Crown Estate urged to add more homes to park plan

The plans for a mixed development of housing and laboratories could create 5,000 jobs, according to owner the Crown Estate

Concerns have been raised that the redevelopment of a business park would not include enough houses for a city with "a housing crisis".

The Crown Estate wants to transform Cambridge Business Park, on Milton Road, Cambridge, into a mixed-use district, including at least 350 homes and a high street.

Councillors from Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council told the developer the area action plan for the site included an expectation of 500 homes.

Matt Sampson, development director at The Crown Estate, said the ambition was to go above 350 homes, but he did not want to overcommit at this stage.

The business park owner outlined its plans at the council's joint development management committee meeting on Wednesday, as reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Councillors heard the Crown Estate was taking an "experimental approach to the masterplan", and heard about proposals to turn an empty office block in the park into an innovation hub with a rooftop farm and to turn a car park into a modular laboratory building.

The councillors supported the Crown Estate's plans to site more accessible and the amount of green space proposed.

Katie Thornburrow, a Labour councillor on Cambridge City Council, said: "We have a housing crisis in Cambridge and if you are not going to provide [500 homes], I would like to know why."

Mr Sampson said more details on house numbers will be included in pre-application meetings, before an outline application for the redevelopment is formally submitted next year.

The Crown Estate is an independent company that belongs to the monarch for the duration of their reign, with a £16bn portfolio of property that spans the country.

Its profit is delivered to the Treasury, which decides the annual payment to the King, known as the Sovereign Grant.