Varsity Hotel and Spa, 24 Thompsons Lane, Cambridge, CB5 8AQ

Installation of a new All Weather Lightweight Retractable Roof Canopy and Associated Works

Authority: Cambridge City Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: leisure-sport · Other minor developments
Inspector: Parker C

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether or not the proposed development would fail to preserve the settings of nearby listed buildings, the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the conservation area, and the effect of the proposal on the skyline of Cambridge city

What decided it

The less than substantial harm to heritage assets and the character and appearance of the conservation area is not outweighed by the economic benefits of the proposal.

Framework references: 202

Plan policies cited: Policy 60, Policy 61, Policy 62, Policy 79

Read the decision letter on the Inspectorate’s site

The main issues and the deciding factor are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.

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What an account adds

Draw a red line around your site and the appraisal follows.
- Heritage. Listed buildings by grade and distance, conservation areas, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, heritage at risk.
- Landscape and environment. Green belt, national parks and national landscapes, SSSIs, ancient woodland, SPA, SAC and Ramsar sites, nutrient catchments.
- Flooding. Flood zones 2 and 3, surface water, and both again with climate change.
- Transport. The 800 metre station catchment and service frequency, bus stops with their weekday frequency, the cycle network, and the Framework’s transport tests measured for the site.
Then the development plan position, the housing land supply as an Inspector last accepted it, and every appeal decided around the site with its letter.
Every English appeal since 2016, with the letter behind it wherever the Inspectorate published one. Searched by meaning as well as by words, with the key case law counted live across the letters.
Casework that chases the deadlines. Applications, appeals and conditions with their statutory dates.
The judgement stays yours. The tool gathers the material and dates it.

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In the app this decision sits on the map beside every other appeal around it, with the full reasoning summary, the letter held on file, and the case law it applies.