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19 May 2008
Reserved matters planning consent has been received from Cambridge City Council for a new sustainable garden suburb on a site currently known as Clay Farm. The major development is a planned urban extension to the south of Cambridge by Countryside Properties Plc.
Located immediately to the east of Trumpington, on the edge of the city, the development at Clay Farm will be a mixed use scheme including up to 2,300 new homes, with community, retail, healthcare and educational facilities including a site for a new primary and secondary school and access to 120 acres of parkland.
The plans have been developed in response to regional and county planning policy, together with Cambridge City Council's Local Plan and the Southern Fringe Area Development Framework and extensive stakeholder and community consultation.
Vibrant new neighbourhoods
The new urban extension at Clay Farm and Glebe Farm (subject of a separate planning application) will provide the setting that will become home to more than 5,800 people, in vibrant new neighbourhoods, enjoying new schools, shopping, parks, recreational and community facilities with new and improved transport connections.
A wide range of new homes will be built with a significant proportion of affordable and key worker housing. Approximately 60% of the new homes will be houses with gardens with the additional provision of community gardens, local allotments, play areas and public open spaces.
Superbly well located
The proposed new community at Clay Farm is well located in relation to the city centre, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Trumpington village and the local public transport network. The Addenbrooke's access road will provide the main access into the development from the south, via a new roundabout, while a new signalised junction on Long Road will afford access from the north. The development will be served by the Cambridge Guided Bus (CGB) which runs directly through the site, including a stop close to the centrally located neighbourhood centre. The CGB will serve key parts of the new development, and be accessible to all residents within the village of Trumpington.
At the heart of the project will be an attractively designed central square hosting essential neighbourhood facilities including a new community/health centre, library, shops, offices and transport hub. From here the new and wider community will be able to gain direct access to Addenbrooke's Hospital and the Cambridge railway station via the CGB, complimented by a conventional bus route running throughout the site.
Extensive open space
A major component of Countryside's application is to bring into public use the vast amount of open space between Hobson's Brook and the railway line providing extensive parkland accessible to the whole community. This parkland will comprise formal sports pitches, courts and surfaced play areas together with informal recreational space and designated wetland areas for the retention of wildlife.
John Oldham, Director and Group Chief Town Planner for Countryside Properties, says: "This planning consent is the green light for a much needed and sustainable extension to Cambridge. At Clay Farm the majority of the new homes will be family houses with gardens to counter the shortage of family housing in Cambridge. Our plans have been strongly guided by local residents and stakeholders so community ideas and aspirations have been built into the proposals."
Clay Farm is located adjacent to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, a world-class centre for medical research and a joint venture between Countryside Properties and Liberty Property Trust and is easily accessible from the M11, Junction 11. For more information on Clay Farm visit www.clayfarm.co.uk.
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Information correct as at 03/06/2008