Current plans and guidance

• Adopted Local Plans
• 5 year review of Adopted Local Plan Policies
• Adopted Area Action Plans (AAPs)
• Neighbourhood Plans
• Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs)
• Monitoring

Adopted Local Plans

The Greater Cambridge area is made up of Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council. It has two adopted Local Plans which set out planning matters until 2031. All planning decisions in the area will be made based on the land-use polices set out in these plans unless material considerations indicate otherwise. For full details of the adopted Local Plans, please use the links below:

• Cambridge Local Plan (adopted October 2018)
• South Cambridgeshire Local Plan (adopted September 2018)

5 year review of Adopted Local Plan Policies 

Autumn 2023 marked 5 years since the Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire Local Plans were adopted. Work on a new joint Greater Cambridge Local Plan is underway. In the meantime, a review has been carried out to check if there are any relevant changes in national policy that might have affect the importance given to adopted policies in deciding on development proposals.

Following the update to the national planning policy in December 2024, we produced an updated version of that 2023 review. For full details, see the Policy Review of the Adopted Local Plans for Greater Cambridge January 2025 update [PDF, 1MB].

Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council adopted their Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Minerals and Waste Local Plan on 28 July 2021, a single joint Minerals and Waste Local Plan covering the 2 authority areas.

The South Cambridgeshire and the Cambridge, Adopted Policies Maps 2018 currently shows the existing sites, safeguarding areas, allocations and consultation areas within these now superseded documents.

In the interim, the Minerals and Waste Local Plan Policies Maps July 2021 can be viewed on Cambridgeshire County Council’s website.

Adopted Area Action Plans (AAPs)

Greater Cambridge currently has several adopted Area Action Plans setting out detailed planning policies for specific sites or areas.

• Northstowe Area Action Plan (adopted July 2007)
• Cambridge East Area Action Plan (adopted February 2008)
• Cambridge Southern Fringe Area Action Plan (adopted February 2008)
• North West Cambridge Area Action Plan (adopted October 2009)

Neighbourhood Plans

Greater Cambridge currently has several adopted Neighbourhood Plans. Please visit neighbourhood planning for further details.

Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs)

Supplementary Planning Documents expand upon policy or provide further detail on specific policy issues. Greater Cambridge currently has a number of adopted SPDs which support the adopted Local Plans covering the area.

• Biodiversity SPD (adopted February 2022)
• Bourn Airfield New Village SPD (adopted October 2019)
• Caldecote Village Design Guide SPD (adopted January 2020) [PDF]
• Cambridgeshire Flood and Water SPD (adopted November 2018)
• Cambridge Biomedical Campus SPD (adopted April 2025)
• Cambridge East: North of Cherry Hinton SPD (adopted December 2018)
• Cambridge Neighbourhoods Design Coder for Arbury, King's Hedges and parts of West Chesterton SPD (adopted April 2025)
• Fulbourn Village Design Guide SPD (adopted January 2020) [PDF]
• Grafton Area Masterplan and Guidance SPD (adopted December 2018)
• Gamlingay Village Design Guide SPD (adopted January 2020) [PDF]
• Health Impact Assessment SPD (adopted April 2025)
• Histon and Impington Village Design Guide SPD (adopted September 2020) [PDF, 37MB]
• Mill Road Depot Development Framework SPD (adopted December 2018)
• Mitcham’s Corner Development Framework SPD (adopted December 2018)
• New Museums Site Development Framework SPD (adopted December 2018)
• Old Press/Mill Lane SPD (adopted January 2010) [PDF, 4MB]
• Over Village Design Guide SPD (adopted January 2020) [PDF]
• Papworth Everard Village Design Guide SPD (adopted January 2020) [PDF]
• Ridgeons Site Development Framework SPD (adopted December 2018)
• Sawston Village Design Guide SPD (adopted January 2020) [PDF]
• Listed Buildings in South Cambridgeshire SPD (adopted July 2009) [PDF, 2MB]
• Swavesey Village Design Guide SPD (adopted January 2020) [PDF]
• Sustainable Design and Construction SPD (adopted January 2020)
• Waterbeach SPD (adopted February 2019) [PDF]

Details of other Supplementary Planning Documents and Planning Guidance within Greater Cambridge are available via the Cambridge City Council website and the South Cambridgeshire District Council website.

Cambridgeshire County Council website provides guidance on transport assessment and active travel infrastructure. We encourage early engagement with developers of new communities of all sizes.