King’s College accommodation plans set for nod

Plans to redevelop a site to provide graduate rooms and family accommodation for students attending King’s College in Cambridge are set to take a step forward.An application was lodged by Kings College Developments for the land on Barton Road in December 2018.Once complete, it would provide 60 graduate rooms and 24 apartments.The plans include the demolition of 1-12 Croft Gardens, which were built in the 1930s and are currently used as family accommodation.The property at 27 Barton Road – built between 1830 and 1889 – would be retained and could be used as communal space, including a common room, laundrette and a small library.Three new buildings would form a crescent. The two structures running perpendicular to the road would provide family accommodation, while the block to the south and another building adjacent to 29 Barton Road would be used as graduate rooms.The project in its current form comes after an application for a similar development was withdrawn. This proposed the demolition of all the buildings on the site and was not supported by a number of consultees, including Cambridge’s conservation team and Historic England.The proposals initially went before Cambridge City Council’s planning committee on 11 June, but a decision was deferred after concerns were raised over parking controls, proposed fencing and whether the development should include affordable housing.Officers have since concluded there is sufficient parking on the site to prevent on-street parking. Landscape plans have also been amended and affordable housing is not required.A document filed ahead of a Cambridge City Council planning meeting tomorrow (7 August 2019) said: The applicant is considered to have made a compelling case for the demolition of Croft gardens.It added that “the proposal is not considered to have any significant adverse impact on surrounding neighbouring properties”.Final approval is subject to the completion of a section 106 agreement.