Plans for Lockton House in Cambridge approved by councillors

Plans to demolish and redevelop Lockton House in Cambridge have been approved by councillors.

Planning permission was sought from Cambridge City Council to demolish office block in Clarendon Road along with 1 and 2 Brooklands Avenue and replace them with two new office buildings, a café and underground parking.

More than 60 residents and businesses objected to the proposals from Prudential UK and Wrenbridge.

They said the plans were overdevelopment and would harm the character and appearance of the conservation area.

Francesca Leadlay, who has campaigned against the proposal, told the meeting: “These buildings are out of scale, and out of character for the conservation area.”

She continued: “This is overdevelopment due to inappropriate scale, height and excessive massing both which would have an adverse impact on the living conditions of neighbours and would harm the character and appearance of the conservation area.”

County councillor Linda Jones added her objections: “This development is on the edge of a valued conservation area where increased traffic noise and pollution have already impacted our quality of life for residents. Previous developments have had a cumulative negative impact, and its own terms, this over development adds significant further negative impacts.”

Developers argued there is a need for high-quality office space which cannot be achieved by redeveloping the current building.

Paul Eaton, speaking on behalf of architects Allies and Morrison, said: “Our proposal is broken into a number of varied and carefully detailed brick forms with house-like pitched roofs that are stepped down in height towards its residential neighbours. Our proposal has been very carefully designed from the outset to reintegrate the site into its conservation area setting.”

Mr Eaton said the firm had ‘carefully considered’ the option of refurbishment.

“The team’s assessment concluded that it will produce a design that was compromised, physically, with very low ceiling heights and environmentally when both embodied energy and operational carbon emissions per occupant are assessed over the long term,” he said.

The application was heard by Cambridge City Council’s planning committee today (Wednesday, April 21). It had been recommended by council officers for approval.

Four councillors voted to approve the plans after several hours of discussion. Two councillors abstained from voting while one councillor voted against the proposal.

Read more:

Residents’ anger over plans to demolish Lockton House in Cambridge