Locals ‘kept in the dark’ over controversial Huntingdon car park homes proposal

Huntingdon Town Council said they’ve been “kept in the dark and treated like mushrooms” over Capital and Centric’s controversial plans

A town council has accused a developer of leaving them in the dark over controversial proposals to build on a bus station and car park.

Capital and Centric has proposed to turn Huntingdon bus station and Princes Street car park into 78 new homes and a “centralised hub” for businesses with green spaces. They have released similar proposals for St Neots and St Ives, sparking controversy across Huntingdonshire.

Huntingdonshire District Council’s Liberal Democrat-led coalition even collapsed over the plans when two Green councillors left due to the council’s handling of the proposals.

A special meeting of Huntingdon Town Council’s planning committee was held on Tuesday (August 25) after the developer held their first public consultations last week and residents shared their concerns.

Pam Hunt said she thought the plans were “unacceptable” and Princes Street car park is very “well used”.

Peter Snow said: “Capital and Centric are trying to propose taking things away from the community but I don’t see what they are trying to give back – that’s why they are getting a lot of bad feelings.” He asked how much research the firm had done to suggest taking away a “well-used” car park.

Angela Makey, owner of Niche Comic Book Shop, raised concerns over the impact of the loss of so many parking spaces.

She said: “At the moment we’re a very short walk from Princes Street car park and losing a lot of those parking spaces will have a huge impact, not just on us. We have a sustainable model because we’ve been going for such a long time, no new business will have that level of loyalty.”

Guy Makey said that a lot of acts use the car park for carrying equipment to the Commemoration Hall and, without it, they could “simply move to a different venue”.

He said: “As mentioned earlier, we lost Shakespeare at the George – which was very much the jewel in the crown of Huntingdon. It would be heart-breaking if the same happened to the Commemoration Hall.”

Concerns were also raised about the proposal’s impact on the Cromwell Museum – both for those driving and those travelling by bus.

Councillor David Landon Cole, chair of the planning committee, said: “I wish it was in our power to make a decision on this – it isn’t – but we do hear you.”

The town council can only advise on planning applications, which are decided at the district level. A formal application to the district council has not yet been made.

Cllr Phil Pearce said it was an “absolute disgrace” they were not made aware of the plans while six members of Huntingdonshire District Council sat on the town council.

He said: “We hear your objections, we have the same concerns as yourself – we have been kept in the dark as much as you have. There are other sites in Huntingdon which haven’t been considered and I think us as taxpayers really ought to be asking for our money back. We’ve been let down – we’ve been kept in the dark and treated like mushrooms.”

Cllr Alan Brugnoli said that during the consultation in Market Square the developer said it was “just a proposal – something ethereal”. He said: “They have been given this money and produced nothing at the minute.

“They want high end properties with what they consider no parking, I just disagree. Anyone that can afford to commute to London and back again, first is not spending money in the local community, but also they are going to have a car.”

Cllr Pearce said that the bus station plans did not have enough bus stops to replace those lost which shows “an absolute lack of research”.

Questions were raised around the three bus stops proposed to replace the station, which currently has 10 bays, and the lack of consultation with bus operators.

Cllr Landon Cole said: “I don’t understand how you can design a bus station without talking to the bus operator, it’s very weird.”

Cllr Pearce said: “I think Capital and Centric have lost the trust of the public and it’s going to take a lot to get that back.”

Cllr Landon Cole said: “The lack of communication between Capital and Centric, HDC and the public is a real problem. We [Huntingdon Town Council] hope this doesn’t damage support for redevelopment, but understand if it has. If Capital and Centric are to remain in Huntingdon, they have a lot of work to do to rebuild trust – they didn’t offer anything to the people of Huntingdon, but tried to take things away.”

The council agreed to co-sign a letter with the Commemoration Hall objecting to the plans, agreeing with one already submitted by the Cromwell Museum.