Council approves planning permission for 70 homes

There will be a mixture of two, three and four bedroom homes on the new development

A council has granted planning permission for 70 new homes to be built on the site of a former car dealership.

The plans include the construction of 28 council homes and 42 other properties at the premises on Histon Road, Cambridge, which was formerly the home to the Murketts dealership and an unused workshop area of the ATS commercial unit.

The developer is Cambridge Investment Partnership, which is a collaboration between Cambridge City Council and the housing builder, The Hill Group.

Gerri Bird, the executive councillor for housing at Cambridge City Council, said there was a "pressing need" for high quality and sustainable housing in the city.

The developers said there will be a mixture of two, three and four bedroom homes and flats.

Ms Bird, a Labour councillor and a member of the board of Cambridge Investment Partnership, said it would "address broader housing challenges, including the need for larger family homes”.

The partnership said the properties would not be on the gas network and would be designed with the aim to "reducing carbon emissions, lowering energy bills, and minimising annual maintenance costs".

Cambridge Investment Partnership said changes would be made to the neighbouring Histon Recreation Ground, but it has adapted its original plan after feedback from residents.

It said a new eastern access path would be created and a planned central path will no longer be built after safety concerns were raised over pedestrian traffic through the playground.