Cambridge United's Trumpington stadium plan quashed

Cambridge United wanted to move to a new stadium at Trumpington

A football stadium will not be part of a Cambridgeshire development plan that also includes a new 8,000-home town at the former Waterbeach barracks site.

Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire District councils said the need for the stadium was not sufficient to build it on green belt land at Trumpington.

Cambridge United had hoped to make it their new home.

The councils' growth plans for the area also include a new village of 3,500 homes at Bourn Airfield.

In addition, more houses would be built on the edge of Cambridge and Cambourne would be extended by 1,500 homes.

'Not justified'

Cambridge United's stadium at Newmarket Road is owned by the international property developer Grosvenor Homes, which wishes to redevelop it for houses.

However, the club can stay until it finds new premises.

Its plans to build a community stadium at Trumpington have now been rejected by Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire District councils.

In a statement they said the "need for the facility to justify the exceptional circumstances required to remove land from the green belt has not been demonstrated".

Pippa Corney, South Cambridgeshire District Council's cabinet member for planning policy and localism, said: "Many people have told us they favour development being focused around Cambridge or in a new town or new village and we have listened to our residents."

Tim Ward, Cambridge City Council's executive councillor for planning and climate change, said: "The new local plan for Cambridge proposes a strategy that supports the continuation of Cambridge as a compact, attractive and accessible city."

The councils said they need to build 19,000 homes in South Cambridgeshire and 14,000 homes in Cambridge by 2031 to meet population and job forecasts for the area.

At least 24,000 of those homes are already included in developments allocated for the edge of Cambridge and at Northstowe, just north of the city.