Note: This service for readers of this email and blog brings you news of planning applications in Queen Edith’s, along with details on how to provide your opinions on the applications to the council planning committee. All feedback on this service is welcome.
Where is the planning application for?
283 Queen Ediths Way, on the corner with Cherry Hinton Road opposite the Robin Hood pub
What do they want to do?
Demolish a bungalow and replace it with four three-storey blocks of flats (12 flats in total).
What does the site look like at the moment?
The bungalow is hidden behind trees on both Queen Edith’s Way and Cherry Hinton Road. The photos below from Google Street View/Google Earth show the view from Queen Edith’s Way and from the air above Cherry Hinton Road.
What will the new properties look like?
There are no photorealistic visualisations from the road shown in the application (which as I’ve said before here, is really unacceptable nowadays). However, from the colour plan of the site and the line drawing elevations (below), it would appear that the dense conifer screening is to be removed and the site completely opened up to show the new flats with just a few trees remaining.
The vehicle access to the site will be from Cherry Hinton Road, with six car parking spaces provided. The Queen Edith’s Way entrance will be for pedestrians or bikes.
When is the last date for people to comment?
Fri 24 Nov 2017
Where is there more information available?
? Click here to read all the documents on the application.The main document is “DESIGN AND ACCESS STATEMENT”. Click on the tiny square icon next to this to read the document.
? Click here to read any public comments already made.
How do I make a comment to the council planning committee?
? Click here to add your own comment online.
Note: you will need to log in or register first.
or
? Click here to email your comments to the case officer, Charlotte Burton. You must quote reference 17/1757/FUL.
As well as commenting to the council, you may also wish to comment below, for other local residents to read.
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12 well-insulated residences (in easy cycling range of facilities) instead of one probably badly-insulated residence sounds fairly sensible to me. That could take 20 cars (120m worth) out of the queue on Fulbourn rd. Most UK housing stock needs to be completely refurbed or knocked down and replaced in the next 20 years if we are to have any chance of hitting our emissions targets in an equitable manner. It’s much easier to do a good job if you knock them down and start again, and is lower-carbon too in the medium term.
The scale of this problem is huge and we have started very late, but at least this would be one fixed. A few more on QEW have already been refurbed. Most probably still need doing.
Too many people are in denial about the sort of radical changes that decarbonisation implies.
I’m not instinctively against it either, as long as the privacy of the neighbouring house is respected (or even improved). However, I would like to see much of the conifer screening retained. Indeed, were I an owner of one of the flats, I’d quite appreciate having that between me and a very busy junction, just as the existing bungalow owner does.
Demolition and rebuild can provide a residence with a lower energy demand than existing housing stock if built to a good standard. The problem is that many new houses are often very poorly built, require signifcant energy and carbon emissions to construct and have very questionable architectural merit. The materials employed are usually the cheapest available. Couple this with the frequently poorly trained workforce, modern housing construction is a lottery and not a panacea for reducing carbon emissions.
Compare 1930s houses where existing windows may still be in good condition, particularly if the frames are from hardwood, with modern plastic double glazing which has a design life of 15 to 20 years. Older houses require maintenance which is an anathema for many. An older property which has been appropriately insulated and maintained with energy saving devices fitted, can be far more effective than a modern house at saving energy. It can also be less expensive over its design life.
Yes to both new and old buildings, but no to new builds unless the old structure is beyond economic repair.
If anyone wants to help meet emissions targets and has something that does not work, take it to the Cambridge Repair Cafe next weekend, 11 November. Details at https://www.transitioncambridge.org/wiki/TTSkillshare/NextRepairCafe