Hundreds of homes earmarked for near leisure park

3 hours ago

Phil ShepkaCambridgeshire political reporter

Cambridge Leisure Park hosts a hotel, cinema and a number of shops and restaurants

Phil Shepka/BBC Cambridge Leisure Park, with a path and grassed area through the centre of it. To the left is the edge of a hotel. To the right are shops and a cinema. A big sign saying "Cambridge Leisure" in the foreground shows the different facilities based at the site. There are some people walking around and many bikes are parked near the shops. — Cambridge Leisure Park hosts a hotel, cinema and a number of shops and restaurants

The redevelopment of a leisure park could see 300 new homes built and an upgraded music and performing arts venue, according to council proposals.

Cambridge Leisure Park currently includes a hotel, car park, restaurants, cinema and bowling alley, as well as the Cambridge Junction, which hosts concerts and events.

A policy in the proposed Greater Cambridge Local Plan hopes the ideas for land off Clifton Road - which include the park and Junction - "reinforces the role of the area as a cultural and leisure destination for the region".

Subject to approval by councillors, the Local Plan will undergo a final round of public consultation in August and September before it is submitted to government.

The Local Plan is a legal document councils have to prepare setting out the future use of land and will shape how the whole Greater Cambridge area grows over the next 20 years.

The plan documents state the Clifton Road land would be "comprehensively redeveloped through a master-planned approach, delivering a high-quality, mixed-use quarter".

"At the heart of a comprehensive masterplan would be an upgraded music and performing arts venue [Cambridge Junction], providing a mix of performance space, workshop studios and a dedicated nightclub," it said.

It said that "opportunities should be explored to maintain [the Junction's] ability to operate whilst redevelopment occurs".

The proposals stated: "Residential development will need to be carefully located to protect residential amenity and outlook from existing and proposed uses."

The plan said a proposed eastern entrance to Cambridge Central railway station - as part of East West Rail - "would be a significant factor in unlocking the full potential of land at Clifton Road".

A spokesperson for Greater Cambridge Shared Planning said in the area there were "multiple leaseholders and landowners" and were "anticipating proposals for development in this area to come forward across multiple planning applications and over several years".

They said the proposed policy "intends to ensure that any future development would recognise the current uses that people value - including the performance space, leisure and hospitality provision - but also to require that any future development would bring the benefits of other complementary uses including providing new homes, workplaces and green space."

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