Council houses could be lost in estate rebuild

Hanover Court and Princess Court in Cambridge are earmarked for demolition

A city housing estate built in the 1960s could be knocked down to make way for new flats.

Developers said they wanted to replace Hanover Court and Princess Court in Cambridge with homes built to modern standards.

The total number of dwellings would increase under the Cambridge Investment Partnership's plans, from 127 to 165, but the number of affordable homes would fall.

Katie Porrer, a Liberal Democrat councillor on Cambridge City Council, said this had "caused some concern" among local people.

She added that she had "pushed very hard for a like-for-like replacement" on the number of council homes at the site while speaking at a meeting between councillors and the Cambridge Investment Partnership on Thursday.

Developers said that the overall floorspace of the 72 homes designated as affordable housing would be greater than that of the 82 existing council homes.

However, council documents showed they had "not yet provided any details" as to how many of the new affordable homes would be council houses – with rent paid to the local authority – versus how many would be available on the private rental market, but at a lower cost, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Cambridge Investment Partnership – which is run by Cambridge City Council and The Hill Group housing company – is yet to formally request planning permission for the new homes. It suggested it may do so by the end of the month.

Hanover Court and Princess Court have previously been earmarked for redevelopment by the authority, which said they were in a "really poor state" and required overnight patrols because they do not meet fire safety standards.

Five new blocks of flats could replace them, each between four and six storeys high, which developers said would have a smaller footprint overall than the current buildings.

An artist's impression of the new housing estate due to replace Hanover Court and Princess Court

They also want to increase the number of cycle parking spaces from 52 to 247, with the only car parking spaces reserved for those occupying the four flats designed to meet access requirements for people with disabilities.

A new communal garden and children's play area were also in the plans.

Despite this, developers said that they would be unable to meet the council's requirement for 20% biodiversity net gain on site, as 13 trees would have to be cut down to enable the demolition of the current flats.

But they said they would plant new trees on site and increase biodiversity elsewhere in Cambridge.