South Cambridgeshire District Council has refused to grant permission for new homes and shops to be built in Foxton next to the railway line.
Illustrative images of the proposed development in Foxton show one of the commercial units being used as a cafe.(Image: Laurence Haslop)
A developer has been told to go “back to the drawing board” as councillors refused to approve plans to build new homes and shops next to the railway line in Foxton. Plans to build seven new homes and three shops on the site off Royston Road, next to the level crossing, raised several concerns, including noise and the amount of parking proposed.
A house had previously stood on the site that has since been demolished, with plans approved to replace it with a single new home. The developer, Laurence Haslop, said the new plans for multiple homes and shops represented a “better scheme for the local area over next 50 years than the single dwelling already approved”.
However, planning officers at South Cambridgeshire District Council raised several concerns about the plans and recommended that the application should be refused.
Officers said “insufficient information” had been provided around drainage and highways safety impacts. They said they were therefore not confident the development would not harm highway safety or address the drainage and flood risk surrounding the site.
They also said the proposed 15 car parking spaces is not considered to be enough for the amount of development planned, and claimed it could lead to “unacceptable pressures upon on-street car parking within the vicinity”.
Officers also raised concerns about the quality of living people moving into the proposed homes would have. The report said: “Whilst the proposed development is not considered to result in any significant harm to the amenity of neighbouring occupiers, there are significant concerns regarding the amenity provision for future occupiers of the residential units proposed.
“Whilst one of the units falls below the required gross internal floor area, it is considered that insufficient information has been proposed to demonstrate that the noise impacts arising from the road, railway, and proposed retail units upon the residential units would be acceptable.
“As such, officers consider that the amenity of future occupiers of these units has not been shown to be suitably protected from the noise and disturbance created by the surrounding constraints. Overall, given that multiple significant concerns remain, officers recommend that the planning committee refuse the application.”
Concerns were also raised by members of the public. One objector told councillors at a planning committee meeting on Wednesday (February 11) that the proposals represented a “clear case of overdevelopment”.
However, Mr Haslop argued there was “nothing fundamental” that should stop the development from going ahead, and that conditions could be added to address some of the issues. He also highlighted government plans to encourage more development near railway stations.
Mr Haslop said believed 15 parking spaces would be “ample” for a development site next to the station and said surface water and flood assessment had all been submitted. He added that they had built “acoustic mitigation” into the design of the proposed development, highlighting the plans for enclosed balconies.
However, councillors said they were not convinced to go against the planning officer’s recommendation. Councillor Heather Williams said the proposal to build the development next to the A10 Foxton level crossing was “naturally going to concern people” and said she shared these concerns.
Cllr Williams said it was therefore “imperative” that whatever is built at the site is “right” and would “not make any existing issues worse”. She said: “This is nowhere near something that we should be passing. I am afraid it is back to the drawing board.”
Councillor Peter Sandford also raised concerns about the location of the proposed development. He said: “It is very close to the station, it has trains going through early morning until late in the evening, and the A10 is a very busy road, with a level crossing that backs up from time to time.
“There are a few positive points, the use of brownfield land, but I am sure there are better uses and designs that could be put forward.”
When a decision was put to a vote councillors unanimously agreed to refuse the application.
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