University looking at increasing density of Eddington scheme
The University of Cambridge has said it is considering delivering 6,000 homes at Eddington, north-west Cambridge - double the 3,000 that it had originally planned to build on the site.
In 2013, the university received planning permission to build up to 3,000 homes in the outskirts of Cambridge, with half of the homes designated as University of Cambridge keyworker homes, and the other half as market homes.
Around 1,100 of the 1,800 homes planned as part of the first phase of the development have now been built. A primary school has also been built and opened.
University workers have been living in 700 of the homes directly managed by the university for five years now.
At the council’s joint development control committee meeting last Tuesday, Matt Johnson, head of development at the University of Cambridge, stated that the university is nearing the 10-year expiration date for the original consent of the reserved matters planning application.
As a result, the university must renew its previous planning consent and submit a new planning application.
Architectural practice Hawkins Brown has developed an updated master plan which will pursue “additional density on the site”, as the university identified that it has capacity for more homes during the first phase of construction.
Johnson also said that the university wants to “make best use of land that is being released from the green belt”.
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Councillor Martin Smart, asked why the University of Cambridge was considering doubling its development target for the site and where water supply for the scheme will come from.
Johnson explained that this was driven by the housing shortage in Cambridge and the increased demand for key worker housing for University staff.
He also said that “assessed on traditional commercial terms, Eddington has not been a financial success for the University”. He added that increasing the number of homes on the site will lower their per unit cost for infrastructure and improve the financials.
Developers Hill Group, Durkan and Latimer have delivered homes as part of the first phase of the North West Cambridge development.
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