Decision on new hotel on edge of Cambridge due next week
The six-storey building would be built at Orchard Park
Last updated 8th Feb 2024
A decision date has been set for plans to build a new six-storey hotel on the edge of Cambridge.
Councillors at South Cambridgeshire District Council are due to consider the proposals at a planning committee meeting next week (14/2).
The new hotel is proposed to be built on one of the remaining sections of land in the Orchard Park development on the edge of the city.
The plans for the hotel were put forward by TLC Group, which is proposing to make the hotel six-storeys tall, reaching a total height of 24.4metres.
The rooms are due to be a mixture of standard hotel rooms and aparthotel rooms for longer staying guests, with the split proposed to be 137 hotel rooms and 80 aparthotel rooms.
A restaurant, bar, cafe are also planned, as well as a gym and swimming pool.
A co-working office area is proposed to be created, alongside two conference rooms and individual meeting rooms that will be available to hire
A basement car park is planned including 178 car parking spaces, 16 of which would be wheelchair accessible.
The development also proposed to offer 124 visitor cycle parking spaces, as well as 30 secure cycle parking spaces.
A report published by the district council ahead of the planning meeting reveals that some concerns about the project have been raised by landscape officers at the authority.
It said: “The landscape team maintains concerns regarding the scale of development, and the effects of the development on sensitive local visual receptors.”
Objections to the development have also been raised by the Orchard Park Community Council, which has listed a number of concerns.
These include the potential for there to be an increase in cars travelling around the area to go to the hotel, gym, pool and restaurant.
The council also argued the amount of parking was “inadequate”, highlighting that pavement parking was a problem in the area and raised worries the new hotel could “exacerbate” this problem.
In the report planning officers said the amount of car parking spaces proposed is less than the standards set out by the district council in its current local plan.
However, they said the transport assessment team did not expect the hotel to cause overspill parking into surrounding roads.
Overall, planning officers said they recommended the application to be approved, subject to a series of conditions.
The report said: “It has been demonstrated that the proposal can assimilate successfully into its surrounding context without causing any harm.
“The proposal has been through a series of pre-application and design enabling panel iterations that officers consider have led to a well-designed scheme.
“The proposal would have economic benefits through the creation of local employment opportunities within the area from the operation of the hotel, aparthotel, recreation and conference facilities.
“Social benefits would accrue from financial contributions towards local infrastructure, the improvements to the range of accommodation facilities in the area and the provision of recreational facilities for the general public.
“The purchasing of habitat units would ensure that the scheme delivers a biodiversity net gain.”