Lots M1 & M2 Design and Access Statement

Alison Brooks Architects Pollard Thomas Edwards Robert Myers Associates Baily-Garner WSP Group Lots M1 & M2 Design and Access Statement August 2015 NORTH WEST Cambridge Lots M1 & M2 Design and Access Statement 1

CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION 4.0 PLANNING CONTEXT 6.0 ACCESS AND MOVEMENT APPENDIX 1.1 Overview 4.1 Parameter Plan Compliance 6.1 Street Hierarchy A1 Plot Numbering Strategy 1.2 Purpose of the DAS 4.2 Design Code Compliance 6.2 Car Parking Strategy A2 Schedule of Accommodation 1.3 Site Location 4.3 Interfaces with Adjacent Sites 6.3 Cycle Storage B1 CGI Views of the proposals 1.4 Site Description 4.4 Consultation Process 6.4 Walking and Cycling 4.5 National and Local Design Policy Summary 6.5 Public Transport 2.0 SITE CONTEXT AND ASSESSMENT 6.6 Transport Impact 2.1 Site Photographs 5.0 DETAILED DESIGN 6.7 Deliveries and Emergencies 2.2 Understanding the Site 5.1 Site Area and Density 2.3 Constraints and Opportunities 5.2 Housing Mix 7.0 STRATEGIC LANDSCAPE 2.4 Environmental Impact Assessment 5.3 21st Century Period Homes 7.1 Landscape Introduction 5.4 House Typologies 7.2 Defining the Public Realm 3.0 VISION AND DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES 3.1 The Vision 3.2 Design Evolution 3.3 Development Framework 3.4 Use 3.5 Layout 3.6 Scale and Amount 5.5 Apartment Typologies 5.6 Lifetime Homes 5.7 Code for Sustainable Homes 5.8 Fire Strategy 5.9 Building Elevations 5.10 Materials 5.11 Refuse Strategy 5.12 Daylight 7.3 Landscape Masterplan Proposals 7.4 Hard Landscape Materials 7.5 Levels, Drainage and SUDs 7.6 Planting 7.7 Detailed Landscape Areas 7.8 Lighting 7.9 Management and Maintenance NORTH WEST Cambridge Lots M1 & M2 Design and Access Statement 3

Aerial view of Lots M1 & M2 proposals 4 NORTH WEST Cambridge Lots M1 & M2 Design and Access Statement

Chapter Content 1.1 Overview 1.2 Purpose of the Design and Access Statement 1.3 Site Location 1.4 Site Description North West Cambridge Lots M1 & M2 Introduction 1 NORTH WEST Cambridge Lots M1 & M2 Design and Access Statement 5

1.1 Overview This document is submitted in support of two reserved matters planning applications covering North West Cambridge Lots M1 and M2. The two applications are submitted by Hill Residential and the University of Cambridge, one to Cambridge City Council (covering 121 residential units) and one to South Cambridgeshire District Council (covering 119 residential units). This document forms part of a suite of overarching material covering both applications. Hill s vision for the North West Cambridge development is to create an exemplar sustainable community that is a desirable and delightful place to live. Our intent is to deliver a scheme of the highest architectural quality that releases the true potential of this unique project. This will be achieved through bespoke designs that meet the aspirations of our future home owners. Lots M1 and M2 occupy a key location in the developing Ridgeway Village community. This gateway location will set the architectural and quality benchmark for the development. It is imperative that the scheme creates a fantastic first impression for the area. A major factor in the selection of Hill to develop Lots M1 and M2 was the attention to detail applied in the design of the public realm. The introduction of Green and Tree Streets, increases the amount of homes fronting onto open space and surface water features creating additional desirability of dwellings. The public realm will be delivered under license by Hill and maintained in the future by the University Estate Department, therefore it is important that the original design intent is carried through. Furthermore, the essence of the scheme is that for every home, no matter what its size or status, the product is special and its quality is consistent. Key features of the homes are:- High ceilings Functional storage Use of double height spaces Roof terraces Generous front halls Dedicated home working spaces Adaptable typologies that are tailored to contemporary lifestyles. To achieve Code for Sustainable Homes Level 5, we have adopted a fabric first approach, with high levels of insulation in the floors, walls & roofs and triple glazed windows thereby reducing the reliance on renewable technologies. Our solution for renewables is PV panels to the roofs, which have been sensitively placed on flat roofs so that the architecture of the buildings is not compromised. Using all of these factors we aim to create a place where people feel a profound attachment and long term commitment to the buildings and landscapes around them. Our ambition for the Ridgeway Village is to create a new neighbourhood that will offer this fundamental sense of being at home. We are committed to delivering an extra ordinary new place within a great masterplan framework, attuned to both the qualities of Cambridge and contemporary values of sustainable urban life. Our approach aims to combine development expertise, thoughtful urban design, integrated landscape and architectural excellence. With character and quality at the forefront, we aim to deliver a distinctive place where people will feel truly at home. 6 NORTH WEST Cambridge Lots M1 & M2 Design and Access Statement

