The North West Cambridge site will create yet another new community on the outskirts of the city

A MASSIVE development on the outskirts of Cambridge has to focus on the future of the university, despite councillor concerns about the lack of affordable housing.

North West Cambridge will provide 3,000 homes, alongside 2,000 students beds, a hotel and a community centre, but none of the houses will be classed as ‘affordable’ for the general public, prompting 
concerns about affordable housing quotas.

At a briefing by the team behind the development, Cllr Ben Shelton reminded developers there was a shortage of affordable housing in the area.

“I am fully aware this is a university application but it strikes me that there is no provision for social housing which is desperately needed in the city and its surroundings,” he said.

While 1,500 homes will be sold on the open market, the remainder will be limited to the university’s ‘key workers’.

But the university is well within its rights to limit affordable housing allocation as the planning policy for the development stresses the purpose of the site is to secure the 
university’s future prospects.

Normally, developments in Cambridge must meet a 40 per cent affordable housing level, but a site-specific 
plan said if the land were to be removed from the green 
belt, it must be used for the 
university’s benefit.

Paul Barnes, from the 
university project team, told Cambridge First: “The site could only be taken out of the green belt in the circumstances as it is vital for the long-term future of the university.

“The site must be used to support the university, it could not be used for anything else.”

He said the 1,500 homes secured for ‘key workers’ would be rented at subsidised rates.

Dr Jonathan Nicholls, the university’s registrar, said the homes would be predominantly for people new to the area.

In a housing statement submitted to Cambridge City Council, the university said such worker accommodation was “critical” for the future recruitment prospects of the university. The statement also set out six-tiered priority groups for the accommodation, all for people related to the university.