Cambridge City Council has approved the redevelopment of the Synagogue in Thompsons Lane, despite some concerns the new building will ‘dominate’ neighbouring homes.
A synagogue in Cambridge is set to be demolished and replaced with a new “exciting” building. Councillors at Cambridge City Council have approved plans to redevelop the synagogue in Thompsons Lane, despite some concerns that the new building will “dominate” neighbouring homes.
The existing synagogue has been described as being in a “poor condition”. Plans submitted to the city council said the proposed new synagogue would provide “improved religious facilities for the Cambridge Jewish Community”.
Previous plans to redevelop the site were refused by the city council in 2023 and a subsequent appeal was dismissed after a planning inspector said the proposed new building would have an “intrusive” impact on neighbouring homes.
A representative of the developer told councillors at a planning committee meeting this week (January 7) that the latest plans had been created after taking on board the feedback from the previously refused proposals.
However, some people living nearby said they still had concerns about the impact the proposed building would have on their homes. One objector, who said they live in Portugal Place, said the proposed building would “enclose and dominate” the neighbouring properties, and argued there would be a “loss of amenity” for neighbours.
The developer’s representative said they had been in “close contact” with people living in Portugal Place throughout the design process. They said the proposed building would not be “overlooking” and said they are “confident there will be no significant loss of light”, after they said they had reviewed the impact on every neighbouring window.
Councillor Ingrid Flaubert said she thought the design of the proposed building was “beautiful”, but said it did differ from the “historical core” of the area.
She also said the building would be “massive” and that she had concerns about the “loss of residential amenity” for people living in Portugal Place. Cllr Flaubert highlighted concerns about noise from the Synagogue, particularly when the roof over one section is opened.
Planning officers highlighted that the urban design and conservation team had not raised any objections to the development. Addressing the noise concerns, officers said they believed the redevelopment would improve the current situation.
They highlighted that religious celebrations can currently take place in the existing outside area, and that in the proposed building they would be in a covered area, with no amplified noise allowed when the roof is open.
Councillor Tim Griffin said he believed this application was a “really good case” of a developer taking on board feedback after having the initial plans rejected and improving the proposals. He said: “I think this is an excellent proposal.”
Councillor Mike Todd-Jones said he thought the plans offered an “exciting design”. When a decision was put to a vote a majority of councillors agreed to approve the plans.
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