Placemaking

Our ambition is to create a vibrant, new community where people can thrive. We value wellbeing as an essential part of people’s everyday lives. New homes will sit in accessible locations, within an easy distance of community facilities, shops and green spaces to meet everyone’s needs.

Our masterplan for the site has been heavily informed by the existing fabric of Cambridge city centre. We have drawn on the variety of layouts and building forms found across the city, in order to shape our proposals for this project. A key feature of the city is the Colleges that make up the university – our designs reference not only the layout of the colleges, but also the gentle transfer from urban to rural as they move away from the city centre.

We have taken a landscape-led approach to our proposals, ensuring that new homes sit within a matrix of new green spaces. In the masterplan, we envisage a settlement that mirrors Cambridge’s organic growth, with denser areas on the eastern edge of the site and green fingers running through the development and reaching towards the open countryside.

Healthy living and community inclusion are key elements of our vision for the site. Our proposals seek to promote and encourage this kind of lifestyle, by incorporating playgrounds, sporting facilities and community allotments. We will encourage new communities to thrive with independent shops, cafes, restaurants and groups for residents to join. At the very centre of this development will be a new public square that will act as a communal events space for all residents to enjoy.

The site will consist of four distinct neighbourhoods – Aldermanne, West View, South West Meadows and Colys Crosse. Cambridge Quality Charter – a document that guides new development in Cambridge – cites ‘character’ as an important part of development. Therefore, the creation of identity and a sense of place has been a key part of our masterplan.

We have shaped the Vision document around four key areas of the site, each of which has unique characteristics and environments. Every neighbourhood will have access to a range of facilities, shops and outdoor spaces. They will be arranged around significant areas of open space that can be used for both social and recreational activities. New tree-lined boulevards will link these neighbourhoods to create a unified community.

The landscape of the site has played a big role in shaping the masterplan. The style of the neighbourhoods will reflect the existing character of the area, creating a seamless transition between urban and rural.