Why will 425 new flats only have 22 car parking spaces?

Work on a housing development of 425 flats with car parking for just 22 vehicles is likely to get under way soon, after a detailed plan was given approval.

The build-to-rent scheme is on the outskirts of Cambridge, close to Cambridge North Railway Station and a guided busway.

As a result, developers say the tenants will have an "exceptional opportunity" to travel everywhere by public transport, or walk or cycle.

Villagers nearby fear those with cars will end up parking in their already busy streets.

Yet, Cambridge is a city long-famous for its biking residents, so what are the pros and cons?

The flats will be built on a brownfield site that was once home to Chesterton railway sidings.

There will be three blocks in all, with parks, retail spaces and "pocket" gardens, and 118 flats will be classified as affordable.

While there will only be 22 car parking spaces, the developer will provide 711 spaces to park bicycles.

The wider development surrounding it will include a 600-space car park, but this will be for "commercial business users only".

Richard Thomas is the development director at Blocwork, one of the applicants.

He says: "Its location next to Cambridge North station and the guided busway provides residents with an exceptional opportunity to travel by public transport, walking and cycling.

"The scheme provides 711 resident cycle spaces and another 140 visitor commercial cycle spaces.

"Sustainability has been embedded in the scheme from the outset, not a bolt-on."

Nikki Thian likes the idea of the development, but is shocked at how little parking will be provided.

"I could see it potentially working, but not working for that many homes. It seems a lot - and where will visitors park?" she asks.

The 29-year-old mechanical engineer lives in north Cambridge and her commute to work is a six-minute bike ride to a site near Cambridge Museum of Technology on Riverside.

In fact, she cycles so much, she is considering getting rid of her car and possibly moving to a car share.

"I think it's great that everyone around you will be cycling, but when I heard about the scheme, I thought 22 spaces is a bit too small."

Viktor Nordgren, 33, also lives in north Cambridge, and commutes to work near Cambridge University Botanic Garden by bike.

He has previously lived in the south of the city and praises the superior infrastructure offered in its north, including segregated cycleways.

"I've also lived in fairly remote areas of Scotland for 10 years, including in villages in Fife, and got around by cycling and public transport," he says, adding he cannot drive.

"But when I travel with friends, the car is more convenient, and if I had duties like carrying children around or the need to do a bigger shop, I can see there are benefits to car ownership."

The software engineer questions whether 711 cycle parking spaces will be sufficient for the development, which will include one, two and three-bedroom flats.

"What if they all have bikes? It'll be interesting to see how well it works," he says.

"But it does feel like Cambridge is one of the few places where it might work."

"We already suffer from parking in the village because people can't park where they want to in the Science Park," says Jane Coston, from Milton Parish Council.

The village of Milton is connected to north Cambridge through a foot and cycle bridge which spans the A14.

The council had objected to the lack of on-site parking on the new development over "parking displacement issues for the local area".

Parish councillors had requested funds "to offset parking impacts" on the assumption it went ahead.

Coston tells BBC Radio Cambridgeshire: "We are looking at talking to the [district and city] councils to say, 'How can we stop them parking in the village? What are you going to help us with to deter them?'"

Previous expansion in and around Milton had come with its own parking, she adds.

Liberal Democrat councillor Henry Batchelor is South Cambridgeshire District Council's lead member for planning, and he believes the development is a good use of the land.

"It's one of the most accessible sites in Cambridge; it's slap-bang next to Cambridge North station; it's on the guided busway and it also has many cycle routes going through and from that site," he says.

"So in terms of car use, we are trying to make a very sustainable development i.e. as little car use as possible."

He says councillors have faith that the scheme had been planned and designed in such a way as to cause minimal disruption to the area.

"I know we talked about Milton - that isn't the area that we're hoping people will park the car. There are other options in the north Cambridge area," he says, adding "if it's legal" there should be no problem with them finding nearer street parking.

However, Richard Williams, a Conservative South Cambridgeshire councillor, says he is sure the development will result in "parking on streets in surrounding areas".

"That has happened again, and again, and again in this city.

"If you look at car ownership in south Trumpington [in south Cambridge], we're talking 50 to 60%. If you look at car ownership in Orchard Park [in north Cambridge], we're talking about 50%," he explains.

"I'm sure there is somewhere in the United Kingdom which has a small parcel of houses which has got parking ownership or car ownership of less than 5%, but I've not found one."

David Shaw, who is a chartered town planner with more than 50 years' experience, says similar parking-free developments are routine in places like London or Manchester, but he questions how it might work in Cambridge.

"There's going to have to be very, very good management to make sure that people don't have cars where they shouldn't be parked, and to make sure the right sort of people are living in there who don't need so many cars," he says.

Do you have a story suggestion for Cambridgeshire? Contact us below.

Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.