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Contact: Toni Birkin Committee Manager
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Apologies Minutes: Councillor Peter Sarris declared an
interest as an employee of Cambridge University. Accordingly, he did not attend the briefing. |
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Declaration of Interest |
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Pre-Application Briefing by the Developer - Cavendish Laboratory, JJ Thomson Avenue, West Cambridge Site, Cambridge 1.0 Cavendish III Proposal 1.1 The pre application proposal
is for the complete relocation of the Cavendish II laboratory from its existing
site in the south east corner of the West Cambridge campus. The proposed
building will have four levels of accommodation providing 38,600
sq m of footprint. It is proposed to be formed of two
phases. Phase two will be located in the
north east corner of the plot. 1.2 The proposed application
site is situated on the west side of JJ Thomson Avenue and at the junction with
Madingley Road, on land currently used as paddocks
for the Veterinary School and Merton Hall Farmhouse. It falls within ‘the Green’ and ‘Central
Green Link’ key places within the Design Guide which accompanies the West
Cambridge outline application. 1.3 Because of timescales
involved with the outline (16/1134/OUT) the proposal will come forward as a
separate full planning application. It will be
assessed on its own merits, as well as the emerging outline application,
parameter plans, Design Guide and other associated strategies. Shared Facilities
Hub and JJ Thomson Gardens 1.4 A proposed shared facilities
building will provide catering, library and other supporting amenities to serve
the West Cambridge Site. It will be situated to the south of the proposed
Cavendish III and will be adjacent to the existing North Residences. The Shared
Facilities Hub will be accommodated within a rectangular shaped plot and will
have 3-4 levels of accommodation. 1.5 Between the proposed
Cavendish III and Shared Facilities Hub is a proposed 2.4 ha area of landscaped
public realm. ‘JJ Thomson Gardens’ will
be a predominantly soft landscape and recreational open space which will
accommodate an east - west cycle and pedestrian path. JJ Thomson Gardens will be part of a larger
open space (The Green), which will be delivered in three phases progressing
east to west, involving the relocation of the Veterinary School. 2.0 Background
and Policy Context 2.1 The West Cambridge Site is a major new
academic development being undertaken by the University of Cambridge. Development has begun in accordance with the
approved planning permission in 1999. 2.2 The West Cambridge Site has been slow to
develop. Perceptions of the site include concerns over remoteness, isolation,
lack of social life, high car dependency and lack of character. There is a general lack of activity on site
and external spaces tend to be car dominated.
The site suffers from a lack of
facilities, although the sports centre has helped start to readdress this issue
over the last 18 months. 2.3 The densification of West Cambridge is
acceptable in principle, subject to environmental, amenity and transport
assessment as set out within emerging Local Plan Policy 18. The need for a
‘comprehensive development approach’ has been agreed through the ‘Statement of
Common Ground’ to mitigate the uplift in academic and commercial floor space
that will be provided. This will be assessed through the revised
masterplan. 3.0 Key Issues 3.1 The key issues are: - Compliance with the emerging and yet to be ... view the full agenda text for item 17/7/PlanPre App Minutes: Member Briefing -
Summary Note West Cambridge
Masterplan Review – 16/1134/OUT Thursday 6 September 2017 Council Chamber, Guildhall 1.0
Apologies - Councillor
Peter Sarris declared an interest as an employee of Cambridge University. Accordingly, he did not attend the briefing. 2.0
Declarations
of Interest - Councillor
Peter Sarris (See above). 3.0
Key
Points from Developer Presentation Cavendish
3 project -
Scheme
development - has taken place over 18 months. -
Constraints
and opportunities – vibration and scientific equipment have informed the design and layout. -
Deliveries
will be located in the North West corner. -
Vibration
sensitivity – has driven the layout of the building. -
Layout
– includes
a public wing, 3 courtyards and an internal street. -
Internal
circulation – has been carefully considered to promote
interaction. -
Dramatic
double height entrance – will be provided in the public wing,
with access to the lecture theatres and circulation space. -
Timeless
Design – calm, grounded architecture characterises the external
appearance of the building. Use of
reconstituted stone will help to achieve this. -
Solar
gain – has been carefully considered in the design proposals. -
Central
Green Link – characterised by the distinctive, projecting
service wings. -
North
East Corner – will be constructed as part of a phase 2
development. The interim condition will
be carefully designed. JJ
Thomson Gardens -
Flexible
design – is intended to integrate with the future strategy. -
New
east/west cycle route will be provided. -
Productive
garden – is incorporated into the proposals. -
Vehicle
speeds, JJ Thomson Avenue – will be reduced through
interventions in the street design. Shared
Facilities Hub (SFH) -
Landmark
building – the Shared Facilities Hub will be a landmark building
for the campus, key to its social infrastructure. -
Entrances
–
respond to the site context and plaza areas. -
Planting
–
will be integrated into the atrium spaces of the building. -
External
elevations – will be more ‘playful’ than the proposed Cavendish 3
building and will be as open and permeable as possible. -
Ground
source heat pumps will be shared with the Cavendish 3 project. 4.0 Member questions/comments How
do these reserved matters applications relate to the undetermined outline
application? How can they be assessed in
isolation from the masterplan which is still outstanding? 4.1 Government funding has been secured for
delivery of the new Cavendish Laboratory, which is a scheme of national
importance. As such the proposal will be
assessed on its own merits as a separate full planning application. This is necessary because of the timescales
involved with post submission negotiations on the outline planning application
(16/1134/OUT). This approach was adopted
for submission of the Civil Engineering Building (16/1811/FUL) which was
approved by Committee in March 2017. 4.2 The outline planning application was submitted in June 2016 and officers are concluding a series of post submission negotiations relating to building heights, transport, green infrastructure, quality of place and other site wide strategies. A comprehensive resubmission is expected mid-September. Full consultation ... view the full minutes text for item 17/7/PlanPre App |
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