Cambridge student scheme set for green light

Planning permission to demolish an office building in Cambridge to make way for a student accommodation scheme comprising more than 243 rooms has been recommended for approval.Mount Pleasant House is an office building and car park measuring 1.4 acres. The development dates back to 1979 and sits on the corner of Castle Street to the north and Mount Pleasant to the east.The building is arranged over four main floors of office space, below which is an undercroft car parking area for approximately 145 cars.Planning permission is sought for the demolition of the Mount Pleasant House and the erection of college accommodation comprising 243 en-suite rooms and 24 studios, with landscaping and access. The footprint of the main proposed buildings form a ‘U’ shaped block on the front of the site facing Castle Street.Planning officers recomended the proposal for approval ahead of Cambridge City Councils planning meeting on 1 February 2017. The report stated the application would help meet the identified purpose-built student housing need. It added the design,scale and visual impact of the scheme has the support of both the council’s urban design and conservation team and the design and conservation panel.The en-suite rooms are typically arranged in clusters of eight with shared kitchen and dining facilities positioned on the corners and gables of the buildings.It is intended that the buildings would be for students with a limited number (the studios) for academic staff or postgraduate students.The application has been designed in partnership with St Edmund’s College.