NORTH WEST Cambridge Lots M1 & M2 Design and Access Statement 7

1.2 Purpose of the DAS This Statement has been prepared in accordance with sections 62 and 327A of the Town and Country Planning Act. It has been prepared in accordance with the requirements set out in article 8 of the Development Management Procedure Order 2010 which consolidates the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order 1995. It is also a requirement of Planning Practice Guidance - Section 3 of which sets out the requirement for design and access statements to accompany applications for certain types of permission and consent (enforced from August 2006). The Statement follows advice from the Department for Communities and Local Government set out in Planning Practice Guidance and has been informed by the guidance from the Commission on Architecture the Built Environment (CABE) Design and Access Statements: how to write, read and use them. This Statement responds to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which sets out the Government s vision for Sustainable Development and the overarching planning policies on the delivery of sustainable development and the fundamental importance of good design to achieve this. The Statement covers both design principles and concepts and how issues relating to access have been addressed within the final scheme design. The Design and Access Statement: demonstrates that the proposals are based on a considered approach to masterplan design; explains how the proposals respond to the physical, economic and social context of the application site, the wider North West Cambridge site and surrounding areas; explains how consultation and engagement have informed the evolution of the proposals; and explains and justifies the principles and concepts that will be used when the proposals are developed at Reserved Matters stage. The Statement sets out the design principles and concepts that have been applied to particular aspects of the proposals in accordance with paragraph 52 of Planning Practice Guidance and CABE guidance, namely: Distribution of Uses - proposed land use and relationship to adjoining uses; Amount of Development - explaining and justifying the amount of development proposed; Layout - explanation of the parameters setting out the way in which buildings, routes and spaces should be placed and orientated in relation to each other, including an explanation of how proposals will create safe and sustainable places and address crime prevention issues; Scale - explanation and justification of the parameters for the height, width and length of buildings in relation to their surroundings; Landscape - explanation and justification of the principles that will inform the future treatment of spaces in terms of hard and soft landscaping, and brief explanation of how the landscape will be maintained; Appearance - explanation and justification of the principles behind the intended appearance of the proposals and explanation of how these principles will inform the final design of the scheme; and Access - Approaches to access and how issues of access both social and physical have been considered throughout the design process. 8 NORTH WEST Cambridge Lots M1 & M2 Design and Access Statement

Aerial photograph of North West Cambridge masterplan area with SDCC and CCC Administrative boundary NORTH WEST Cambridge Lots M1 & M2 Design and Access Statement 9

