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Fire at historic Hauxton mill site will not delay business park plans




Fire ripped through a building at a historic water mill site in Hauxton but the owners say it will not impact on plans to develop a business park on the site.

The fire in one of the buildings at the former mill site in Hauxton. Picture: Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service (38897327)
The fire in one of the buildings at the former mill site in Hauxton. Picture: Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service (38897327)

Crews from Cambridge, Cottenham and Linton were called to the blaze near the A10 at 11.23pm on Saturday, July 18, and found a well-developed fire involving a two-storey building. Police are treating the cause of the fire as deliberate.

The site was acquired by Cambridge-based o2h in 2018 and it plans to create a business park with a community of entrepreneurs in life sciences, technology and social enterprise.

Some of the buildings at the site date back to the 16th century and are grade II-listed but Sunil Shah, CEO of o2h, said none was damaged in the fire and the derelict building that was destroyed was more modern.

Sunil Shah, CEO of o2h. (38897849)
Sunil Shah, CEO of o2h. (38897849)

He said: “The head of Hauxton Parish Council messaged me about the fire and I was worried someone could have been hurt. Once I knew nobody was hurt, I was relieved.

“At first I thought the fire was in the mill and it’s really important to protect our grade II-listed buildings, Hauxton House and the Old Mill Warehouse. They were not damaged – from a heritage point of view, no damage was done.

“The building that burned down was in the vicinity of the grade II-listed buildings but it was not listed. There’s not much of it left. It was the mill keeper’s house, it was derelict, the days for that building had already passed and the plan was to demolish it.”

He said the site has CCTV but he is concerned a further attack might target the historic buildings: “The Old Mill Warehouse is fully boarded up, it’s a safety risk for anyone entering it and we want to protect the building. We would appeal to local residents to report any suspicious incidents to police.”

Prashant Shah, executive chairman of the o2h group, inspects the damage caused by the fire. Picture: Keith Heppell. (38897064)
Prashant Shah, executive chairman of the o2h group, inspects the damage caused by the fire. Picture: Keith Heppell. (38897064)

The o2h SciTech Park will create feature co-working and biology laboratory space that will be available to entrepreneurs. As well as creating state-of-the-art office facilities, o2h plans to open a café for the public to enjoy.

Mr Shah said: “We have had planning permission for phase one for Hauxton House. We are three-quarters of the way through refurbishing that. We have had a lot of emails from local residents to say how well that is being done. We hope the building will come into use in Q4 this year.

“Phase two is the Old Mill Warehouse and the new build. All of this is under discussion with South Cambridgeshire District Council.

“We are pushing ahead as quickly as we can and the council is being supportive. We would expect permission to come through next year.”

The historic, grade II-listed water mill buildings were not affected by the blaze. Picture: Keith Heppell (38897046)
The historic, grade II-listed water mill buildings were not affected by the blaze. Picture: Keith Heppell (38897046)

The mill was operating as a commercial enterprise until the 1970s and Mr Shah said: “We have a café as part of the plans so people can come and appreciate the heritage.”

Anyone with information about the incident can submit an online report at cambs.police.uk or, alternatively, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

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