Demolition for Botanic Place development to start – but work on the Flying Pig pub won’t happen yet

Demolition work around the Flying Pig pub in Cambridge is due to start this week as part of the planned £500million Botanic Place development, the developer has said.

The site in Hills Road is due to be redeveloped to build one five-storey and one seven-storey office block, with the pub retained.

Hoardings will be put up around the site this week, but work on the pub is not due to start yet.

However, the developer has pledged that the Flying Pig will be reopened “as early as possible”.

The popular pub closed its doors in October 2021 while a battle took place over redevelopment plans for the office block around it.

A planning application to demolish the pub was originally approved by the city council back in 2007, as part of a development to build 156 new homes, as well as offices and shops.

In 2020 Pace Ltd submitted new plans to the city council, proposing to keep the pub, but looking to build new office buildings around it.

These plans were refused by the city council in 2021 after councillors raised concerns about the size of the new buildings next to Cambridge University Botanic Garden.

However, this decision was overturned after an appeal was made to the Planning Inspectorate. The site was then sold to Railpen - the investment manager for the railways pensions schemes - which worked on the new proposals with development manager Socius.

A representative of the developer confirmed that demolition work around the Flying Pig pub is due to start this week. However, the “restoration and renovation” work, which includes works to the pub, will begin after the wider demolition works have been completed.