Partial demolition and redevelopment of Emperor pub in Cambridge approved after two votes

After much debate and two votes, councillors have agreed The Emperor pub in Cambridge can be redeveloped with a new office block added.

The facade of the pub facing Hills Road will be retained, with a new space created for it alongside the new offices.

Cambridge city councillors voiced concerns about the redevelopment, but could not agree on a reason to refuse the application.

Previous proposals were rejected in 2022, when councillors argued the development ‘crammed too much in’.

A planning inspector upheld the decision when the developer appealed, but only on the grounds of the impact on the conservation area.

The latest application from MPM Properties proposed to reduce the height of the rear of the new office block to address the inspector’s concerns.

The plans features additional office space at basement level, alongside cycle parking.

A representative of the developer told the planning committee last Wednesday(October 2) that they had worked with officers to ‘respond positively’ to the concerns from the inspector, saying: “The massing has been reduced and the proposal is considered to enhance the character of the conservation area.”

The representative said the redevelopment would create an “enhanced pub space” and claimed the business would still be viable. The developer argued the plans made “best use” of the brownfield land and would create “much-needed office space”.

The freehold owners of part of St Pauls Place, the road to the side of the pub, expressed concerns, noting there were no rights of access to the land yet the proposed fire exit for the offices would open onto the road.

The owners said they would be prepared to come to an access agreement for the construction stage, but could not guarantee future access.

Councillors raised concerns about the fire exit and asked what would happen if the private land was blocked in the future.

Planning officers said access to the private land was a civil matter for the developer to tackle, but if the application was approved it would move to the building regulation stage, during which a fire safety officer would assess if the plans are acceptable.

Cllr Nadya Lokhmotova (Lib Dem, Trumpington) did not think the site was big enough to accommodate the four-storey building and argued it should have been three storeys.

She raised concerns about the height of the internal ceilings and suggested it would not offer “high quality office space”.

Cllr Lokhmotova also criticised the plans for an office in the basement, which would get little natural light.

Cllr Karen Young (Lib Dem, Queen Edith’s) was also very concerned about this.

“We have an office in the basement with no light; daylight is core to people’s mental health and general health. Are we really saying we do not have a policy that prevents this? I think the daylight is wholly inadequate,” she said.

Officers said the council had policies requiring daylight levels for homes, but not for businesses. One roof light was proposed for the basement office, but officers acknowledged that it would rely on artificial lighting.

Cllr Robert Dryden (Lab, Cherry Hinton) had concerns about the loss of the pub garden impacting the viability of the business.

Officers said the planning inspector had considered the issue and concluded it would be viable without the outside space.

The first vote on whether to approve the redevelopment failed to get enough support but after discussing possible reasons for refusal, none was backed by enough members of the committee so a second vote on approving the application was held.

Three councillors voted in favour, with one against and three abstaining, meaning the redevelopment was approved.