Water from the River Cam to be used to help heat university buildings
Cambridge City Council has approved plans to install a river sourced heat pump
Water from the River Cam will be used to help heat university buildings at Darwin College.
Cambridge City Council has approved plans to install a river sourced heat pump at the site.
The College said the “vitally important” project will help contribute towards its aim to become carbon neutral by 2032.
The plans were considered by councillors at a city council planning committee meeting on Wednesday (April 2).
A report presented to councillors said the river sourced heat pump would help “eliminate the use of fossil fuel on site and the associated carbon emissions”.
Under the plans a pump room will be built adjacent to the River Cam where the water will be extracted and returned.
The college buildings are also due to have improved insulation installed, which the Master of the college, Dr Mike Rands, said would reduce the energy demand by around 70 per cent.
Alongside the river sourced heat pump, the college also asked for permission to infill the ‘undercroft’ area currently used for car parking to create a new garden room for students.
The College also proposed to extend The Hermitage building.
Dr Rands said the Darwin College site was “constrained” and said they “really need more space for working and socialising”.
He said the two projects were “vitally important” part of a wider masterplan to improve the College facilities and to decarbonise the estate.
Dr Rands said: “Having celebrated the college’s 60th birthday last year, this scheme sets the college up to meet the needs of the next decades, so the college can continue to make its contribution to the life and beauty of the city.”
He added that the college was one of the few in the city to let people visit for free and said they would be able to show people how they are switching to renewable energy.
Councillors shared their support for the plans to build the river sourced heat pump.
Councillor Nadya Lokhmotova said she felt “very excited” about the plans.
Councillor Naomi Bennett said: “I think this is one of the most interesting and well thought out applications we have seen for a long time.”
Councillor Katie Porrer said the fact the college was free to visit was important as she said other colleges had come forward with plans in the past that they said offer public benefits “when the public cannot get in”.
Cllr Porrer said she did have some concerns about the extension and highlighted the chimney, which she said “seems to be sticking out in the wrong way”.
Councillor Katie Thornburrow agreed there are public benefits, but also said she had some concerns about the design.
She said she was “a bit concerned about the proportion and scale” of the windows proposed in the Hermitage extension.
A conservation officer said the glazing had been chosen for the extension as they were “more comfortable” with it, compared to using bricks which they thought would be “too heavy”.
The officer added that they understood the concerns about the chimney, but said it had been designed to match part of the building and said they believed it would look okay.
Councillor Dave Baigent said he had concerns about the height of the plant room proposed to be built next to the river.
He asked why this could not have been moved closer to the college buildings.
Councillor Robert Dryden said he also had concerns about the plant room, and said he was worried the council could see more applications for similar size buildings along the river.
Officers said it was better to locate the heat pumps closer to the river. They also highlighted that the college site is constrained and said if the plant room was moved closer to the buildings it would have an impact on them.
Cllr Porrer said she thought the area proposed for the plant room was the right place for it after visiting the site.
She also said the river had an “industrial heritage” explaining that there would have been mills based along the River Cam in the past.
Cllr Bennett echoed this and said the river had a “substantial industrial heritage” and said the pump house would be “returning to that heritage”.
When a decision was put to a vote councillors unanimously agreed to approve the plans.