Rebuilding our estate could 'separate' families

An £80m plan to demolish and regenerate a city council estate could result in families being "separated", a resident has warned.

Cambridge City Council has proposed demolishing the existing homes and the shopping precinct at Arbury Court, replacing them with more than 200 new homes, community facilities and commercial units.

Gerri Bird, Labour cabinet member for housing, said the authority would do "its upmost to make sure everything is OK for the resident and shopkeepers".

But Saima Din, 54, who has lived and worked in Arbury for 26 years, said: "We have families that have lived here for generations... they are now going to be separated or given the option to move out."

The council said the area would be replaced with more than 100 new council homes and 100 new private homes.

Din described the area as "a community which works really well together".

"I am concerned that young children will be pulled out of schools and moving to new areas where they may not feel like they fit in, and families will struggle with that as well," she added.

"We also have got the option for the children to move back which is going to be really difficult... I think there needs to be a lot of support put in place for them.

Bird said: "Things change as you know when you do a development, but the tenants that have to move out and go somewhere else, we will do the upmost to make sure they can move around that area, and they get the opportunity to come back. "

The city council has held events for businesses and residents to share concerns before a consultation launches at the end of October.

Ian Cooper, 77, who was one of several individuals who attended an engagement session on Wednesday, lives close to the proposed development and is a member of the Arbury Road East Residents Association (ARERA).

He said he was "totally in agreement with the provision of more social housing in the city", calling it a "major priority".

ARERA said it provided a forum to discuss issues affecting residents and business owners on Arbury Road, and its connecting streets.

"However, I think the site is being over densely developed with all kinds of knock-on effects that could be quite harmful to the quality of life for people who live around or who could move into the development," Cooper said.

He raised concerns about limited parking with an increase in residents, adding that the council was "only proposing to provide parking facilities for a very small proportion of people".

Rosalind Lund, 75, said she had lived in Arbury for about 40 years and that there was "anxiety" about building work due to construction traffic.

"If there is a lot of traffic on the road, I think that will be a real problem," she said.

"I think there are a lot of concerns really, as people do not like change... and until you can see exactly what is going to happen and the timetable, it is just hard to imagine in your head what it is going to be like."

As part of the development, shops will need to move from Arbury Court until the new development is complete.

Bird said the city council would "help the shops to move over to the new area".

"I understand how they are worried about that and this is something we can discuss more and take when we do the consultation, and look at the issues," she added.

Speaking to BBC Radio Cambridgeshire's Dotty McLeod on Thursday, she said the council was "pushing £500,000 in support to the traders".

"I have had bi-monthly meetings with the traders so they can have a look at what we design, they then are able to say what they would like, and all the way along have assured them their shop and business will stay open until the new shops are built."

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