Light pollution concerns over campus expansion

Plans to build a six-story research and development building with a brightly lit "crown" on its top floor have been outlined by a developer.

Andrew Blevins, from Prologis UK, said the proposed development was part of a wider expansion of the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.

A meeting of Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire councillors heard concerns about light pollution.

The developer said the lights would be "shining down towards the ground".

The developer briefed councillors about the the proposal at a joint development management committee minute on Wednesday.

He said the building, called 4,000 Discovery Drive, would be built off Dame Mary Archer Way, as reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Liberal Democrat district councillor Anna Bradnam and Labour city councillor Simon Smith raised concerns about the impact of the "intrusive" lighting, both in terms of viewed from afar and on nature.

They were told: "We can control the illumination with that crown, so there would not be any more of an impact from a distance away."

Labour city councillor Martin Smart was critical of the proposed design, saying it was "a steel-and-glass block", but fellow Labour city councillor Katie Thornburrow felt it worked well with its neighbours.

Instead she asked how the developers planned to retain future employees in the long term with facilities such as nursery provision.

More details about the project would be revealed when a formal planning application was submitted.

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