Frequently asked questions
Below you can find responses to the most common questions you may have on the revised proposals.
Retailers
We can’t relocate all the retailers, but we are working hard to move the retailers that the majority of people would like to see retained.
We don’t think so. There are already some empty units and some of the existing retailers would like to relocate to smaller spaces. We also shared our initial thoughts for Cambridge Retail Park in June which included a plan outlining plans for new, extended and refurbished stores. You can see this here.
The successful relocation of several retailers to Cambridge Retail Park will mean the retention of many of these jobs. In addition, the Beehive Centre redevelopment will create over 6,000 new jobs, over 2,000 will be entry-level to mid-level jobs that will require no specialist qualification and would provide on the job training for people looking to enter the labour market, re-train or develop new skills.
It is correct that we will be re-locating the supermarkets to Cambridge Retail Park. However, we will also be including at least one small format supermarket in the Beehive. Meaning in the future you can buy your day-to-day essentials from the Beehive and do a larger weekly / fortnightly shop at Cambridge Retail Park – our plans to introduce a direct pedestrian route through the Beehive and upgrade Coldham’s Lane roundabout will also make it much easier and more pleasant journey.
We have undertaken a strategic assessment of Cambridge Retail Park and believe that its location, access and age make it the best site to consolidate a mix of larger shops, food, drink, and leisure spaces.
We don’t believe so and we have partnered with Indie Cambridge (a membership organisation for independent businesses in Cambridge) to create a vibrant and popular destination for local people that caters for all budgets, provides independent retail to complement existing facilities and contributes to the success of the city.
At the moment, we have two large predominantly ‘big box’ retailer parks next door to each other. There are already empty units on Cambridge Retail Park, and we have tenants actively looking to downsize. Whilst there are currently no vacancies on the Beehive, several of the tenants are on very favourably terms with either short leases or below market rent – it is therefore highly likely that some of these retailers would consider their space needs if a rent or lease review was to take place.
Therefore, we think the best long-term move is to consolidate retailers onto one excellent retail park and in doing so free up a significant brownfield site for a different kind of offer.
No, we don’t think this will be possible. The existing gym operator is on a short lease and does not wish to renew based on a longer lease and market rent. We will be including a new gym on the Beehive, but it will not include a swimming pool – swimming pools are very costly to run and very few gym operators now include a pool facility in their offer.
The challenging retail picture is not unique to us, but we believe our proposal is very different – from the number of retail opportunities and community facilities to our approach to supporting local businesses and community groups.
Housing
We understand the housing challenge that Cambridge is facing; but the city requires a range of development, such as the commercial one we are proposing, and we believe the facilities and jobs coming forward through the Beehive Centre redevelopment will help ensure the right infrastructure is in place to support current and future housing delivery on other sites.
The site is currently an employment site, and our proposals meet the Council’s own policies, which require development other than housing.
This is an important question, and we have looked closely at this to improve accessibility and add capacity to the transport network.
The Beehive Centre is well located in relation to existing and future population. Major housing growth in the Greater Cambridge area is centred around key locations that are well connected, including:
- Cambridge Urban Area, with developments such as Orchard Park
- Cambridge Fringe, such as Darwin Green and Cherry Hinton
- New Settlements, such as Northstowe, Waterbeach and plans for Marshall Airfield.
The Council is also forming a new Local Plan for the period up to 2040 which allocates other sites to deliver housing, and in January last year the Council identified that further additional housing-need would be catered for across three sites– Cambridge East, Addenbrooke’s South Expansion and North East Cambridge.
We are proposing major improvements to sustainable transport infrastructure, alongside other infrastructure committed by the County Council and Greater Cambridgeshire Partnership, including a much-increased bus provision.
Lab Space
The demand for this kind of research space in Cambridge outstrips the supply available. The innovation sector is one of Cambridge’s strengths, contributing to the growth of the local economy and jobs across a range of levels – from entry-level to senior positions.
