A public-private development company has been granted planning permission for eight low-carbon, gas-free family homes in Cambridge.
Cambridge Investment Partnership (CIP) – an equally owned joint venture between Cambridge City Council and Hill Investment Partnerships, established in 2017 – will deliver the homes on a brownfield site at Queen Edith’s Way, in the city’s Cherry Hinton ward.
The vacant site, previously used as a building yard, will become a new development of private sale homes, with proceeds being used to facilitate the delivery of affordable homes elsewhere in the city.
CIP says the plans for the development have been formed through extensive engagement with planning officers, and consultation with the local community to create a “future-proofed” new development designed to “exceed” local sustainability policies.
Councillor Gerri Bird, executive councillor for housing at Cambridge City Council, and a CIP board member, said: “We are delighted to receive planning at Queen Edith’s Way. These new homes will provide us with further funds that the partnership can reinvest into the programme to deliver more new council homes across the city.”
The development will feature a mix of three-, four-, and five-bedroom homes, each said to be generously sized and designed around modern living. They will feature a study/home office to support home working, and large windows that make the best use of natural lighting and ventilation.
The homes will be arranged along the width of the site, with some placed around a courtyard at the eastern end of the development, and benefiting from south-facing gardens. The development will be accessed via a long driveway, with each home having off-road parking and electric vehicle charging points.
Tom Hill, managing director at The Hill Group, said: “We will be creating homes with residents’ well-being in mind, providing ample cycle parking and footpaths to encourage sustainable commuting.
“We are also promoting low-carbon living through the use of highly insulated building fabric, and the gas-free development will be equipped with air-source heat pumps and photovoltaic panels to generate renewable energy for each home. We look forward to work starting on site towards the end of the year.”
The new development has been carefully designed to share the characteristics of both the traditional and contemporary styles already present in Queen Edith’s Way, while creating its own identity and character, with light buff mottled bricks being used in keeping with the traditional Cambridge style.
This is complemented with contrasting dark brickwork panels to denote the entrances, with homes facing the courtyard featuring vertical cladding boards above the first-floor level.
Queen Edith’s Way will, it is further claimed, deliver a 20% biodiversity net gain through a “carefully considered” landscaping scheme that includes preserving the majority of existing trees, ensuring privacy for current residents, and serving as a visual and acoustic buffer. Additionally, new trees, hedges, and native shrubs will also be planted.
The development will also feature hedgehog highways between all the new gardens and the eastern boundary, helping to protect this vulnerable species. Furthermore, bird and bat boxes will be incorporated into the new development.
Main image: A CGI rendering of the proposed new homes at Queen Edith’s Way
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