A planned £300m cancer research hospital in Cambridge has been the cause of water scarcity concerns from the Environmental Agency and campaigners
The Environment Agency has maintained its objection over the new hospital development and water scarcity in Cambridge, as a joint development control committee of city and district councillors are set to make their ruling on 17 April.
The Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital (CCRH), a seven-storey 27,100 square metre building, is set to be the first hospital built, out of a total of seven in the East of England by 2030, as part of the government’s New Hospital Programme.
Water scarcity is a prevalent concerns in the Greater Cambridge area
Water supplies in the Cambridge region are too reliant on the aquifer. Anglian Water has made plans to bring in water supplies from the north and create new reservoirs serving 750,000 by the mid-2030s, but short-term solutions are lacking.
The Environmental Agency has already blocked over 9,000 homes and 300,000 square feet of lab space due to water scarcity concerns, despite Government and local support for the planned developments.
The Government has already set out a ‘water credits’ scheme to enable housing and commercial development in Cambridge. The £9m framework will allow developers to offset water usage.
“Further evidence” on the water credits system is needed
But whilst the Environmental Agency has welcomed the government’s proposed measures, its position on the Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital application “has not changed”.
“The Environment Agency requires further evidence before it may reconsider its objection to the development proposed at Cambridge Cancer Research Centre based on the water credits system,” it says in a report to councillors.
“The necessary evidence includes evidence of a fully functioning water credit market that has effectively offset demand from the growth that is proposed.
“It is understood that the evidence linked to the setting up of the water credits system will be provided over the coming months. The Environment Agency will then require sufficient time to assess the plans and evidence fully in order to provide evidence-based advice to the appropriate decision makers.
“However, this is unlikely to include evidence of the effectiveness of the scheme in reducing demands post-implementation of retrofitting within this timeframe.”
Discussion of the hospital development is ongoing
Local Council officers have praised the “significant social, economic, and environmental benefits” that the development will bring and have issued a preliminary approval despite the Environmental Agency’s objection.
They say the applicants have “appropriately addressed the issue of water demand and sought to minimise the environmental impacts of their scheme”.
An Environmental Agency spokesperson said: “We are continuing to work together with DLUHC [Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities], Defra [Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs], Greater Cambridge Partnership planning authority and Cambridge Water to find a solution for people and the environment, as outlined in the joint statement released at the start of March.”
