A groundbreaking ceremony was held to mark the official start of work at Queen Edith’s Way, in the Cherry Hinton ward of Cambridge, where Cambridge Investment Partnership (CIP) will be delivering eight low-carbon, gas-free homes.
Marking the occasion, councillors and members of the CIP team attended the ceremony on site, where a former building yard is being converted into a development of new private-sale homes.
Cllr Gerri Bird, Executive Councillor for Housing at Cambridge City Council and a CIP board member, said, “We are delighted to be able to mark the start on site at Queen Edith’s Way, which will see us create a selection of high-quality sustainable new homes.
“As part of our development programme, the proceeds generated from the sale of these private sale homes will help us to continue to deliver affordable homes for local residents elsewhere in the city.”
The development at Queen Edith’s Way will feature a mixture of three, four, and five-bedroom houses. The homes are generously sized and designed around modern living, featuring a study/home office to support home working and large windows that make the best use of natural lighting and ventilation.
Tom Hill, Managing Director at The Hill Group, said, “We are pleased to reach this milestone and start construction work on another development in Cambridge through our partnership with the city council.
“We are focused on creating sustainable, low-carbon living for our residents by delivering high-quality homes that are not reliant on gas. At Queen Edith’s Way, this is being achieved through air-source heat pumps and photovoltaic panels to generate renewable energy, along with a highly-insulated building fabric to reduce heat loss and energy usage.”
The new development has been carefully designed to share the characteristics of both the traditional and contemporary styles already present on Queen Edith’s Way while creating a unique identity and character, with light buff mottled bricks 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.
The homes will be arranged along the breadth of the site, with others positioned 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.
Situated in a highly accessible location in Cambridge, the development integrates well with existing cycling infrastructure and provides easy access to a wide range of amenities. The development's design actively promotes cycling, offering secure cycle parking and Sheffield hoops conveniently positioned near entrances for drop-off and short-term storage.
Queen Edith’s Way will 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 be planted.
The development will feature hedgehog highways between all the new gardens and the eastern boundary, helping to protect this vulnerable species. And, bird and bat boxes will also be incorporated.
For further information about the Cambridge Investment Partnership, please visit www.ip-cambridge.co.uk
