New Council Houses Planned For East Road

40 homes proposed for site on the corner of East Road and St Matthew’s Street opposite the Grafton,

The site was previously occupied by ageing council-owned garages, which were demolished after sustaining storm damage last year.

Two options for the site have been approved, subject to planning applications, with varying proportions of affordable housing depending on further work to assess the viability of the two options, and how they would be funded.

The council is hoping to deliver a scheme consisting of 100% affordable one-, two- and three-bedroom flats built on the site in two separate blocks.
 
All the new homes built will be highly sustainable and low-energy, with features included to manage overheating and reduce water consumption, and for homes to be gas-free and contain triple-glazed windows and underfloor heating.
 
In addition, as part of the proposals, space will be available for commercial use, there will be planting and landscaping to encourage biodiversity and improvements will be made to the adjacent existing council-managed housing estate following further discussions with residents about what improvements they would prefer. 

Cllr Gerri Bird, Executive Councillor for Housing, said: “Approval for these new homes to be built marks another milestone in our programme to build new council homes. Housing like this is much needed in Cambridge, and pledging to build it in a sustainable way will help us meet our aim to be a net zero carbon council by 2030. The modern, energy-efficiency measures we will include in these homes will make them much more comfortable and affordable for tenants.
 
“This project will also give us an opportunity to make improvements to the nearby housing estates at the same time. We look forward to speaking again to residents nearby about ideas for improvements, and to sharing more details of the wider proposals very soon.”
 
The proposals for the site were approved at the council’s Housing Scrutiny Committee meeting on 24 January. It is hoped that a planning application will be submitted later this spring and that further work will be carried out to develop the plans.