Town and U+I pick masterplan team for 5,600-home Cambridge project

Developers U+I and TOWN have appointed Swedish practice Kjellander Sjöberg Architects to lead the work on drawing up proposals for a new 5,600-home neighbourhood in north east Cambridge.

The masterplanning team will also include Stirling Prize-winning architects Haworth Tompkins and Alison Brooks Architects among a cast of big names appointed to masterplan work on the 48ha neighbourhood, earmarked for the site of Anglian Water’s Cambridge Waste Water Treatment Plant.

Other practices making up the team appointed by Town and U+I are Bell Phillips, 5^th Studio Architects, Nooma Studio and Feilden Fowles.

In addition to the Anglian Water site, delivering the new neighbourhood will also require the redevelopment of a golf driving range, a depot and commercial buildings. As well as new homes, there will be new schools, shops, workplaces and parks based on the “five-minute neighbourhood” principle. It will be served by the Cambridge North Station, designed by Atkins, which opened in 2017.

Developer Town is the firm behind the award-winning Marmalade Lane cohousing scheme, while U+I is delivering the 1,500 Mayfield project in Manchester city centre and Morden Wharf in London, among other projects.

U+I creative director Martyn Evans said the Kjellander Sjöberg-led team had been appointed in recognition of its “broad and deep expertise”, including international exemplar projects and “invaluable” local knowledge.

“We’re looking forward to this collaboration producing a world-class scheme which will become a blueprint for the delivery of new urban districts across the UK,” he said.

Kjellander Sjöberg founding director Stefan Sjöberg said the masterplan area – known as the “Core Site” – was a rare chance to shape the future of the university city. ”The Core Site is a real opportunity to engage with Cambridge; to envision an amazing place that is inclusive, sustainable, and anchored into its unique heritage and local character with connections to the adjacent Fen landscape,” he said.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance to shape an inspiring example of future neighbourhoods based on the principles of the five-minute city – where everything is near, and walking and biking are the priority.”

The design team said it plans to spend the remainder of the year gathering community input for the masterplan and engaging with local authorities. A planning application is expected to be submitted towards the end of next year.