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Contact: Democratic Services Committee Manager
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Apologies Minutes: Apologies were received from Councillors Hart, Thornburrow and McQueen. |
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Declarations of Interest Minutes: No declarations were made. |
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Pre-Application Briefing by the Developer - Grafton Centre Hotel Grafton Centre Hotel Proposal The pre-application proposal is for a 153 bedroom hotel for
Premier Inn in the location of the current bus interchange and part of the
service area to the south east of the Grafton Centre, fronting onto East Road. The
proposal includes a restaurant / bar at ground floor level and the creation of
a new public space. Improvements will also be made to the shopping centre
entrance along East Road. The height of the proposed building ranges from 7 to
8 storeys with the upper floor set back by 3 metres along the principal
elevations. The proposed building’s layout provides new frontage to East Road
and a new public space adjacent to the existing cinema. The proposal for the
public space includes a new square with a raised lawn, seating and paved areas
providing routes from East Road to the cinema plaza and a pedestrian route to
the new Premier Inn and The Grafton. Trees and planting are incorporated to
enhance biodiversity and create a buffer between the square and the road
corridor. The façade and fenestration have been designed with recessed, full
height window and canted brickwork detail to exploit the south-facing aspect
and create a varying shadow pattern throughout the day. A restrained palette of
high quality materials will be used to reflect recent development in the area.
Materials will include buff/cream clay facing brickwork for the façade,
aluminium inset panels used to express the windows, and full height aluminium
framed glazing on the ground floor, revealing the restaurant and lobby. The proposal will achieve BREEAM “excellent” level consistent with
Local Plan Policy 28 and the scheme has been designed to minimise the cooling
load of the building through its construction, insulation techniques and
materials choices. As
the first development to be delivered by the Grafton Area of Major Change SPD,
highways improvements to East Road will be required to facilitate the removal
of the bus interchange and provide on-street bus stops to East Road. To cater
for the pedestrian ‘desire line’ between The Grafton and the new bus stops, an
additional pedestrian crossing point will be incorporated across East Road.
Hotel guests will be able to use The Grafton car park situated nearby. No
dedicated car parking spaces are proposed on the hotel site. The servicing strategy for the new hotel looks to utilise the
retained section of the existing shopping centre service yard, screened as part
of the proposed hotel envelope. The emerging scheme removes service vehicles
from the public square by creating a dedicated, managed service bay at the far
end of the cinema building. Design and Conservation Panel Feedback The proposal was initially presented to the D&C Panel in June 2018. An updated proposal was presented to the Panel in August 2018 to which the Panel responded with a unanimous “Green” verdict subject to some final design developments. The Panel were encouraged by how many of their previous comments had been taken on board and responded to. As a ... view the full agenda text for item 19/3/Plan Minutes: Key points from
developer’s presentation 1.1 There has been an
extensive redevelopment of the Grafton Centre over the past number of years.
Planning permission was granted for the food court and gym to diversify the outdated
shopping centre and add to the existing leisure use with the existing cinema. 1.2 The developer has been
involved in the SPD process working closely with the city and county council.
The first proposal to come forward from the SPD is this hotel. The other key
elements of the proposal are the relocation of the bus interchange and
provision of improved public realm. The aim is to submit an application next
month subject to the result of this discussion with members. 1.3 The bus interchange is
already not used by the park and ride service at busy times as it causes
delays. The provision of the public realm has been seen as a key benefit to
residents, the city council and other stakeholders. 1.4 The proposal has already
been through public consultation and engagement. The mains concerns were the
building design/height, impact on traffic congestion, whether another hotel is
needed, impact on residential amenity (noise/overlooking/air quality),
difficulty understanding the highway changes, how parking will work. The public
realm improvements were viewed positively. 1.5 The shopping centre is
of its time and is inward looking. The proposal offers an opportunity to
respond to East Road. This has been important in discussions with the city
council, Design and Conservation Panel and residents. The cinema has limited
activity. East Road is a key arrival route into Cambridge. The proposal may
allow for tree planting which would soften the street. The removal of the bus
interchange creates a relatively large site area. The restaurant at ground
floor would be open to members of the public and has the potential to open out
onto the public realm with outdoor dining. 1.6 The elevations have been
worked to a higher standard than is normally required for a budget hotel given
the sensitive nature of the site. Back of house has been designed so it would
be tucked away and screened from the street. Verified views will be provided as
part of the planning application. Key views have been agreed with planning
officers and are being worked up 1.7 The materials proposed
would be high quality. This was identified as being very important at the Design
and Conservation Panel. The brick is proposed to be a buff brick with variation
to contrast with the flat buff brick of the shopping centre. The colonnade will
provide street frontage. The ground floor would include the reception and the
restaurant. There would be 6 full levels of bedrooms with the top level
recessed 3m to provide relief. Floor to ceiling windows are proposed. The
window panels break up the façade and incorporate ventilation. 1.8 The building has been designed to be inclusive and accessible with accessible rooms at each level. Premier Inn has onerous requirements for thermal performance. It requires 60% of hot water ... view the full minutes text for item 19/3/Plan |
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