1,200-home development for north of Cherry Hinton takes step forward as design code approved
Design principles for the new 1,200-home development on land north of Cherry Hinton have been approved by councillors.
The site will also be home to a retirement living facility, a local centre, primary and secondary schools, community facilities, open spaces and allotments after outline planning permission was granted in 2020.
The design code indicates that the development should prioritise walking, cycling and public transport and states that all of the homes in the development will have air source heat pumps, as opposed to gas, along with solar panels and electric vehicle-charging points.
Forty per cent of the homes will be deemed ‘affordable housing’, with five per cent earmarked as custom builds.
The joint development control committee of Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council approved the design code last Wednesday (September 21).
A representative of the applicant, Bellway Latimer Cherry Hinton LLP, said following discussions with the councils, the companies involved had responded to concerns, including by increasing the amount of cycle storage space.
City councillor Katie Porrer (Lib Dem, Market) said there were “a lot of positives”, and many of the members’ concerns had been taken into account.
But some councillors asked why not all of the roads were designed to a standard high enough to be adopted by Cambridgeshire County Council, which would mean it would take responsibility for maintaining them.
Unadopted roads are maintained by a private maintenance company, meaning people living in the area would pay an extra charge.
District councillor Anna Bradnam (Lib Dem, Milton and Waterbeach) felt the authorities should be “aiming towards an adoptable standard” wherever it could.
Cllr Porrer said people living in areas where the roads are not adopted could see “charges build up”, with district councillor Richard Williams (Con, Whittlesford) warning there were cases where people faced “punishing charges”.
Council officers said a lot of time had been spent looking at the maintenance management arrangement. The pointed out that the areas planned not to be adopted were small, serving only a few houses and requirements to adopt them were restrictive, while private maintenance would offer design ‘flexibility’ to “achieve better and greater things”.
District councillor Dr Tumi Hawkins (Lib Dem, Caldecote) raised concerns about the design of some of the properties, particularly the terraced homes.
She said: “In terms of design, this might be a personal thing, when you think of terraces from Victorian times they had quirky things that differentiated them.
“When I look at what’s proposed here, I’m sorry, it’s boring. There’s nothing that makes them different.”
Council officers advised that the “aesthetic appearance” of the buildings was not being dealt with at this stage.
City councillor Dave Baigent (Lab, Romsey) said there was no way for residents to cycle into the city safely.
A council officer said the development would be connected to The Tins cycle way, but Cllr Baigent claimed that there would still be an issue for people on the other side, suggesting they would have to use Coldhams Lane, which was not safe.
Council officers said the issue had been looked at “comprehensively” during the outline application stage, and the highways authority said there were appropriate off-road routes to get to the city centre, secured through Section 106 agreements.
The design code was approved by councillors, with a number of updates, including a minimum height for letter boxes on doors and a request to review the “trigger point” for the delivery of the community recycling point.
Other updates added by councillors included a requirement for the cycle ways to be usable at all times through the development process, and providing electricity and water to the community areas when events are held.
