We call upon the Secretary of State Rt. Hon. Greg Clark to overturn permission that was granted at a City Council Planning Committee meeting on 2 September 2015 to demolish Wilton Terrace (32-38 Station Road Cambridge) and stop the construction of a high-rise monolithic office block of 17,245 sq. metres, with a skyline reaching 8 metres higher than Kings College Chapel. This is the fourth application submitted by the developers.

Previously, Inspector John Gray approved the Victorian terrace's demolition at appeal (October 2013).

Cambridge City Council’s Planning Committee decided the proposals were not acceptable in the context of the site and voted against the developer’s application three times. More than 400 people wrote to the Inspector to ask for the plans to be rejected. The Council chose not to defend their decisions at appeal so it was up to local residents to defend the city’s heritage. The footprint of the buildings that the Inspector approved is around 40% bigger than outlined in the original application.

The loss of this Victorian terrace means that there will be only high-rise office blocks surrounding Cambridge’s Grade 2 listed single storey station. Another option is possible: a fusion scheme, which would incorporate the Terrace into a modern office development. This has been successfully achieved in other parts of the country.

The Cambridge Local Plan (2006) Policy 3/13 (Tall Buildings and the Skyline) states that ‘New buildings which are significantly taller than their neighbours and/or rooftop plant or other features on existing buildings, will only be permitted if it can be demonstrated that they will not detract from Local visual amenity; … Conservation areas and their settings; Listed buildings and their settings; Historic landscapes and their settings and; Key vistas, the skyline and views within over and from outside the city.’

The demolition of a Victorian terrace (listed as a Building of Local Interest by the City Council) near the Grade 2 listed station in the Cambridge Central Conservation Area, and replacing it with a huge office block, will negatively impact the historic city skyline.

Cambridge residents are tired of the loss of our heritage and damage to the city’s historic skyline. This does not conserve or enhance the Conservation Area. We urge Greg Clark to intervene and overturn this decision.