Preparing your submission
A useful submission can be short. State what you support, what concerns or questions you have, why those points matter, and what change or further information you want the Town to consider. You do not need to adopt every issue on this site.
Questions you may wish to answer
- Do you support the objective of more environmentally sustainable residential development?
- Which parts of the draft would provide the greatest benefit?
- Has the Town provided enough information about the local problems, existing requirements and expected additional benefits to support informed public consultation?
- Are the mandatory measures and thresholds appropriate for all covered projects?
- Does the points framework provide useful flexibility, and is its calibration clear?
- Should the policy give more attention to integrated passive design, materials, construction waste or implementation?
- What guidance, monitoring and review should accompany the policy?
- What specific amendment, explanation or safeguard would improve the draft?
Optional starting words
Use, change or disregard any of these starting passages. They are deliberately different so you can begin from the aspect of the draft that matters most to you.
Option 1 — Support the objective, improve the policy
I support the objective of improving the environmental performance of new residential development in Cambridge. I would like the final policy to build on that objective with requirements that are evidence-based, practical, flexible and capable of adapting as building standards and technology change. Before the draft is finalised, I ask the Town to explain the basis for the principal thresholds and point values and how the policy's additional environmental benefits will be assessed. If information needed for informed consultation has not yet been made available, I ask the Town to provide it and give residents a further opportunity to comment with that information before the policy is finalised, whether by extending the present consultation or consulting on a revised draft.
Option 2 — Seek more information for informed consultation
I support the aim of more environmentally sustainable homes, but I do not think the published consultation material yet gives residents enough information to assess all of the detailed requirements. I ask the Town to publish a concise explanation of the main Cambridge-specific problems being addressed, what existing building and planning requirements already achieve, what alternatives were considered, and the additional benefits, costs and practical impacts expected from LPP 3.27. If that information is necessary for residents to participate in a fully informed way, I ask the Town to make it available while there is still a genuine opportunity to respond—for example by extending the current consultation period or, if substantial changes are made, consulting again on a revised draft.
Option 3 — Focus on prescription, flexibility and alternatives
I support stronger environmental outcomes in residential development, but I am concerned that some mandatory technologies and uniform thresholds may not be the best solution for every site or dwelling. I ask the Town to clarify the environmental outcomes each mandatory measure is intended to achieve, the evidence supporting the thresholds, and how genuinely equivalent or better alternative solutions will be assessed without unreasonable cost, delay or uncertainty. If this supporting information is not available during the present consultation, I ask that residents be given a further opportunity to comment after it is published, either through an extension of the current process or consultation on a revised draft.
Option 4 — Focus on implementation and review
If LPP 3.27 is adopted, its environmental value will depend on what happens in practice as well as what appears in the policy. I ask the Town to explain how applicants and staff will be guided, how alternative measures will be assessed consistently, what information will be recorded about outcomes, and when the policy, thresholds and point values will be reviewed as building regulation, technology, costs and environmental priorities change.
If you support particular measures, say so. If your concern is limited to one threshold, the evidence base, implementation or an effect on your property, focus on that point. Concrete examples are often more useful than general approval or opposition.
Send your submission to the Town
The official online form is the Town’s preferred method. The Town also accepts submissions by email, mail and in person. Check the official page for current instructions and privacy information. The closing time shown by the Town is 5:00 pm Friday 9 October 2026.
Before you send it
- Check that the submission is in your own words and reflects your view.
- Separate facts from opinions and identify any source you rely on.
- Make the change or information you seek clear.
- Include the identifying details requested by the Town.
- Keep a copy and submit before the deadline.