Plans for Tall Buildings: Have your Say
As the pressure for economic growth intensifies and the costs to developers increases, it seems that the heights of new buildings are also going up.
Developers have put forward proposals to replace the office block at Kett House (in a prominent location on the junction of Station Road and Hills Road) with a new office block that would be 8 storeys (49m) high (click here for images).
On the other side of Hills Road, the builders are already at work on the construction of the new Botanic House office block – it will be a very large building that is 7 storeys (46m) high. If the Kett House proposals go ahead then Hills Road will be a canyon between them. CambridgePPF believes that the redevelopment of Kett House should be appropriate in scale to the adjacent historic buildings, and we would be supportive of a proposal that achieved that. We have tried to persuade the developers and alerted councillors. Why not have your say? You can contact the developer at info@ketthouseconsultation.co.uk or find your local councillor here.
The owners of Cambridge Retail Park (between Newmarket Road and Coldham’s Lane) are planning changes. We have long argued that the giant surface car parks in the retail parks are a really poor use of land in Cambridge and could be used for development as well as parking. So, on one-hand we are pleased to see that is part of the plans. However, in order to retain car parking during construction one of the proposed multi-storey car parks would be 6 storeys high and we are concerned that will become visible from green spaces such as Coldham’s Common. You can view the plans at https://cambridgeretailpark-future.com/ and also have your say.
Plans for Cambridge Market Square: Have your say
For several years, Cambridge City Council, has been working on plans to improve the Market Square. These are now combined with plans to improve The Guildhall and Corn Exchange, a project called ‘The Civic Quarter’. The latest plans have been published, and you can have your say on them until 22 June click here.
Plans to scrap biodiversity requirements for small developments: Have your say
In 2024 the government introduced the concept of Biodiversity Net Gain to the planning system. This means that all developments should result in a 10% increase in biodiversity. This is achieved by creating new habitats to replace those that are lost through development. The new habitats can be on the development site or located elsewhere. The intention is that development is made more sustainable and contributes positively – rather than negatively as it has in the past.
Unfortunately, the BNG process that was devised is very complicated and therefore costly to developers, especially small developers because the cost is disproportionate to the size of the development. It is clear the process should be reformed for small developments so that it is much simpler and proportionate. The government has launched a consultation on this – click here for details and to have your say.
Ministers have already indicated that they would like to scrap the BNG scheme altogether for small developments that are less than 10 houses. If they do, then it will be a step backwards for nature friendly development – and we will be back to a situation where development is harming nature. Given that we have a lot of development in Cambridge, that would not be a good thing for our city.
Instead of scrapping it, we would like to see the current BNG system suspended for small developments whilst a new scheme is put in place. We have written to Cambridge MP Daniel Zeichner about this. You can also at daniel@danielzeichner.co.uk
