Councillors are set to approve revised plans to redevelop a Cambridge estate as a report reveals residents’ mental health has been “impacted” by uncertainty and stress around the proposals.
The plans for Ekin Road will go before the city council’s housing scrutiny committee tonight (Tuesday), with councillors recommended to approve the submission of a planning application.
“There is uncertainty and stress around the redevelopment options, the prospect of moving and the potential loss of community,” a report to the committee states.
Redevelopment of Ekin Road is part of the authority’s wider programme of work across Cambridge, which it says will improve accommodation standards for people living in existing council homes.
Initial proposals for the scheme were criticised by some residents, who called for all 32 semi-detached houses on the estate to be retained.
Cambridge City Council announced last month that revised plans to build 131 new mixed-tenure homes on the redeveloped estate will include the retention of 14 houses.
The Save Ekin Road group is, however, continuing to call for the authority to save a further six homes.
Elsewhere on the estate, residents say the move cannot come soon enough as they live in “near uninhabitable” properties due to “severe cases of mould, damp and condensation”.
The report continues: “During the ongoing resident engagement and in the second survey, many residents have voiced their concerns surrounding the severity of the issue of damp, mould, and condensation in their homes.
“Many are worried about the impact this will have upon both their and their children’s health.”
The report explains that there have been 18 reports of condensation-related mould in different properties on the estate since December 2022 to January this year.
At the start of the process 98 of the 122 existing homes were council homes and, while fewer council homes will be built under the new proposals, the outcome will be more large three- or four-bed family properties, increasing from 22 to 37. Some 64 new council homes will be built, with seven more now likely to be retained and retrofitted.
The authority says doing nothing at Ekin Road is not an option because some of the council homes have significant maintenance and structural issues and are well below the current standards it applies to new developments.
If the proposals are approved by councillors by the committee, affected council tenants will be given priority status to bid for a new council tenancy from 19 June.
The housing scrutiny committee will meet on Tuesday, 18 June.
