A planning application for 2,300 new homes in Cambridge’s Southern Fringe was granted outline planning approval yesterday (14 May 2008).
The Cambridge Fringes Joint Development Control Committee granted outline permission for Countryside Properties’ application for the development at the Clay Farm/Showground site on the east side of Trumpington (covering land between Long Road and Shelford Road). The development will provide:
- 2,300 new homes, including 40% affordable housing;
- a new secondary school and primary school (along with the expansion of the existing Fawcett Primary School);
- a new community centre, co-located with a Primary Healthcare Centre and a library; and
- a major new public open space in the 'green corridor' to the east of the development, as well as new allotments and community gardens.
The development will also help to fund the new road being built to give direct access to Addenbrooke's Hospital from the M11, as well as contributing to the cost of building the southern leg of the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway.
"The Clay Farm decision marks a major step forward in bringing about the sustainable growth of Cambridge," said Peter Studdert, Director of Joint Planning for Cambridge's Growth Areas. "It provides a good mix of housing, with excellent community facilities and access to new open spaces. The local authorities and the local community in Trumpington have worked constructively with Countryside Properties over several years to ensure that this development will be a great place to live. It will also have easy access by bike and by public transport to the city centre and to Addenbrooke's Hospital with its growing biomedical campus."
Work can now begin on the detailed design of the new neighbourhoods, which will be the subject of further local consultation later in the year, and a start on site is expected in 2009.
The same meeting of the Joint Development Control Committee gave detailed permission for a new headquarters building for the National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB) on Huntingdon Road in north west Cambridge and for 187 new dwellings – ranging from one to four bedroom properties – with a new access from Huntingdon Road. A separate application for nearly 1,600 more new homes elsewhere on the NIAB site will be considered in due course following expected amended plans and public consultation later this year.
Cambridge City Councillor Alan Baker, who chaired the Joint Development Control Committee meeting on 14 May, said: "We spent seven hours considering very carefully these important planning applications, ensuring that the views of local residents and councillors were taken fully into account. These developments will add enormously to the city's housing stock and contribute significantly to meeting its needs for a wide mix of accommodation ranging from one bedroom flats to four bedroom houses. A high proportion of them will be 'affordable' (as shared equity or social rented housing) and we insisted on high standards of sustainability and of community facilities."
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