plan is good, subject to a number of Main Modifications being made.
The South Cambridgeshire Local Plan was formally adopted by the Council on 27 September 2018 at a meeting of full Council.
It incorporates the main modifications recommended by the Inspectors in Appendix 1 of the Inspectors' Report, as well as some Additional Modifications.
The adopted development plan for South Cambridgeshire
The adopted development plan for South Cambridgeshire comprises:
- South Cambridgeshire Local Plan (September 2018) [PDF, 15.5MB] [PDF]
- Northstowe Area Action Plan 2007 (excluding Policy NS/3(1g), which is replaced by Local Plan Policy SS/5: Northstowe Extension);
- Cambridge Southern Fringe Area Action Plan 2008;
- Cambridge East Area Action Plan 2008 (excluding policies CE/3 and CE/35, which are replaced by Local Plan Policy SS/3: Cambridge East);
- North West Cambridge Area Action Plan 2009; and
- Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Minerals and Waste Local Development Framework 2011 (prepared by Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council) – Core Strategy and Proposals Map C 2011, Site Specific Proposals Plan and Proposals Map A and B 2012