Agenda item

Approx: 10:00 am – 11:30 am

 

UKCRIC, West Cambridge Campus, Madingley Road

 

Existing West Cambridge site – general context

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. 

 

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.  Some elements of the public realm which have been provided, such as the western lake, are open and exposed as development is yet to complement it.  There is a general lack of activity on site. Car parking dominates the site and severs the public realm from buildings. The site suffers from a lack of facilities, although the sports centre has helped start to readdress this issue over the last 18 months.

 

The Council has identified an overall strategic need for further employment growth across the City in the emerging Local Plan, including making more efficient use of existing employment sites.  The densification of the West Cambridge site 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. 

 

The proposal

 

The pre application proposal is for the next phases of the relocation of the Department of Engineering from its existing site on Fen Causeway. The proposed building will have four levels of accommodation with a footprint of 4,500 sq m.  This is part of an overall strategy to provide 100,000 sq m of academic floor space on the east side of the revised West Cambridge masterplan.  The outline application 16/1134/OUT was submitted on 16 June 2016 and is currently under determination.

 

The proposed application site is situated on the eastern side of JJ Thomson Avenue to the rear of the Centre for Advanced Photonics and Electronics (CAPE).  It falls within ‘East Forum key place’, ‘East Green Link’ and ‘Clerk Maxwell Road site edge’ within the Design Guide which accompanies the West Cambridge outline application.

This proposal needs to be considered in context with the emerging outline application, parameter plans, Design Guide and other associated strategies.  The outline application itself is currently under review and may be subject to change.

 

Because of the timescales involved, UKCRIC is likely to be submitted as a separate full planning application.

 

The key issues are:

 

-      Compliance with the emerging parameter plans and Design Guide for the revised West Cambridge outline permission. 

 

-      Design and appearance of the building in context.

 

-      Massing and street scene.

 

-      Active frontages and shared facilities.

 

-      Landscape strategy.

 

-      Drainage approach.

 

-      Servicing and access.

 

-      Cycle parking strategy.

 

-       Inclusive access.

 

The proposal

 

The pre application proposal is for the next phases of the relocation of the Department of Engineering from its existing site on Fen Causeway. The proposed building will have four levels of accommodation with a footprint of 4,500 sq m.  This is part of an overall strategy to provide 100,000 sq m of academic floor space on the east side of the revised West Cambridge masterplan.  The outline application 16/1134/OUT was submitted on 16 June 2016 and is currently under determination.

 

The proposed application site is situated on the eastern side of JJ Thomson Avenue to the rear of the Centre for Advanced Photonics and Electronics (CAPE).  It falls within ‘East Forum key place’, ‘East Green Link’ and ‘Clerk Maxwell Road site edge’ within the Design Guide which accompanies the West Cambridge outline application.

 

This proposal needs to be considered in context with the emerging outline application, parameter plans, Design Guide and other associated strategies.  The outline application itself is currently under review and may be subject to change.

 

Because of the timescales involved, UKCRIC is likely to be submitted as a separate full planning application.

 

1)      Key Points from Developer Presentation

 

-       Relocation to West Cambridge – UKCRIC part of a wider relocation strategy.

-       Grant funding secured, subject to tight programme deadlines.

-       Separate full planning application will be required because of the longer timeframe which is required to negotiate the new outline application for West Cambridge.

-       Inset Masterplan – developed for Engineering to inform the wider West Cambridge Masterplan.

-       Adaptable building layout is intended for Engineering to meet current and future needs.

-       Modular expansion will be possible as and when funding becomes available.

-       Ecology Strategy will be submitted to maintain and enhance the landscaped bund to the east.

-       West elevation has been carefully considered and will have an equal level of detail and visual interest as the principal east elevation.

-       Main entrance - is positioned to enhance the existing garden to the CAPE building.

-       Social Spaces – existing campus lacks communal spaces to facilitate 21^st century research.

-       Strong floor – is integral to the design to enable hydraulic testing to be carried out without disturbance to adjacent residential properties and academic buildings.

-       Acoustic ‘box within a box’ is integral to the design.

