Extensive plans to build 1,200 new homes in the south of the city were given the go ahead this week. Permission has been granted to the Trumpington Meadows Land Company (TMLC) by Cambridgeshire City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council to build on the 72 acre site, which lies approximately 3.5km south of the city centre.

Taking in land either side of the M11 and running adjacent to the southern edge of the existing built-up area of Trumpington, the development will create four different housing “quarters”: Village, Gateway, Urban and Riverside. Each will be characterised by the design of buildings, their height, density and car parking.

The plans will also see the creation of a 60 hectare county park, a 360 place primary school and leisure facilities including a running track and football pitch.

This the first and largest scheme in a long term project targeted at the ‘Southern Fringe’. Developers aim to create 4,000 new homes to the south of the city in the next 14 years, with further plots at Clay Farm, South Trumpington and the Bayer Site, Hauxton already purchased with this target in mind.

The plans have been met with widespread support

Trumpington Meadows Land Company, a partnership between Universities Superannuation Scheme Ltd and the Casino and Property developer Grosvenor, acquired the former Monsanto site in August 2004. The plans were widely supported when first introduced in 2006 for breathing life into an area of Cambridge known simply for allotment plots and bare fields.

The council’s approval has been met with widespread support from local residents and officials. Both have praised a number of planning decisions by the TMLC, such as the extensive use of Brownfield land and the ‘quad’ shape itself which, despite the vast area it covers, never encroaches closer than 2km on any recognised conservation sites.

However, the planned developments have also prompted concerns about the level of affordable housing, transport infrastructure and parking spaces proposed to meet the influx of residents. A 30% affordable housing target set by planners has been condemned by councillors who want to see a 40% minimum. Despite the Trumpington Park and Ride scheme running through the site, predictions estimate 58% of residents’ journeys would be made by car. Speaking to the Cambridge News on the issue of parking provisions, County Councillor Nichola Harrison said: “If there is any question of any house being provided with three parking spaces, I’m dead against it.”

Craig Hogg