Residents, businesses and developers still have the opportunity to comment on minor changes to a blueprint for the future growth of East Cambridgeshire up to 2031.

The District Council is consulting on the Local Plan pre-submission draft (February 2013) taking into account new technical evidence and work has been undertaken since the draft was first published.

The main change relates to housing provision, for the draft Local Plan included a housing target of 9,000 - 10,000 homes to be provided between 2011 and 2031. This target was informed by technical work and information on local needs.

However, since publication of the draft documents, new research has been published which identifies a total housing need of 93,000 new homes in the county. This would require East Cambridgeshire to provide 11,500 houses to meet the growth targets.

The Council is now consulting with the public to get their views on the proposed changes with comments needed to be made by 5pm on Friday 15th November 2013.

Councillor Peter Moakes, Chairman of Development and Transport committee at East Cambridgeshire District Council, said: "Our draft Local Plan was developed in close partnership with residents, businesses and local councils to ensure we delivered an innovative ‘ground up’ approach to development and future growth. This was an extensive process which involved many hours of work, exhibitions and presentations to create our original plan.

"However, in the weeks since we submitted our documents to the Planning Inspectorate for approval, further countywide guidance has come out which requires the authority to look again at the number of homes needed in the district. To ensure our Plan is up to date and sound, we are asking the public to comment on the proposed increase in the numbers of houses for the district over the next 20 years."

The Local Plan will replace the ‘East Cambridgeshire Core strategy (2009)’ and will be the policy for making decisions on planning applications. The Draft Plan proposes that the District Council will:

• Provide for the delivery of new homes
• Maximise opportunities for jobs growth with the aim of achieving a minimum of 9,200 additional jobs
• Make available at least 172.27 ha of employment land for business uses
• Make provision for at least an additional 1,984m² of convenience and 6,373m² of comparison retail floor space

A comments form and other supporting documents is available at /local-development-framework/east-cambridgeshire-local-plan-2015-amended-2023 or can be viewed at the District Council offices and local libraries.

Paper copies can be obtained by contacting the Forward Planning team on 01353 665555 or via email to ldf@eastcambs.gov.uk.