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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 agreed parameter plans and
Design Guide for the revised West Cambridge outline permission.
-
Design and appearance of the new buildings in context.
-
Setting of Schlumberger Gould Research Centre.
-
Active frontages and contribution to wider public realm.
-
Sunlight and shadow impacts.
-
Relationship with existing trees.
-
Energy strategy.
-
Landscape strategy.
-
Drainage approach.
-
Utilities requirements and connections to the wider site.
-
Servicing, access and construction management.
-
Cycle parking strategy.
-
Inclusive access.
-
Public Art integration.
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 will
follow this submission, including a Member briefing.
The approach to transport is very
concerning. Cavendish 3 is a new
building of significant scale which could be occupied in addition to the
existing Cavendish 2 buildings. This
will have a significant transport impact.
4.3 The proposal will be accompanied by a
Transport Assessment which assumes the worst case scenario, i.e. that the
proposed Cavendish 3 building is new floor space. The existing Cavendish 2 building will remain
in D1 use, although there is no fixed strategy to date on its interim use.
4.4 The Transport Assessment will assess the
impact of new trips over and above the current situation and will include a
mitigation strategy. This stage of the
process is still ongoing. Mitigation
will need to be considered in the context of the extant 1999 West Cambridge
Masterplan.
Cycling to and from the City is very
difficult because of the quality of Garret Hostel Lane cycle route. This proposal will place further pressure on
this key route.
4.5 Capacity issues with Garret Hostel Lane are
recognised. The Cavendish 3 application
will be required to mitigate its impact identified within the Transport
Assessment. The Transport Assessment for
the outline will set out the wider strategy for mitigation which includes cycle
improvements into the City. The County
Council is currently in negotiations with the developer team on contributions
to City Deal, which will deliver strategic cycling improvements.
The
transport impact will be managed by delivery of a future multi storey car
park. This approach is not necessarily
agreed and is not actually proposed within the Cavendish 3 application.
4.6 The Transport Assessment for the proposed
Cavendish 3 building will set out the mitigation required for private
vehicles. Additional vehicles are likely
to be accommodated by the existing car parking spaces available across the West
Cambridge site. If any new car parks need to be delivered then this would
need to be provided at the same time in the S106.
What is the increase in staff numbers
resulting from the new Cavendish 3 building?
4.7 There will be approximately a 20% increase
in staff and student numbers provided within the new building. The floor space of the new Cavendish is
similar to the existing Cavendish 2 complex.
The North West Cambridge Development
will result in thousands of new residents living in close proximity to West
Cambridge. The provision for cycle and
pedestrian crossing of this road is completely inadequate. Linking these two sites will be essential for
the wider outline application.
4.8 The amended Transport Assessment for the
outline application will propose mitigation for offsite strategic cycle
links. There are currently proposals for
different options to improve connections to the North West Cambridge
Development for the later 2031 phase. A
Member update on the transport issues relating to the outline application will
take place in the coming months, before the outline application is presented to
Committee.
What is the wider strategy for the
central green as part of the outline planning application?
4.9 JJ Thomson Gardens will be the first phase
of a new primary open space for the West Cambridge Site, known as ‘The
Green’. The design of JJ Thomson Gardens
is proposed to be a standalone space, but is also integrated into a wider
framework. Details of the wider
strategy will be included in the applications for both the outline and JJ
Thomson Gardens.
To what extent have building heights
been agreed as part of the outline application?
4.10 Building heights have been subject to detailed
assessment by officers through post submission workshops. This has resulted in removal of the
previously proposed 10 areas of additional height. Height has also been moderated at key edges
of the development, including to the east near to Clerk Maxwell Road.
4.11 This work has also involved detailed
assessment of existing trees on the site which has resulted in the developer
team providing an Arboricultural Impact Assessment
and Woodland Management Strategy.
Through this work buffer zones have been agreed in relation to the
development parcels and site edges.
4.12 An update on the outline application will be
given to Members before the application is presented to Planning Committee.
Does the height of the Cavendish 3
building set a precedent for height across the central part of the campus and Madingley Road. A continuation of the proposed height to the
west across the Vet school is concerning.
4.13 The application for Cavendish 3 should be assessed
on its own merits. It will be
accompanied by its own Environmental Statement and Landscape and Visual Impact
Assessment. Height across the campus
will be assessed through the outline planning application.
Will the West Cambridge Site be an inviting
community or a University enclave?
4.14 A key objective of the new masterplan for West
Cambridge is to create and sustain a high quality place by transforming the
physical and social environment. This
will benefit both the working population at West Cambridge and the wider
community. This will be achieved through
a more walkable, pedestrian orientated public realm, improvements to the social
environment of the campus and enhanced cycle links to and through the
site.
4.15 The Shared Facilities Hub will be a publically
accessible building which is reflected in its open and permeable detailed
design. The new Cavendish Laboratory
will be a step change for the campus. It
includes a public wing and responds positively to its immediate setting, a
shortcoming of other large institutional buildings which have been constructed
on the site.
4.16 Officers are seeking the next phase of the University sports centre
(swimming pool) to be included in the S106.
(The University are unable to commit to the providing the swimming pool
at this stage).
How much residual development capacity
is allowable under the extant 1999 masterplan?
The proposed development should be considered in that context.
4.17 The extant 1999 masterplan has capacity for
approximately 80,000 sq m of floor space (around
50,000 sq m commercial research and 27,000 sq m academic).
The design approach of the proposed
Cavendish 3 and SFH with regard to active frontages in their immediate setting
was broadly supported.
4.18
Noted.
Summary
4.19 Member questions and discussion mainly
focussed on the outstanding outline application 16/1134/OUT. The discussion covered procedural matters,
concerns regarding the transport strategy approach and the implications for the
priority projects which are coming forward.
The discussion also covered building heights, green space and wider
public benefits.
4.20 A package of amendments for the outline
application will be provided for full re-consultation mid-September.
4.21 Officers advised that a further member
briefing on the outline application (16/1134/OUT), particularly focusing on
transport matters, will be provided before the outline is brought before
Committee.