First – apologies for this update being at such short notice, especially as it is an Urgent call for action..  

The public consultation for the Draft Greater Cambridge Local Plan ends tomorrow – 30th January.  

This draft Local Plan mentions our central Market; it does also say that it supports the Market.  

“1. Proposals that seek to protect and enhance the daily market in the Market Square or the arts and crafts market on All Saints Garden will be supported.”  

Great so far.  

But the supporting text says nothing about our traditional traders, the services they provide, the importance of local, low food miles produce, or the balances needed between traditional traders and hot food providers.  There is nothing in this policy or elsewhere in the draft Plan to protect local food producers, including the graziers whose cattle are a greatly-valued feature of Cambridge’s commons.

We need as many people as possible to make these points, urgently (the deadline is 5pm tomorrow), to ensure that the Local Plan recognises and safeguards the significance and value of our traditional market and its local producers.

Just to bring the whole matter home – our traditional market is currently under threat from a very recent planning application for the Market Square 25/04382/FUL.  This is an application which has received almost universal objections from the public and consultees. Hopefully the Council will think again about its proposals, but we need strong text in the new Local Plan to make sure. 

So please respond if you can, by the deadline of 5pm tomorrow 30 January, to https://consultations.greatercambridgeplanning.org/draft-greater-cambridge-local-plan-consultation/jobs/policy-jms-markets-and-street-trading