Trinity College, which owns the Cambridge Science Park, has launched a bid to expand the park onto land in Impington. The designated land, currently owned by Chivers Farms Ltd, is the farmland bounded by the guideway, Butt Lane and behind developments on New Road and Milton Road – all to the north of the A14.

Plans to date are for approximately half the land to meet a demand for space for businesses currently unmet at the Science Park. They are anticipated to be in light engineering and manufacturing rather than research.

The remaining land, surrounding the development, is proposed to become a country park.

This site has come forward through the Local Plan “call for sites” process. It hasn’t been assessed in any way by the Greater Cambridge Local Plan team, and consequently there is no change, as yet, in its status.

Parish Councillors are grateful for earlier confidential briefings on these plans, and recognise that there are both positives and negatives. Traffic management is an obvious concern, and is something that the developers have started to work on. The country park will provide extra open space for the community, and associated opportunities for additional recreation and leisure facilities at the Recreation Ground and Impington Village College.

Even though these plans are at the very earliest of stages, the Parish Council has set up a group to lead the Parish Council review and response to this development and seek to get the best possible outcome for the community if the development  does get the go ahead. The group has already started to look at the traffic issues.

The Parish Council will, of course, work with local stakeholders, the developers, the Greater Cambridge planners and the wider community and will ensure that due process is followed.

Parish Council contacts are: Chairman Denis Payne, denis.payne@hisimp.net and Clerk Chelsea O’Brien, clerk@hisimp.net