1. Histon & Impington
some thoughts about the future
David Jenkins and Denis Payne
Histon & Impington Parish Council
September 2013

2. Histon & Impington: now and later
What makes Histon & Impington so special?
What do we imagine it will look like in 2020 and beyond?
• Identity and vision and our new web-site
Taking control of our own destiny: the Neighbourhood Plan
Bypass Farm: why and what can we expect?
A14 latest: a play in 2 acts!
And some improvements in our village

3. We live in a village but it’s a very
special village
There’s a village green and a windmill
We’ve got primary and secondary schools
There’s a football club
We’ve got an office park
And a significant manufacturing site
We’ve got a rec and several children’s
play areas
There’s a high street
We’ve got several places to eat
And not forgetting regular bus services to
our big city neighbour
•Plus Homefield Park, Orchard Field and Rowleys
•And there are the adjacent woods and green spaces north, east and west of the village
•IVC is an academy with its roots firmly in the community
•It’s a (the?) leading provider of IB in the state sector in the country
•Histon FC is in the Conference North with teams from much bigger communities
•Cambs FA has its headquarters at the football club
•Not just Vision Park but offices along Station Road as well
•There are even some global headquarters including the International Whaling Commission
•Chivers became Premier Brands became Hain Daniel produces 90% of the UK’s jams
•Sadly we’ve recently lost Unwins and SC Packaging
•With plans for the acquisition and development of Bypass Farm
•And we are starting to think about leisure as well as recreation
•With a dozen successful shops and several more on Station Road
•Many of our retail outlets are ‘destination’ stores for people from outside the community
•6 pubs, 2 restaurants and 4 coffee shops/outlets (and counting)
•We intend that the Station development can deliver more
•The concrete busway runs through us; it gives us excellent cycle connections
•It will soon connect us directly to the new Cambridge station at Chesterton

4. We don’t expect much to change in
the future; but we do expect …
•
•
•
•
•
•
Not much bigger than it is now
A little more employment but certainly no less
A little more variety in the High Street
Better public transport connections
(continued) Low crime and low fear of crime
An increased range of leisure and recreation
activities for all ages
• A destination as well as a great place to live
• A sustainable community

5. Our identity and vision takes us to
2020 and beyond
• Colours to reflect our heritage, our
environment and our confidence
• Fonts to reinforce our confidence but also
chosen to facilitate communication
• A logo which is less formal, more youthful and
compatible with the medium of most of our
communications

6. A new web-site will go live ‘shortly’

7. The Neighbourhood Plan will enable
us to influence our future
• https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/givingcommunities-more-power-in-planning-localdevelopment
• ‘We want people to be able to influence decisions
about new and modified buildings and facilities in
their area’
• ‘To give people more control over the
development of their local area, we are:
– giving communities the power to set the priorities for
local development through neighbourhood planning’

8. If we’ve got a Neighbourhood Plan we
will have more power and control
• Neighbourhood planning gives communities the
power to:
– make a neighbourhood development plan
– make a neighbourhood development order
– make a Community Right to Build order
• A neighbourhood development plan establishes
general planning policies for the development
and use of land in a neighbourhood
• Neighbourhood plans allow local people to get
the right type of development for their
community

9. But it can’t be a Parish Council plan
• Neighbourhood planning will be led by the local
parish or town council.
• Parishes with a neighbourhood plan will receive
25% of any Community Infrastructure Levy arising
from developments in their area compared to
parishes without a neighbourhood plan who will
receive 15%.
• The local planning authority has a duty to support
communities making their neighbourhood plan

10. This is how we think we will organise
our plan
Public open space
Environment
Farms
Drainage
Street scene
Transport
Connections
Heritage
Histon&
Impington
Sustainable
community
Sport, recreation
and leisure
Housing and
demography
Commerce
Economy
Employment
Faith and religion
Safety and
security
Community
Health and wellbeing
Education and
training
• Each major block will be
led by a Parish Council
committee chair
– We will need lots of
‘stakeholder’ support as
well
• We will probably need
someone external to
help with:
– Heritage; and
– Sustainable community

11. Bypass Farm is both tactical and
strategic
• It’s available
• By some measures we
have insufficient green
space in the village
• It would be a tempting
housing development for
the County Council
• We don’t expect it to cost
a lot and be a drain on
the Parish Council’s
budget

12. So what are we proposing to do with
it?
• Fill a gap between play
grounds and the Rec
• Provide a home for the
brownies and scouts and
other clubs and societies
• Enable people to enjoy
more than just
soccer, cricket, tennis and
bowls
… but we don’t know yet

13. There will be an extensive consultation
exercise
• Firstly we will ask the
village if we should go
ahead and acquire
Bypass Farm (soon)
• Then we will find out
what the village wants
and needs and develop
a plan to deliver it
• And then we’ll consult
on that (next year)

14. Act 1: the pinch point work
an extra lane eastbound

15. Act 1: the pinch point work
and an extra lane westbound

16. Act 2: the full Monty
note no access at Dry Drayton

17. The Girton junction is not quite as
ambitious as it was first time

18. And some improvements in our
villages
• 30mph limit to be extended to the village sign
north on the B1049/Cottenham Road
• Improvements to Co-Op corner:
– Narrowing of the lead-in to Station Road and an
island to make it easier to cross
– Improved pavements along the front of the Co-Op
• Possible improvement at School Hill
• Some ideas about the cross road by the Green

19. It’s such a challenging future and
we’re going to need a lot of help
Please sign up now to be a part of
our Neighbourhood Plan team