University of Cambridge considers doubling its housing development numbers

A university representative has told councillors that they are looking to build up to 6,000 homes at Eddington

5 hours ago

The University of Cambridge is considering doubling its house building numbers in the Eddington development, from 3,000 to 6,000.

In 2013, the university got permission to build up to 3,000 homes, with plans for 50 per cent to be made available for university staff and students and 50 per cent to be sold as market housing.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, approximately 1,100 homes of the 1,800 planned homes planned have been built as part of first phase of Eddington.

The BBC reports that the university is preparing a new planning application as the time period under the 2013 permission has now passed.

Head of development, Matt Johnson said the university plans to listen to what people in the local area want and intends to design detailed plans around that.

Mr Johnson told councillors at Cambridge City Council and South Cambridge District Council the needs of an increased population would be prepared for in a a pre-application briefing.

The next phase the university is considering is increasing the density of housing. According to a representative, the university wanted to make the best use of land released from the green belt by maximising the number of homes in a “sensible” way.

Labour executive councillor for open spaces and city services Martin Smart asked why the university wanted to increase the number of homes by so much.

In reply, Matt Johnson said: “There is a significant shortage of housing in Cambridge. Where we have land available for development I think it is appropriate to maximise that within sensible bounds.”

He added that building more homes would improve the financials for the university since Eddington had not been a “financial success”.