Huge new lab and office building approved for St John’s Innovation Park in Cambridge

A new laboratory and office building is set to be built at St John’s Innovation Park in Cambridge, despite one councillor describing it as “grim”.

The Vitrum Building, in Cowley Road, will be demolished to make way for the ‘substantially’ larger building.

The developer said the new building will provide “critical” lab space to attract “world leading life science companies to Cambridge”.

The new building will offer 99 car parking spaces, five per cent of which will be Blue Badge spaces, plus 280 secure cycle spaces and 28 visitor spaces.

Applicant Breakthrough Properties plans to manage the building for its “whole economic life”. It expects to begin construction next year and complete it by early 2026.

A representative told a Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council joint development control committee meeting last Wednesday (November 15) that it wants to create a “respectful architectural landmark”..

The representative said: “The building will comprise a modern flexible workplace with a lively and inclusive community.

“The sustainable architecture blends together with its green surroundings and promotes biodiversity. The design features an active and transparent ground floor to integrate with the innovation park.

“We have listened and addressed concerns on landscape and visual impact. This included a reduction in heights, so Vitrum is lower than other approved buildings on the innovation park, and a softening of massing of key views, which has successfully appeased concerns.”

The new building will exceed local and national sustainability targets, and not use any more water than the existing building.

While 31 trees will be cut down as part of the development, 77 mature trees will be planted.

The representative said: “We believe our plans present a significant opportunity for the city to enhance its global status as a life science super power with an iconic new building that has been designed collaboratively to address community feedback.”

A majority of councillors said they supported the plans, but some raised concerns about the size and design of the new building.

Cllr Katie Thornburrow (Lab, Petersfield) said: “Because of land values being so high, my general feeling is we should be building as tall as appropriate in all the right locations in Cambridge, so I think the height is good for me.”

However, Cllr Katie Porrer(Lib Dem, Market) said: “I do take Cllr Thornburrow’s point, but this is a substantial expansion of the footprint, it is going high and big, so I am still weighing up if that concerns me.”

Cllr Martin Smart (Lab, King’s Hedges) appreciated work that had been done to improve the proposals, but said they were still “not good enough”.

He said: “It is a grim looking building in straightforward terms. It is not a beauty, it is not designed well and does not sit well in its context.”

Concerns about whether the development would lead to people working at the building to park on nearby residential streets were raised by Cllr Simon Smith (Lab, Castle).

He highlighted that the developer proposed funding additional parking restrictions, but said he had concerns this could mean people living nearby having to pay for parking permits which they did not currently have to buy.

Cllr Anna Bradnam (Lib Dem, Milton and Waterbeach) had similar concerns, particularly regarding Milton, as she said there was already an issue of people working in the Science Park parking their cars there.

A highways officer from Cambridgeshire County Council confirmed the money would be used to fund double yellow lines to be painted near junctions and in front of driveways in nearby areas. The officer explained that a permit parking scheme was not proposed.

When a decision was put to a vote the majority of councillors voted in favour of approving the plans.