A new ‘innovation hub’ featuring a rooftop garden is set to be developed in an empty office building in Cambridge.
The renovation of Robinson House at Cambridge Business Park will act as a pilot ahead of a bigger plan to redevelop the entire business park.
The Crown Estate, who owns the business park near Milton Road, had previously announced plans to transform the whole area into a “next-generation innovation district”.
Last Wednesday (20 August), councillors from both Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council gave their approval for the ‘Origin’ pilot project.
Robinson House – once occupied by EY – will get a makeover and an extension, including a new cafe on the ground floor and modular labs set up in the existing car park.
The labs will connect to the main office via a glass-covered walkway.
An urban farm for growing food is planned for the roof of this modular structure.
Councillors heard that this development aims to bring in small and medium-sized businesses that want to “work alongside each other”.
The Crown Estate mentioned they expect Origin to be used for about 15 years before it’s redeveloped during later stages of revamping the whole business park.
Lizzie Sears, development manager at The Crown Estate, said this regeneration project ties into their broader focus on science and tech across the UK.
She added that Origin will serve as an “innovation hub” designed to “inspire the next generation of innovators”.
Ms Sears also explained that they’ll use this building as a testbed for reusing materials, sustainable construction methods, and experimenting with ways to tackle local environmental issues like water shortages.
She said: “We hope that Origin will be more than just a building, but will be somewhere that sparks the imagination and brings ideas to life.”
Cllr Katie Porrer (Lib Dem, Market) said she was “very supportive” and “excited to see how it goes”.
Cllr Richard Stobart (Lib Dem, Girton) thought using modular lab buildings was “a particularly significant development” and welcomed trying out this approach.
Cllr Martin Smart (Lab, King’s Hedges) felt it was a good chance to do “some great things” with an old office building.
Some concerns came up about whether local sewage systems can handle foul water from this project.
Anglian Water requested that there should be confirmation showing there’s enough capacity at their recycling centre for waste water from this site. But planning officers said similar requests had been made before – like for NIAB offices approved recently – yet no clear evidence showed harm would happen so they deemed it unreasonable here too.
Cllr Katie Thornburrow (Lab, Petersfield) pointed out they need to look ahead at how all developments together affect sewage infrastructure since Origin is only one part of bigger redevelopment plans.
Cllr Anna Bradnam agreed and warned if sewage works get overloaded foul water might spill into River Cam instead.
She stressed there needs to be some way to assess overall impacts rather than just individual applications alone affecting these systems.
The officers admitted these points were “important and valid” and promised discussions would continue with infrastructure partners about them.
The full redevelopment promises over 5,000 jobs along with more than 350 homes plus new high street areas offering public spaces plus cultural activities as well as sports facilities too within Cambridge Business Park’s transformation plan.
If you want details on what’s planned near you check out https://publicnoticeportal. uk/
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