Owlstone Croft

Queen's College Cambridge

Access, construction and operations

Sustainable Travel

We are committed to sustainable transportation and will encourage students to use it as much as possible. We will provide a total of 200 cycle storage spaces and there will be no student parking on-site except for disabled users.

Porters will be in charge of parking management, and restrictions will be imposed allowing drop-off only. A total of ten parking spaces will be provided for this purpose, as well as for disabled users. EV charging stations will be available.

Access

Vehicular and pedestrian access would remain in the south west corner from the current historic point of access off Owlstone Road.

 

 

Cycling

Access during construction

During our engagement in June and July 2021, it was clear that access to the site during construction was one of the main issues for residents along the roads that will provide the access from the A603 Barton Road. The College is aware of the need to make sure the construction traffic and access is carefully managed to minimise impacts on parking and noise etc., as well as to make sure the highest standards of safety are maintained throughout. 

Queens’ College will strictly follow Cambridgeshire County Council’s Highway Development Management Guidance. In accordance with this guidance, an Outline Construction Traffic Management Plan (CTMP) has been produced. The Outline CTMP demonstrates how the impact of construction vehicles on the highway network could be managed and mitigated during the construction phase. 

The Outline CTMP sets out recommended measures to mitigate the impact of any construction trips, including:

  • Establishing a routeing management plan to avoid sensitive areas as far as possible;
  • Restricting the movement of construction-related vehicles to certain times of the day;
  • Safely managing interactions between construction-related vehicles and other road users;
  • Maintaining access to the local road network for other road users; and,
  • Managing construction parking to prevent unauthorised on-street parking.

The Outline CTMP aims to maximise safety for all highway users, including local residents and contractors. Should the development receive planning permission, it is anticipated that a Detailed CTMP would be secured through a planning condition and discharged as a future reserved matter.

Working with the community

We want to ensure that that future development not only works for our residents but also works well for the local community.

The layout of new buildings is designed to minimise the impact on neighbouring properties. The proposed new buildings are located behind the existing blocks that front the residential areas, resulting in very little impact on existing residents.

Given the close proximity of the accommodation to the college and the Porter’s office, day to day management, any potential concerns raised local residents can easily be mitigated and we will actively look to continue to engage with the local community throughout the development process and beyond.

Operational traffic management

An operational traffic impact assessment has been undertaken to assess the number of trips anticipated to access and egress the site on a typical weekday, compared to the trips generated by the site’s current mix of land uses. The assessment suggested that there would be a net reduction in peak hour and daily motorised vehicle trips to the site once redeveloped. The site was forecast to generate 16 fewer car trips in the AM peak hour, 3 fewer car trips in the PM peak hour and 18 fewer car trips across a 12-hour day.

The reduction in the number of trips is attributable to the following:

  • A change in land use from the existing nursery to additional student accommodation; and,
  • A net reduction in car parking, including a reduction in car parking spaces from 19 to 10, including 8 designated Blue Badge spaces.

Based on the above, the redevelopment of Owlstone Croft should not lead to a significant impact on the local highway network due to the forecast reduction in vehicle trips compared to those that occur now.