The Cambridge Housing Society (CHS) announced on 4th February its decision to go ahead with hotly protested redevelopment plans for Montreal Square. They will demolish and replace “the current 18 homes with 45 new affordable and energy-efficient homes”.

This decision comes after months of protesting from residents, some of whom have lived in Montreal Square for over 40 years. Their campaign, Please Help us to Save Our Homes in Montreal Square, has so far received the support of the trade union Unite, FeCRA (The Federation of Cambridge Residents’ Associations), local businesses, and the student activist group CDE (Cambridge Defend Education).

The CHS Chief Executive said in a press release that despite the protests, after having conversations with residents it is “the Board’s obligation is to balance residents’ concerns with the wider social benefit that a redevelopment could provide through more new affordable homes”.

“Through careful consideration of the design plans and an extensive support package in place for residents, we believe we will be able to address the majority of residents’ concerns.”

Residents forced to leave their homes will receive a £6,300 home loss repayment. CHS will help to move residents in and out and will reimburse any extra rent costs during the time that temporary accommodation is required. All residents are to be offered one of the new homes built, at no extra cost above what they are already paying.

Nearly 2,500 households are on the housing register in Cambridge according to City Council figures from January 2019, and according to Hometrack Data, house prices in Cambridge are 70% higher than they were in 2018. This means that a household with an income of £30,000 would only be able to afford 6% of one-bed privately rented properties in Cambridge (Savills’ Affordability Analysis June 2017). CHS hopes that the houses built in Montreal Square will help to tackle this “desperate need for more affordable homes in Cambridge”.

In response to the news, Andy Smith of the Montreal Square Residents’ Association said that though “the mood is very low at the moment” the “fight still goes on”, with residents planning to protest the decision.