Cambridge University’s Girton College outline plans to build 405 university student rooms at its campus on the edge of Cambridge has been given the go-ahead.

The college put forward an outline application to build the new accommodation off Huntingdon Road.

Some concerns were raised by councillors at South Cambridgeshire District Council about the impact on the GP surgery and the sewage systems, but were told discussions would continue to allay these concerns.

As an outline application further more detailed plans will need to be submitted and approved by councillors before any building work can take place.

In its application the college said the proposed 405 student rooms were based on an assessment that looked at its student accommodation needs over the next 25 to 30 years.

The plans also include a new sports pitch, and relocating the tennis courts. A new vehicle access was also proposed to be created from Girton Road for deliveries.

Similar plans were approved back in 2016, but this permission lapsed after more detailed follow up plans were not submitted in time.

At a meeting of the district council’s planning committee on June 14, a representative from the college, James Anderson, said: “Covid was the sole reason that we are bringing this back.

“We had got a project team in place and had started work just before covid struck.

“Because of covid we were unable to do the level of in person meetings and discussions required in an enterprise of this scale, also we were uncertain of the financial impact of covid on the college.

“It would be imprudent on us internally to proceed at that time, which is why we are coming back now with the plan.”

Mr Anderson said the college was already moving forward with work to create more detailed designs, and said the college was “excited about taking this forward”.

Concerns were raised by a member of the public who said they lived opposite the current pedestrian access that is proposed to become a vehicle access for deliveries to the College.

They said they believed the change would create more noise and impact the privacy of their home with drivers being able to see in their windows.

They also raised concerns about the impact the change would have on the safety of Girton Road.

One of the college representatives said they did not believe the number of journeys along the road would increase as a result of the new road access, or that there would be any impact on noise levels.

They said they expected there to be a maximum of 20 deliveries a day, and said these would mostly arrive during work hours.

The meeting also heard that concerns had been raised about the impact of the development on the demand for the GP surgery.

Officers said it was accepted that a financial contribution would need to be made by the College towards health services, but that negotiations as to how much this would be were ongoing.

Mr Anderson, the college representative, said they would not “short change the NHS”.

Councillor Geoff Harvey said he had concerns about comments made that there was not currently capacity in the existing sewage system to meet the demand the development would create.

Officers explained that there was a legal requirement accepted by Anglian Water that it had to provide that capacity to meet the increased demand if the plans were approved.

Councillors also stressed that they wanted the NHS concerns to be addressed. Councillor Bill Handley said he hoped the discussions were “fruitful” and that “a good deal” was agreed to reassure people in Girton.

Councillor Anna Bradnam said that while she was “anxious” about the loss of green space under the plans, she said she recognised the benefits it would have for the students.

When a decision on the plans was put to a vote, a majority of councillors voted in favour to approve the application, subject to the application not being called in by the Secretary of State, due to it being contrary to the development plan.