New Cambridge science building looks like "angry hippo"

Councillors have delayed planning consent and asked the developer to think again.

Councillors from Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council have deferred making a decision on plans to demolish and redevelop an office building on Milton Road.

The replacement building was proposed to offer office and laboratory space, which the developer said there was "strong demand" for in the city.

A cafe was also proposed for both future employees and the public to use.

The new building was also proposed to provide 45 car parking spaces and 313 cycle parking spaces.

What the applicant, Kadans Science Partner 9 Limited, had to say:

“The scheme provides job creation, when this building is fully occupied this building will provide up to 800 jobs of which 40 per cent are expected to be less than degree qualified, giving opportunities to all areas of the community.

“During construction we estimate that this will employ 200 jobs and a preferred contractor is committed to support local communities and colleges.

“The community benefits for the scheme is to provide a new community cafe for both the employees and the community to enjoy.”

The proposed building would sit within North East Cambridge, an area of the city where the city and district councils have set out hopes to create jobs and build thousands of new homes.

At a council meeting on October 18 2023, Councillor Katie Porrer said she thought the building looked like an “angry hippo” and described the layout as “all backwards”.

A suggestion was made to defer making a decision on the application in order to ask the developer to look at making potential changes to the plans to address some of the councillor concerns.