Plans to build a major new science park on an old landfill site in Cambridge have been given the green light. Cambridge City Council has approved the application for the science park and a new urban country park, planned for land south of Coldham’s Lane. Concerns had been raised about the potential health risks of building on an old landfill, but planners at the city council said measures were proposed to make sure it was safe.
The plans for the new science park development were put forward by BGO Newton Propco Limited/Mission Street. The developers said they wanted to “create a globally significant science destination that fully integrates with its neighbourhood and transforms Cambridge lives”.
Seven new office and laboratory buildings are proposed to be built, as well as a travel hub offering car and cycle parking, and a pavilion building offering community space. An urban country park has also been proposed, opening up to the public the area around the two lakes between Romsey and Cherry Hinton. The developers said the science park will create 4,000 jobs once complete.
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Artem Korolev, CEO of Mission Street, said: “Since our first consultation with local stakeholders and the Cherry Hinton community, we’ve said that this is about breaking down the barriers prevalent with traditional science parks, creating an open and inviting innovation district, and putting the science on show. This project embodies the principle that it is entirely possible to blend R&D space for world-leading innovators with community amenities that everyone can enjoy.”
The application for the development was recommended for approval by planning officers at the city council. They recognised that a recent report found there was no longer an undersupply of wet lab space up to 2030, but said there was still a shortfall in “smaller scale-up space provision” and said there was likely to remain a shortfall in wet lab commitments overall to 2041.
They said: “As a result, officers note that there is no longer an undersupply in the total amount of lab space in the short term, but that this proposal will help meet the shorter-term shortfall for smaller scale-up provision, as well as helping provide a flexible supply overall.”
Concerns about the new science park had been raised with over 100 objections being formally lodged against it. Many people shared fears about potential health impacts of building on top of an old landfill. One objector said: “Building on the landfill sites is a truly terrible idea, this site is extremely toxic and should not be disturbed.”
Another objector said: “The land on which it has been proposed to build was a landfill in the past and an unknown amount of toxic pollutants may be still held under the surface. Any disturbance to the area could cause these to surface and cause long-term damage to the families of Cherry Hinton, as well as to local wildlife and plants.”
However, planning officers said they believed the measures proposed by the developer and the planning conditions proposed would ensure it was safe. They said: “Officers consider the applicant’s extensive and ongoing assessment of contamination risks and its proposed remediation, ground improvement and foundation strategies to minimise and mitigate construction and post construction risks provide a satisfactory and competent basis upon which planning permission can be given.
“The use of planning conditions and Section 106 obligations are considered reasonable and necessary to ensure that there would be no adverse environmental or human health impacts to future users of the site, surrounding occupiers or controlled waters.”
Concerns were also shared about the potential risks of opening the lakes up to the public as part of the new urban country park. One person said: “Opening the Burnside Lakes to the public – they are too deep and steeply sides to be made publicly accessible, as a recent tragic death has made all too clear.”
Another person added that the lakes were “beautiful”, but said they were “dangerous” and “should be left for wildlife”. They said: “It would be lovely as a local resident to have access to walk around the lake without more buildings and traffic, but the recent tragic drowning highlights it’s not safe there.”
Officers said a “comprehensive” management plan for the country park would need to be created and approved by councillors before it was opened to the public. They added that this plan would need to include “a robust consideration of health and safety measures, reflecting on known issues associated with unauthorised swimming in the lakes and the tragic recent death of a young person”.
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