Agenda

Purpose of Briefing 

The purpose of this meeting is to give Members an insight into evolving proposals for the comprehensive redevelopment of the Civic Quarter Site which includes The Guildhall, The Corn Exchange and Market Square. The presentation offers an opportunity for Members to ask questions. 

Site Context 

Civic Quarter Site encompasses The Guildhall, The Corn Exchange and Market Square and the surrounding public realm including Market Hill, Peas Hill and Guildhall Street.  

The Guildhall is a Grade II Listed Building dating from 1939. It is a civic building located in the centre of Cambridge. The main internal features are the Council Chamber, Small and Large Halls and the Sessions Court. The building retains original fixtures and fittings of high quality and the furniture within the Chamber is as original.  

The Corn Exchange is a Grade II Listed Building and is currently used as a concert hall.  

The Market Square is laid with setts which are Grade II Listed along with two sets of iron railings. The setts are an integral part of the mid-C19 scheme for the expansion and relaying of the Markey Place and can be dated to 1855-1856 and is a relatively early surviving example of a large area of historic paving. There is a fountain located centrally within Market Square which is also Grade II Listed. Market Square is currently used as a market with traders using temporary demountable stalls. The surface of the area has deteriorated overtime and is now uneven with some gaps within the setts.  

The application site is located within the Historic Core Conservation Area and in addition to the listed buildings outlined above, there are numerous other listed buildings within the immediate setting of the site including the Grade I Church of St Mary’s the Great, Grade I 5 Market Hill, Grade II* Church of St Edward King and Martyr and numerous Grade II Listed Buildings.

Councillor attendance

Whilst any subsequent planning application relating to this site will be determined by the Planning Committee, all Councillors are invited to attend and take part in this pre-application developer presentation.

Purpose of the meeting

These meetings allow developers an early opportunity to present proposals for future planning applications to elected members of the Council.

The process allows Councillors to feed into the process at an early stage and raise any questions or concerns that can then be addressed by the developer prior to a formal planning application being submitted.

Whilst the meetings will be held in public, they do not form part of the formal decision making process. All planning applications will be determined in line with formal processes as adopted by Cambridge City Council.  

Format of the Meeting

For each Briefing:

·       Introduction by the Head of Planning Services or a Senior Planning Officer – up to 10 minutes

·       Presentation by the developer of the proposal – up to 30 minutes

·       Opportunity for Members to ask questions, raise issues, seek clarification, comment on the apparent positive and less positive aspects of the proposal – up to 40 minutes

During this part of the meeting it is important that Councillors who may ultimately make the decision on any subsequent planning application do not feel unduly constrained by what they can ask or raise. However they should avoid expressing views that might give any appearance that they are approaching the proposal with a closed mind. The discussion should not be used for negotiations with the developer. These should take place with officers separately from the meeting. Members of the public must refrain from entering into the discussion at the meeting.

·       Summing up – up to 10 minutes

A Planning Department representative will take notes of the meeting, which will be a summary of the proceedings. Nothing said by Councillors at the meeting will in any way be binding on the Committee that subsequently determines the application. The notes will be uploaded to the City Council’s website upon completion.