The knowledge-intensive sector is one of the city’s great strengths, growing year after year. This makes the city’s whole economy more resilient than other areas of the country. Life-changing treatments, research and innovations are happening day in day out in these buildings, but we do understand that these new spaces must support Cambridge as a whole.
Life Science and innovation businesses do not exist in isolation and a new generation of researchers and scientists is emerging, who wish to work in city centre locations and be surrounded by places offering a range of things to ear, see and do.
The proposals are to deliver office / lab space of a quality that is not commonly available in Cambridge currently. Occupiers are seeking high quality design, with outdoor space, and good access to amenities to assist in attracting and retaining talent.
It is not uncommon to have commercial science buildings local to residential areas. As part of the early design there are several aspects that will be considered carefully, including:
- Fume extract exhausts will be compliant with BS 14175, terminating 1.25 times the highest point of the building with a discharge velocity of 10m/s to ensure adequate fume dispersion from the site and surrounding area.
- A computational fluid dynamics site model will be carried out as part of the detailed design to ensure adequate fume dispersion from the site and surrounding area.
- Tenants will be required to carry out COSHH risk assessments on all exhausted fumes and provide additional scrubbing systems for abatement of fumes prior to exhaust.
- Fume extract COSHH risk assessments that determines exhaust fumes to be excessively hazardous will not be permitted on the site.
- Acoustic assessment and attenuation will be provided to ensure required background noise levels are achieved.
Air quality would not exceed WHO (World Health Organisation) limits on air quality cleanliness. This would take into consideration adjacency of residential buildings, prevailing weather, and fume extract discharge.
Mill Road Conservation Area
Changes in scale such as those proposed here are not unusual within cities and similar examples can be found within Cambridge (CB1, Iron / Timberworks, Devonshire Gardens to name a few). The important thing is that the scale is managed so that a suitable transition between old and new can be created and that taller buildings are distanced from site boundaries to create a sensible condition with neighbours and the wider city.
SILVERWOOD CLOSE & ST MATTHEW’S GARDENS
Building 1 had already been reduced to 2+1 storeys at the point of submission last year. The site of the building is very heavily constrained with existing trees and the relationship with both Coldham’s Lane and Silverwood Close.
Changing our previous design principles for this building has created a building with a much-improved relationship to Silverwood Close because of a very well set-back upper floor and plant. The massing changes greatly enhance the retained sense of openness over the submission scheme, and we will retain the same design code controls that will limit outward views from the upper floor for the building.
In summer we are expecting very little shadowing with any shadowing at the nearest part of gardens being limited to the morning. This change is not out of keeping within an urban area.
In spring and winter, we do expect some shading to occur, but this will be limited to the morning due to the location of the new buildings relative to the gardens. This change is not out of keeping within an urban area.
The proposed access road remains adjacent to the boundary with Silverwood Close, much like the existing centre. It should be noted that there will be c. 7,400 fewer vehicle movements along this road every weekday and c. 9,200 fewer vehicle movements along this road every Saturday.
YORK STREET / ROPE WALK
Whilst plots 7 & 8 are fundamentally different from those in the 2023 submission, it is true that the tallest elements have not been reduced in height. Through 3D testing using Vu City, it was determined that the distance between houses and the taller elements of these buildings (c.34m for plot 7 and c.38m for plot 8) achieved suitable visual separation between these buildings and gardens, an effect that will be enhanced by the improved green boundary proposed in the latest scheme.
We anticipate this to be largely in line with original findings. As the proposals sit to the north-east of York Street, any change in light levels will be limited to the morning hours.
We anticipate this to be largely in line with original findings. As the proposals sit to the north-east of York Street, any change in light levels will be limited to the morning hours
Sunlight and Daylight
There has been a survey undertaken from within the Beehive Centre boundary where all visible windows and elevations were measured. These were combined with a 3D topographical model, which includes buildings, to build up a detailed test model. Where elevations were obscured at time of survey, the daylight and sunlight advisory team have taken reasonable assumptions based on the best available information.
