Written by Lautaro Vargas   

Hanley Grange plans could be consigned to the scrapheap

The Wellcome Trust land in question accounts for 270 of the 927 acres set out under the Hanley Grange proposals and Tesco – the company behind Jarrow – has previously indicated that it would not proceed with the development.

The Trust, which provided £520 million of funding last year, said the land was an important part its overall investment portfolio, which is used to fund medical research to improve human and animal health on a global basis.

Local MPs, businesses and residents have been campaigning against the Hanley Grange eco-town since the government shortlisted the scheme as one of four for the region in April this year.

Located four miles south of Cambridge, between the villages of Pampisford and Hinxton – home of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and the Human Genome Project – Hanley Grange was intended to provide at least 8,000 homes – 3,000 affordable – using zero carbon standards, providing a roadmap for future sustainable housing in a region the government says is key to countering housing shortages.

Opposition to the development in the consultative period has been fierce however, claiming it is the wrong location in an area – South Cambridgeshire – already planning 23,000 new homes whose infrastructure will buckle under the strain.

The driving force behind the campaign, Stop Hanley Grange, believes the new town, Northstowe, should become the eco-town, while a survey published by Cambridge Healthcare & Biotech said many of the businesses at the nearby hi-tech and biotech clusters would consider moving away from the area if Hanley Grange was built.

Today the Wellcome Trust finally issued a short statement relating to the approach by Jarrow Investments inviting the charity to become a partner in the Hanley Grange eco-town submission: “The Trust has given very careful consideration to the approach and has decided not to proceed with this proposal.

“The Wellcome Trust owns around 270 acres of land on the Hanley Grange site. This forms part of the Trust’s overall investment portfolio from which it funds medical research to improve human and animal health, both in the UK and internationally.”