To: Members of Planning Committee: Councillors Bailey,
Baker, Blencowe, Dixon, Dryden, Hipkin, Reid , Slatter, R Smith
Hymans (LD Alt)
All other members for information
Applicants/Agent[s] and Lead Petitioner[s]
(enc DCF Guidelines)
Published & despatched: 25 June 2004
DEVELOPMENT CONTROL FORUM
Date: 7
July 2004
Time: 10.00am
Place: Committee Room 1, The Guildhall
Contact: Liz Whitcher
Ext: 7015
10:00am: DEVELOPMENT CONTROL FORUM: 7 July 2004
PLANNING APPLICATION NO: P/C/04/0544/OP
Applicant’s AGENT: John Peacock, Unex Technical
Services
LEAD PETITIONER: Michael
Chisholm, Brooklands Avenue Area Residents’ Association
CASE OFFICER: Neville Doe
The petition is in the following terms in relation to
the above planning application.
We, the undersigned residents of Cambridge object to
the proposed development noted above and seek a meeting with the Development
Control Forum.
Subsequently, Michael Chisholm sent the following
supplementary information:
This site has had a long and complex history. The initial planning application for about
60,000 square feet was refused but then granted on appeal. Thereafter, by a process of incremental
applications, the space was roughly doubled, to approximately 120,000 square
feet. The current proposal represents
something like a 30% increase on this figure, with a net addition of 25 car
parking spaces. In this process, all
the ‘facilities’, such as a crèche, have been removed from the permission as
this space has been converted to office use.
The site is not easy of access. There are left turns in from and out on to
Hills Road and the railway bridge, and Brooklands Avenue, and two-way car
access via Clarendon Road. The original
building was finished about fifteen years ago and was never occupied. Even after the recent refurbishment, the
property is only partially occupied.
The site is a critical one in Cambridge. The proposal would make it even harder than is already the case to find sensible solutions to the problems of vehicular movements, cyclists, pedestrians and the Guided Bus, all competing for space on Hills Road and the railway bridge, and Brooklands Avenue. The site is already over developed and the proposals would make a bad situation worse. With the prospect that there will be a Guided Bus, it is essential that not only the Bus itself can pass under the Hills Road railway bridge but that the parallel cycle route can also do so, instead of coming onto the local road system to cross Hills Road into Brooklands Avenue, as is currently proposed. To make the necessary space, it is probable that the span of the bridge may have to be extended, unless a short section of alternating one-way working for the bus would be acceptable.
Were there to be a circa 30% increase in office space with the addition of 25 car parking spaces, provision would have to be made for substantial cycle parking, and not just for the extension but also for the existing building. But even with a substantial increase in the proportion of people accessing the site on foot and by bicycle, there would be additional problems for all forms of ‘traffic’ at the junction of Hills Road and Brooklands Avenue.
As a footnote, please note that one of the trees on the Brooklands Avenue Frontage was damaged by vandals. It was removed but not replaced. And several trees on the Brooklands and Hills Road frontages are dying for the want of watering, which is essential until trees of this size get established.
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Information for
Petitioners’ and Applicants’ Representatives
The aims of the Forum are to allow early discussion of
the planning issues and to explore the scope for agreement and compromise
between all sides.
Up to three representatives
of the petitioners and up to three representatives of the applicants may attend
and speak for a total period not exceeding 20 minutes.
The applicants’
presentation is heard first and applicants are asked to start their
presentation with a brief description of the application proposals.
For further information on the conduct of the Forum or
the petition process, please see the Development Control Guidelines, a copy of
this is available on the Council’s website or contact the Council’s Committee
Section (01223) 457015.
Please let the
Committee Manager know if you would like a briefing on the procedures at the
Forum, if you have any other queries, or if you require any special facilities
(for example an overhead projector).
Information
for the Public
You
are welcome to attend this meeting as an observer. Please note that only the
three representatives nominated by the applicant (or the applicant’s agent) and
the lead petitioner may speak at the meeting.
In
the event of the fire alarm sounding (which is a continuous ringing sound), you
should pick up your possessions and leave the building by the route you came
in. Once clear of the building, you should assemble on the pavement opposite
the main entrance to the Guildhall and await further instructions. If your escape route or the assembly area is
unsafe, you will be directed to safe areas by a member of Cambridge City Council
staff.
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Dates of Meetings in 2004 |
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Planning Committee |
Development Control Forum |
Planning Committee |
Development Control Forum |
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Wed 28 July Wed 25 August Wed 22 September |
Wed 4 August Wed 1 September Wed 29 September |
Wed 20 October Wed 17 November Wed 15 December |
Wed 27 October Wed 24 November Wed 22 December |
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Membership of the
Planning Committee |
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Councillors Bailey, Baker, Blencowe,
Dixon, Dryden, Hipkin, Reid , Slatter,
R Smith, Hymans (LD Alt) Chair Councillor Baker (LD) Vice Chair Councillor
Slatter (LD) Labour
Spokesperson Councillor
Blencowe (L)
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