Core Site - new urban quarter

U+I and TOWN, working with Cambridge City Council
and Anglian Water, are developing a vision for
a new urban quarter in Cambridge.

At the heart of the planned new district of North East Cambridge, the Core Site development will include approximately 5,600 homes, shops, workplaces, education, community and leisure facilities, and open spaces.

We are right at the start of our journey and
we hope you will help us shape the plans.

OUR VISION

Key facts

48 hectares of
Brownfield land

An opportunity equivalent in size to 223 Cambridge Market Squares.

A mixed use
development

Shops, workspaces and amenities within easy reach of home.

5,600
new homes

A new urban quarter that will help to meet the need for new housing in Cambridge.

A culture of walking
and cycling

Designed to make active travel the easiest choice for everyday journeys.

Accessible &
inclusive

Thoughtfully designed to meet the needs of all.

Designed with
nature in mind

A place that respects and embraces the natural world.

Protecting
resources

Making efficient use of water, energy and other resources.

40% affordable
housing

Helping to address the city’s housing affordability challenge.

Growing a local
green economy

Supporting the transition to a low-carbon workforce.

Low-car
design

Safer streets for Pedestrians.

Over 6,000
new jobs

Boosting the local workforce to help sustain economic prosperity.

A place to start &
a place to stay

A variety of homes to meet the needs of people through all stages of life.

10 minutes’ walk to
Cambridge North
station

With easy access to the city centre by foot, bike, train or bus.

Net zero
carbon

Minimising embodied & operational energy.

3 new
schools

New schools and amenities benefiting new and existing communities.

Background

Located between Cambridge North railway station and Cambridge Science Park, the Core Site is a 48 hectare brownfield site, owned by Anglian Water and Cambridge City Council. It is currently home to the Cambridge Waste Water Treatment Plant and the adjacent golf driving range.

The site is at the heart of the planned new district of North East Cambridge, that will deliver approximately 8,000 homes, with new workspaces and community facilities, which will be enabled by the proposed relocation of the Waste Water Treatment Plant.

With excellent public transport connections, and a wide range of employment opportunities nearby, the Core Site is the last, large-scale, undeveloped, brownfield regeneration opportunity in Cambridge.

Our vision

Our vision is for a new urban quarter that will support the health, happiness and wellbeing of local people, play an integral role in the future of Cambridge, and be an exemplar for sustainable 21st century development.

HELP SHAPE OUR VISION

Our promises to the people,
the city and the planet

For people

Support the health, happiness
and wellbeing of the people
who will live, work and spend
time here.

For city

Be an integral new quarter of
Cambridge, taking inspiration from
the city, engaging with people's
present needs and helping shape
the future of Greater Cambridge.

For planet

Be an exemplar for development
fit for the challenges of the 21st
Century, enabling sustainable
lifestyles, enhancing nature and
accelerating the transition to a net
zero carbon world.

Our values

Six values will shape our approach to developing the Core Site. These are the principles that will guide the project as it is planned and delivered, and which will shape the identity of this new place.

Rooted in Cambridge

Any development needs to be part of the city but also a distinctive new place in its own right. It will help shape the city's future whilst learning from the city's history and character. It will be a place to live, work, play and learn, where people know their neighbours, shop locally and put down roots.

NEXT VALUE

Shaped by many

We will create a culture of participation and collaboration with local communities while developing our plans. When the Core Site is developed we want to work with a wider range of development-partners than is usual, including smaller developers, housing associations and community led housing groups. Moreover, once built, we want residents to continue to shape the new neighbourhood through continued engagement and participation.

NEXT VALUE

Open to all

We want the Core Site to be inclusive and diverse. It will provide a place to start, and a place to stay, with homes for those just starting out, those raising families, people downsizing and others in the later stages of their lives. We want the neighbourhood to reflect the needs of those who often don’t get heard.

NEXT VALUE

Street life

We envisage the Core Site will be, in large part, free of cars. Streets should take on many new roles — places for children’s play, exercise, cafe tables and natural landscaping. The Core Site’s streets will be home to a variety of uses, providing places to work, shop and have fun within easy walking distance of home. Streets will enable walking, cycling and low-carbon modes of transport with excellent bus connections and easy access to Cambridge North Station.

NEXT VALUE

Integrated with nature

We want the Core Site to incorporate nature and wildlife throughout its buildings, gardens, streets and parks. We want it to offer the opportunity to experience nature at first hand — through food growing, conservation initiatives and exploring wild places, and using nature to enhance wellbeing. We’ll learn from nature in developing innovative approaches to design, construction, energy production and water management.

NEXT VALUE

Living within environmental means

Our ambition is to innovatively design and to make efficient use of valuable natural resources such as land, water and energy. We will respond to the challenges of the climate emergency and help meet the shared commitment to achieving net-zero carbon. It will make it easier for people to live a more sustainable and healthier lifestyle, with a high quality of life.

NEXT VALUE

Our team

Master developers U+I and TOWN are working in partnership with Anglian Water and Cambridge City Council.

We are experienced in creating communities that have character – and places that people are passionate about.
We are committed to sustainable regeneration, high-quality design, and wide-ranging community engagement.

As master developers, we are responsible for creating the vision for the Core Site, developing proposals informed by engagement with the local community and seeking planning permission. Once planning permission is obtained, we will deliver key infrastructure and oversee the delivery of the new buildings on the site.

At U+I 'thoughtful regeneration' is in our DNA. We exist to make the lives of people better and to unlock value for all. Imaginative, meaningful mixed-use places create proud, thriving communities. They are good for people and society, good for the economy and good for our business.

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TOWN’s mission is to build good places for better lives. This means delivering homes, streets and neighbourhoods that improve people’s quality of life, enable more sustainable ways of living, and improve the wider places they’re part of.

TOWN’s award-winning first built project, Marmalade Lane, is nearby in Orchard Park, Cambridge and is the home of Cambridge’s first cohousing community.

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Help shape our vision

We want everyone with an interest in the area –
including local people, businesses and organisations,
as well as local political and community representatives
– to help shape the proposals for the Core Site.

We are starting early and taking the time to make sure
we get our proposals right, with our target date for
submitting a planning application in 2024. Over the
next two years there will be many different opportunities
for the local community to help us develop our ideas and to
help shape our proposals.