Agenda item

Outline planning permission (all matters reserved save for "access" from Cowley Road) for the partial demolition of the existing buildings, structures and site apparatus, remediation and re-profiling of site levels, for the phased development of residential dwellings (Use Class C3); older persons’ accommodation (Use Class C2); retail, financial & professional services, cafes & restaurants, indoor recreation & fitness, laboratory, offices and co working floorspace (Use Class E); bars and hot food takeaways (Sui Generis); two primary schools with play space and community buildings with ancillary uses (Use Class E, F.1 & F.2); outdoor sports play areas; associated surface and decked car parking and landscaping including central play line and SUDS; highways works to Cowley Road including vehicular accesses, improved bus stops, cycle and pedestrian facilities; and, new electrical substations; associated infrastructure, enabling and other relevant works.

Councillor Thornburrow joined the meeting virtually during this agenda item.

 

Councillors Fane, Baigent, Flaubert, Hawkins and R.Williams left part way through this agenda item. 

 

The Committee received a pre-application developer presentation for the Hartree development at Land north and east of Cowley Road, North-East Cambridge.

 

The developer team provided a briefing note to the Committee in advance of the meeting which has been published on the meeting webpage: Agenda for Joint Development Control Committee on Wednesday, 22nd January, 2025, 10.00 am - Cambridge Council.

 

Members raised comments/questions as listed below. Answers were supplied, and comments from officers but as this was a pre-application presentation, none of the answers or comments are binding on either the intended applicant or the local planning authority so consequently are not recorded in these minutes.

 

1.     Asked if there would be a Design Code produced for this development and if it would be updated over time as it was estimated that the build out of the development would take 20 years.

2.     Asked who was anticipated to live in the development.

3.     Noted that consideration had been given to dual aspect windows in relation to overheating but had consideration also been given to insulation.

4.     Is on-site wind power being considered.

5.     Are ground source heat pumps being considered.

6.     Asked about water recycling and noted that certain standards needed to be met for water to be drinking water, which meant currently water could not be recycled to be used as drinking water.

7.     Noted the importance of natural light in rooms balanced against the need to ensure that rooms were appropriately heat controlled.

8.     Asked what the microclimate would be like for single aspect units.

9.     Asked if the ground level car park would be made from permeable materials.

10. Raised concerns regarding surface water drainage.

11. Asked what the three water tanks on-site would be used for.

12. Hoped the residential development would be tenure blind. 

13. Asked if purpose-built Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) were being considered for this development.

14. Asked if the developers thought people would live within the development permanently or for limited periods.

15. Asked if services charges would be included within the rent charge or if it would be charged separately.

16. Asked if consideration had been given to providing a co-operative site (self-managed site).

17. Asked for further information regarding the ‘income generating opportunities’ on the site.

18. Asked whether the ‘build to rent’ accommodation was likely to be apartments or houses.

19. Asked for more information about cargo-bike parking provision.

20. Asked where delivery vans would be expected to park.

21. Requested car parking provision for the affordable housing units.

22. Asked if the development would take into consideration the vision for change in modes of transport.

23. Noted that car parking was proposed to be provided through ‘car barns’ and asked if the developers were aware of any examples of successful car barns being used elsewhere. Also asked whether the car barns would be lit to ensure that people felt safe to use them.

24. Asked how many parking spaces were proposed in the car barns.

25. Asked what measures would be put in place to deter on-pavement parking.

26. Asked whether provision for e-scooter parking was planned?

27. Asked what measures would be put in place to control displacement parking.

28. Asked if ‘healthy street design’ could be used for roads that carried traffic.

29. Asked what was being included in the biodiversity net gain calculations.

30. Asked what uses had been considered for rooftops and noted competing interests between amenity space, solar panels and air source heat pumps etc.

31. Queried the type of building materials which would be used on the site and if consideration would be given to the embodied carbon within building materials.