-       Cycle provision will be integrated into the design.

-       BREEAM excellent is targeted.

-       Energy reduction - is a key focus.

 

2)      Member Questions

 

1)      The existing Fen Causeway site appears to be a stable home for Engineering and the James Dyson building has only recently been constructed.  How does the strategy of relocation relate to this context?

 

-       The James Dyson building was necessary to relieve the immediate pressure for Engineering to carry out their research and activities.

 

-       Engineering has six divisions, two of which are already at West Cambridge.  Engineering is the largest department in the University.

 

-       The relocation to West Cambridge is part of a much wider strategy which may take up to 25 years.

 

2)      Proximity to residential properties to the east is a key issue.  The new building will be located apart from existing institutes.  What will be the impact of the seemingly enormous areas of unbroken fenestration and building length?

 

-       The layout of the application proposal and wider inset masterplan has been carefully considered in the context of the landscaped bund and residential properties beyond to the east.

 

-       The west elevation facing Clerk Maxwell Road has been carefully designed to provide visual interest and an attractive frontage.  It has not been considered as a rear frontage for servicing purposes only.

 

3)      What is the status of the open land on the eastern side of Clerk Maxwell Road?

 

-       Local authority officers agreed to provide a separate update on the status of this land.

 

4)      What will be the impact of light spillage on amenity?

 

-       The application will be accompanied by a full assessment of the impact of artificial lighting resulting from the proposal.

 

5)      What will be the noise impacts from experiments carried on at the proposed building?  Will these be conducted after normal working hours?

 

-       The application will be accompanied by a detailed assessment of noise to ensure breakout noise is less than background noise.

 

-       Concrete mixing is a more significant noise generator than hydraulic experiments.  The proposed acoustic box will enable these activities to be managed without impact upon amenity. 

 

-       The majority of activities are during normal working hours.  This will be set out in the accompanying noise report.

 

6)      The relationship of the pre application proposal and the outline application is critical, in particular the strategies for site edges.  What is the impact of bulk, size and scale on nearby residential properties and what are the wider implications for the eastern boundary of the site?  The visualisation from Clerk Maxwell Road appears misleading.

 

-       The visual impact of the building has been analysed from longer viewpoints, including the Landscape and Visual Impact assessment viewpoints taken from the Lawn Tennis Club.  It was considered by the developer team that the substantial landscaped bund will effectively screen the visual impact of the building and future modular phases.

 

-       It was acknowledged by the developer team that there needs to be further graphical analysis provided to enable a full assessment of impact. The visualisation from Clerk Maxwell Road contained in the presentation material does not adequately assess the impact or provide a realistic representation of the proposed building in context.

 

7)      The landscaped bund to the east contains largely deciduous trees.  How will this provide an effective screen during winter?

 

-       A management plan for enhancing the landscaped bund will be submitted with the application to ensure it contains a mix of species and provides an effective screen along the boundary with Clerk Maxwell Road.

 

8)      How will the application proposal integrate with the overall strategy of car park reduction at West Cambridge?

 

-       The car parking demand for the proposed building will be served by a temporary car park.

 

-       The proposed building will integrate excellent cycle parking facilities to encourage sustainable travel modes to the site.  Implementation of the site wide travel plan strategies will be set out in the application proposal.

 

 

9)      What is the construction access and how will it affect Clerk Maxwell Road?  What is the frequency and nature of future deliveries?

 

-       As currently proposed, a temporary car park will be accessed from Clerk Maxwell Road.

 

-       Lorry deliveries will be relatively infrequently.  Current operations suggest only six per year.  The drop off and turning arrangements will be set out in detail in the application submission.

 

10)  The visualisation of the proposed development appears to show encroachment on the existing cycle path from Clerk Maxwell Road.  Can this be clarified?

 

-       The east/west cycleway is an important part of the cycling access strategy contained within the outline planning application.  This route will be intensified and enhanced.  There will be no encroachment from the proposed building.

 

11)  When will the application be submitted?

 

-       The application is likely to be submitted in October 2016.