Demonstrating excellence in community creation
L-r - Peter Freeman, Chair of the Cambridge Task Force, Michael Gove MP, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, HLME Founder Jonathan Gimblett and Andrew Taylor, Group Planning Director, Vistry Group.
During late November 2023 and in conjunction with representatives of Greater Cambridge Shared Planning and Vistry Group, a leading UK Partnerships developer, our founder Jonathan Gimblett was pleased to be able to welcome the Secretary of State for Levelling up, Housing and Communities, Michael Gove MP and Cambridge Task Force leader Peter Freeman to the Clay Farm development, a major new urban extension to the south of Cambridge City Centre
During the visit we were able to outline how:
The development was collaboratively planned with the existing residents of Trumpington prior to its release from the greenbelt in the 2006 Cambridge Local Plan and how the principles for development were established in an area development framework which led through to an Outline Planning Consent and Design Code.
Through collaborative working with Cambridge City Council and Cambridgeshire County Council officers, Countryside (now part of Vistry) and its design teams including architects Proctor and Matthews and Tate Hindle helped achieve high quality placemaking including new streets, square, parks and diverse range of housing typologies providing homes from studio apartments through to large 5 bedroom mansion typologies.
How over a 10 year period Countryside was able to deliver not only new infrastructure including new roads and utilities, a 49 Ha country park complete with sustainable urban drainage systems to enable the creation of serviced land parcels but also how, along with 5 other developers, it delivered a total of 2,188 new homes of which just over 40% are affordable housing.
It is possible to create a contemporary gentle density residential scheme with a ‘modern vernacular’ design that is inspired by studies of the local context and materials and that through the use of a design code along with careful challenge and enquiry it is possible to achieve and maintain the integrity of a strong sense of place.
Through the inclusion of two new schools, new retail and leisure spaces, playgrounds, open spaces, a community garden, allotments and a combined shared service centre - The Clay Farm Centre comprising library, health centre and community events spaces, alongside work undertaken by the Cambridge City Council it has been possible to successfully integrate the new development with the existing established Trumpington community.
While at Countryside HLME’s founder led the planning, design and development teams for Countryside’s housing phases and in later stages of the project oversaw the technical design teams.
In honour of the Academy of Urbanism World Congress held in Cambridge in June 2023 and in conjunction with Cambridge City Council officers, Peter Studdert Planning and Robin Nicholson of the Cambridgeshire Quality Panel, HLME designed and produced a guide to the Clay Farm development. Copies of which can be downloaded from HLME’s website - https://www.hlme.ltd/journal-1/w7ha6xgm67d6t262ywy1atgtj2l0iz
A short video of the Secretary of State talking about the Governments aspirations for Cambridge can be found here: https://x.com/luhc/status/1765419611493675182?s=20
Picture courtesy of Vistry Group/SMC Newgate communications/Andrew Hendry