A new concert hall for Cambridge

Before you begin:

Organised by local historian Antony Carpen of , this gathering is a chance to find out about and discuss the idea of in response to the Government's plans to expand Cambridge.

• The Mayor of the Combined Authority Paul Bristow has included a new concert hall and conference centre for Cambridge in his new draft Local Growth Plan.
• The draft Greater Cambridge Local Plan includes a proposal to locate a new concert hall on the Cambridge Airport site - a large site which Ministers have also confirmed they intend to have a new Cambridge East railway station built.

We will look at:

• Past proposals for concert halls and assembly halls
• The unbuilt proposals from the 1960s from Gordon Logie (also see here for the detail)for Cambridge City Council in the 1960s supported by Cambridge University
• The solution from the 1980s - the revamped Cambridge Corn Exchange
• Why the question of a new large concert hall has returned - and the supporting documents now recommending building a new one
• Open discussion covering things like ownership, governance, transport access, target audiences, financial sustainability, architectural style, urban design/neighbouring amenities, integration with a performing arts scene in a rapidly growing and changing city. And more.

The event will not be about the merits of growth - that is for the party-political arena. As development planning law requires, local councils must submit a legally sound development plan for new homes, and infrastructure to the Housing Secretary for public scrutiny by their appointed planning inspectors. Ministers reserve the right to impose their own plan if councils do not do this.

Additionally, the Minister for Housing appointed Mr Peter Freeman CBE to chair the Cambridge Growth Company, the Minister stating that: "one or more contiguous urban extensions of [Cambridge] must be core components of the vision the Growth Company".

These extensions will be in addition to the proposals in the emerging Greater Cambridge Local Plan 2024-45.

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Host or Publisher Antony Carpen