The final Greater Cambridge Local Plan consultation closes at 5pm on Friday 25 September. Nine South Cambs village exhibitions run from 17 August, Linton first.
The last chance to comment on the Greater Cambridge Local Plan, the document that will steer where homes, jobs and infrastructure go across South Cambridgeshire and Cambridge until 2045, is open now and closes at 5pm on Friday 25 September 2026. No late representations will be accepted. (Greater Cambridge Shared Planning, consultation page)
This final round, which opened on Monday 3 August, is different from the consultations that came before it. The Plan is now at the Proposed Submission stage, and the question being asked is narrow: is the Plan “sound”? That means responses need to address whether it is positively prepared, justified by the evidence, effective in achieving its objectives, deliverable, and consistent with national planning policy, rather than simply whether you like or dislike a proposal. (South Cambridgeshire District Council, 3 August 2026)
After the consultation closes, the Plan and the comments received will be submitted to the government and tested at an independent examination by a planning inspector.
What the Plan proposes
Current forecasts indicate around 50,000 new homes will be needed across Greater Cambridge between 2024 and 2045. Around 37,000 of those are already planned through existing permissions and allocations, including the new towns already under way, so the Plan is deciding how and where the remainder is accommodated, alongside policies on climate, water supply, transport and employment. (South Cambridgeshire District Council, 3 August 2026)
The version now on the table was refined after more than 8,400 comments were submitted in the previous consultation, and a number of changes have been made from the draft published late last year.
Cllr Henry Batchelor, South Cambridgeshire District Council’s lead cabinet member for planning, said the Plan “will shape how our communities grow and thrive for decades to come”, and that this stage “will be the last opportunity to share your views before the Plan is submitted for independent examination”.
Where to see the Plan in person
Fourteen drop-in exhibitions run across Greater Cambridge, with no need to register in advance. Nine are in South Cambridgeshire villages: (full list and documents)
- Monday 17 August, 4pm to 7:30pm: Cathodeon Centre, Horseheath Road, Linton
- Tuesday 1 September, 4pm to 7:30pm: Whittlesford Memorial Hall, Mill Lane
- Wednesday 2 September, 4pm to 7:30pm: Papworth Village Hall, Ermine Street South, Papworth Everard
- Thursday 3 September, 2pm to 4pm: Gamlingay EcoHub, Stocks Lane
- Thursday 3 September, 4pm to 7:30pm: Great Abington Primary School, 68 High Street
- Monday 7 September, 3:30pm to 6pm: Bar Hill Village Hall, The Spinney
- Monday 7 September, 4pm to 7:30pm: Melbourn Hub, 30 High Street
- Tuesday 8 September, 4pm to 7:30pm: The Salvation Army, 7 Station Road, Waterbeach
- Wednesday 9 September, 4pm to 7pm: Great Cambourne Cricket Pavilion, Back Lane
The remaining five are in Cambridge, at the Arbury and Marleigh community centres, the St Barnabas Centre on Mill Road, the Nightingale Pavilion, and an all-day session at the Grafton Centre on Friday 11 September, 10am to 5pm.
Paper copies of the Plan can be read at South Cambridgeshire Hall in Cambourne Business Park during normal opening hours, at Cambourne and Cambridge Central libraries, and by appointment at Mandela House in Cambridge. A recording of the 4 August launch webinar is on the planning service’s YouTube channel, linked from the consultation page.
What it means for you
If a policy or site allocation in the Plan affects your village, this is the last point at which your comments go in front of the inspector who decides whether the Plan is adopted. Submissions go through the online consultation platform, and the planning team asks that you identify the specific chapter, policy or site allocation you are commenting on and say what change you want. Respondent details and representations are shared with the Planning Inspectorate as part of the process.
Queries can go to the planning policy team at localplan@greatercambridgeplanning.org or on 01954 713694.
We track applications and decisions across the district’s villages on our South Cambs planning news page, and the Plan’s growth numbers are part of the backdrop to South Cambs house prices. One place the Plan’s growth is already visible is Northstowe, where the council has just secured the town’s first shop.
Have your say