Testing has been undertaken by an expert who has modelled the impact to all surrounding properties. This is done to a British Standard. It is a report that is part of the planning application to be reviewed and verified.
URBAN HEAT ISLAND EFFECT
The key measures include:
- Light coloured material palette which is being included in parameter plans
Selecting building materials with a higher ‘albedo’, which is the metric for how much incoming radiation is reflected by a material surface, will minimise the absorption and slow release of heat. - Aiming for cool roofs
Selecting roof materials which are light in colour, a ‘cool roof’, which are typically better at reflecting incoming radiation. - Careful approach to massing
Ensure buildings are not situated too close together to minimise the absorption/release of heat energy directly between buildings and enabling air flow. Note this is shown in the current site layout, so should be retained moving forward. - Urban greening
The current proposed schemes contain various areas of trees and green space, representing a significant increase compared the existing Beehive Centre.
Transport
Level differences between the bridge and site and third-party land ownership issues prevent the provision of a new site access adjacent to the Coldham’s Lane bridge.
The proposed development will result in significant reductions to vehicle trips on the local highway network, particularly at weekends, as such traffic levels are anticipated to drop on Coldham’s Lane.
A combined trip generation assessment exercise has been undertaken which considers the potential relocation of a number of retailers from Beehive to Cambridge Retail Park. The assessment indicates that, following the redevelopment of both sites, an overall net reduction in vehicle movements is expected on the local highway network.
We feel that the CYCLOPS junction layout presents the best possible option for prioritising the directness and safety of crossing Coldham’s Lane by pedestrians and cyclists, without causing significant delays to vehicles.
As the site access design is developed, lessons learned from the existing CYCLOPS junctions will be incorporated into the design to ensure the access provided offers the very best option for all users.
The proposed development will result in significant reductions to vehicle trips on the local highway network, particularly at weekends, as such traffic levels are anticipated to drop on Newmarket Road.
It is anticipated that on routes including Devonshire Road, Kingston Street and Ainsworth Street, peak hour pedestrian trips will experience uplifts from existing levels of use by up to 26 movements per hour in each direction.
Similarly, cycle movements are anticipated to increase in peak hours by 48 additional arrivals and 50 additional departures during peak hours on the roads between the site and Cambridge Station.
Improvements to the walking and cycling space across Coldham’s Lane bridge have been investigated at length as part of the off-site improvement measures considered as part of the development.
Unfortunately, significant improvement to the bridge is unrealistic given the likely cost and existing constraints at this location – it is considered that significant improvements would require a new structure which would likely cost upwards of £10m.
A new public bus service to Milton Park & Ride – 2 buses operating every 15 minutes (potential increase from 300 seats per hour to 375 seat per hour in peak hours one-way).
Increased frequency of Newmarket Road Park & Ride services – 2 additional buses (increase from 450 seats per hour to 600 seats per hour in peak hours one-way).
Extension of Newmarket Park & Ride service to Cambridge Station.
Dedicated bus services to local towns including St Neots, Huntingdon, St Ives and Ely - 6 vehicles, providing two journeys on three routes at occupation rising to 9 vehicles and three journeys on three routes (total increase of 675 seats per hour in each direction).
The bus improvements above would result in a net increase of 225 Park & Ride bus seat an hour in each direction from the Milton Road/Newmarket Road Park & Rides and an additional 675 bus seats for out-of-town bus services.
Off-site improvements are proposed where possible to enhance and increase capacity for pedestrians and cyclists – pedestrian comfort level assessments have been undertaken for these routes and it is considered that the proposed development would not have a detrimental impact on the operation and capacity of these routes.
Construction
As the project progresses, we will work with the local community on the construction management plan, keep you regularly updated and have a dedicated point of contact throughout.
We understand that those living or working closest to the development may have specific concerns or wishes in relation to the construction period, and we will work to ensure these are understood.
We understand there were concerns after the construction of the Beehive Centre in the 1970s. However, construction, and in particular piling techniques, have moved on considerably and we are confident that know disruption will be caused.
We will also install vibration monitors to offer additional reassurance.