1970s offices in Cambridge could be torn down

Developers hope to submit their plans to redevelop Clarendon House in 2024.

An update on the proposals to redevelop and extend Clarendon House, in Clarendon Road, was given to councillors at Cambridge City Council on Monday 11 December 2023.

Representatives of the developers, Wrenbridge, said they wanted to create a new “very high quality office space”.

They told councillors that the existing building had “poor fabric efficiency” and said its energy performance would not be compliant by 2030.

Under the plans the four-storey building will be replaced with a new five-storey building.

However, the developers explained that the existing building’s steel frame will be kept and reused in the new office block.

Photo: Clarendon House, Clarendon Road, Cambridge.

Planners said focus had been put into making sure the design for the new building had cyclists in mind, setting out plans to separate the car and bike access, which is currently shared.

They said four trees would need to be cut down to create the separate entrances, but said new trees will be planted in order to overall increase the canopy cover.

Some councillors still voiced concerns of the scale of the redevelopment.

An exact date for when plans will be formally submitted has not been released.