Queens’ College student accommodation at the Owlstone Croft site will close for up to three years for redevelopment work.

In an email sent last Wednesday (23/04), Queens’ College Domestic Bursar Andrew Bainbridge told undergraduate students that the Owlstone Croft accommodation site would be closed from the start of next academic year, for up to three years, “due to the planned refurbishment and redevelopment”.

Bainbridge explained: “The refurbishment of Owlstone Croft is a key part of the College’s broader plan to improve student housing, including the development of new Postgraduate accommodation.” While he acknowledged that “this will be of significant change,” he hopes that it “is welcomed as we move towards a net-zero carbon estate”.

Proposals made by the College for housing development on its Owlstone Croft site have been a source of controversy for several years. The plans to construct four new accommodation blocks have previously been opposed by both students and local residents.

Queens’ was granted approval for the development on appeal in 2023, following an initial rejection by Cambridge City Council over environmental concerns. However, local residents have continued to voice concerns about the project’s impact on the nearby Paradise Nature Reserve.

A neighbourhood plan passed in a local referendum in January included regulations which, according to local councillor Jean Glasberg, “might have prevented” the redevelopment of Owlstone Croft, had it been implemented earlier.

Martha Rayner, Queens’ Environmental Officer and President of Queens’ Nature and Environment Society, told Varsity that “protecting the species of the nature reserve is crucial and campaigners are right to raise concerns, but the proposed designs now take essential adjustments to mitigate this impact.”

Rayner added: “Implementing heat pumps and improving biodiversity onsite are ultimately necessary steps for Queens’ to decarbonise, and further delays will only hamper these efforts and hurt students.”

A spokesperson for Queen’s College told Varsity: “The redevelopment scheme has always had the enhancement of biodiversity and the protection of the adjacent nature reserve at its heart. The proposal targets a 51% net gain in biodiversity, supported by detailed ecological assessments, ensuring that this vital aspect of the Newnham area is strengthened, not threatened.”

They added: “There is a misconception that the scheme poses a risk to the surrounding natural environment. In fact, the opposite is true. The development aims to create a landscape where biodiversity flourishes and the adjacent nature reserve is better protected through active stewardship.”

The spokesperson also clarified the proposed timeframe for the redevelopment project: “Our aim is to complete the project within two years, with work intended to start this summer, with the refurbishment of existing buildings. However, delays in securing the discharge of planning conditions pose a risk of extending the programme to three years, impacting the new build element. This would be a great shame, unnecessarily delaying a project that has already gone through extensive scrutiny and consultation.”