Councillors on the Parish Council’s Planning and Development Committee have unanimously agreed to recommend the proposals for the Kendal Court development are refused.
The decision was made at an Extraordinary Meeting held on Tuesday evening (27 January), convened specifically to consider the controversial application.
The scheme from This Land – a company wholly owned by Cambridgeshire County Council – proposes 28 apartments and retail units on the current Station Stores site. The development would require demolishing the existing Station Stores building and premises occupied by Stebbings Funeral Service. Both businesses are currently open as usual.
Fifty-one residents have formally commented on the proposals using the Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Service portal. While 48 have submitted objections, two expressed “neutral” views towards the plans and one supports them.
Views
Residents also had the opportunity to publicly share their views with H&I Parish Councillors at Tuesday’s meeting. The lack of parking with just four parking spaces, building on flood plain and overlooking were among the concerns raised.
Former Parish Councillor Tom McKeown spoke in favour of the application, explaining the proposals align with policies in the Histon & Impington Neighbourhood Plan aimed at generating more diversity in housing. He highlighted a need for housing to accommodate younger and smaller households, which Kendal Court could help address.
Tom also offered an insight into national and local policies around car ownership in new developments and was in favour of the scheme’s low-car concept.
Councillors are now reviewing and commenting on an AI-generated document that sets out the formal grounds for refusal, which will be submitted as part of the formal consultation process. A final decision on the scheme will be made by South Cambridgeshire District Council’s Planning Committee at a later date.
During the Committee debate, Councillor Sarah Allen emphasised the importance of reflecting residents’ concerns in the Council’s response. Councillor Aga Cahn felt the proposed building design was out of keeping with the surrounding area. Members also noted concerns around delivery vehicle access and objections raised by Cambridgeshire County Council’s Highways department.
Surface water concerns
Cambridgeshire County Council, acting as the lead local flood authority, and Anglian Water have both objected to proposals to discharge surface water from the development into a foul sewer.
Anglian Water confirmed that the existing sewerage network could accommodate the anticipated foul water flows. However, it stated that the foul sewer “does not have the capacity to accommodate the surface water discharge from the proposed site” and is “not designed or permitted to accept these flows”.
In its submission to planners, Anglian Water warned that directing surface water into the foul sewer would “impose a high risk of flooding and pollution” and could “compromise the ability of assets to operate within statutory enforced permitted limits”.
The water company also noted that it has assets within or close to the site boundary which could affect the development’s layout. In addition, Anglian Water is currently issuing temporary objections to planning applications until a strategy is in place to increase capacity at the Greater Cambridge water recycling centre.
The proposals for Kendal Court are available on the Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Service’s planning portal.
READ MORE: Concerns over ‘sheer lack of parking’ in Kendal Court proposals, New plans for Station Stores site made public, Funeral director told to leave premises of 21 years for new development