1.3 Site Location North West Cambridge falls within the administrative boundaries of Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council. The proposed development is entirely within the joint Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council North West Cambridge Area Action Plan (AAP) boundary area. The site is largely within the University s ownership, and currently functions predominantly as a University farm. There are also uses associated with University research as well as the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) and Traffic International. The urban fabric of Cambridge is distinguished by its many civic and historic University and College buildings which are principally located in and around its historic core. The historic core is between a 10 and 15 minute cycle ride from the Application site, a similar distance from the city centre to the station. Girton, a village of 4,500 people is located to the north of the Application site, approximately 4km from the city centre on the other side of Huntingdon Road and the A14. The West Cambridge Campus is located to the south of Madingley Road and is a strategic development area for the University. West Cambridge continues to be developed to provide University academic, commercial research and other uses. To the north east lies the NIAB sites; an area which will be developed predominantly for residential use. Cambridge itself lies at the eastern extent of the Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire Claylands Landscape Character Area which covers most of East Anglia. The Application site and broader landscape area lie within this landscape type. The Claylands cover most of central and northern Bedfordshire and western Cambridgeshire and comprise a broad sweep of lowland plateau, dissected by a number of wide shallow valleys, including the river Great Ouse. The landscape is typically an empty, gently undulating lowland landscape with expansive trimmed hedgerows, shelterbeds, open ditches or stream-side vegetation. There are scattered ancient woodlands and plantation that form important visual and wildlife features within the landscape. A majority of the outlying land is in arable land use, with the land within the site following gently undulating contours and ground topography, softly sloping towards the existing river tributary, the Washpit Brook. The site is currently under redevelopment but was historically farmland. The most prominent aspect of the landscape is the Veteran Oak, a historic boundary marker sitting on the border between the Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council. The site affords long views out across the Cambridgeshire countryside to the west. The proximity of the M11 motorway is noticeable in terms of the associated traffic noise which has been taken into consideration in the design of the masterplan and subsequent detailed design of the buildings. The site lies at the edge of the city which is characterised by large detached and suburban dwellings along arterial roads to the city centre. Within the North West Cambridge site, Lots M1 and M2 have a prominent aspect to the Primary Street and Huntingdon Road to the north. The North West Cambridge urban extension covers a 150 hectare site located in the North West quadrant of Cambridge within the administrative boundaries of Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council. The site is bounded by the M11, A14, Huntingdon Road and Madingley Road. The masterplan site is within the University s ownership and was formerly a mix of farmland and University buildings. 90 hectares will be developed and 50 hectares will remain as open space. The deep integration of open space within the urban extension signals a new approach to ecology friendly, landscape focussed urban development offering exceptional quality of streetscape and communal open space for the new residents. Lots M1 and M2 Lots M1 and M2 are located within the Ridgeway Village a residential neighbourhood of private market housing. The Lots are located to the north of the Phase 1 development area. Both Lots straddle the administrative boundary between the City and South Cambridgeshire, with 1.03Ha within the City, and 2.70Ha within South Cambridgeshire Lot M1 s eastern boundary provides a strong frontage to the Primary Street we see this as a key public approach from Huntingdon Road to the centre of the development. Its southern boundary is The Avenue, a secondary street and its western boundary forms a strong frontage to the Neighbourhood Park. Lot M2 is located to the north of the Local Centre, and forms a significant urban frontage to the Lots M1 and M2 development site. Its eastern boundary is defined by Primary Street and new school opposite. The east-west Avenue bounds it to the north. Its southern boundary is defined by both Primary Street and Veteran Oak Gardens. The Veteran Oak and its park form a spectacular landscape threshold to the site. From the Veteran Oak the land slopes up on a very slight incline to the M1 Lot and northern site boundary. M2 Administrative boundary location M1 South Cambridgeshire District Council Cambridge City Council 10 NORTH WEST Cambridge Lots M1 & M2 Design and Access Statement

Key Elements of the Wider Masterplan (Design Code) NORTH WEST Cambridge Lots M1 & M2 Design and Access Statement 11

1.4 Site Description The North West Cambridge site is bordered by Huntingdon Road, Madingley Road and the M11 Motorway. The masterplan includes new academic, collegiate, residential uses associated within the University of Cambridge as well as market housing, key worker housing and a new local centre including shops, a primary school and community centre. The masterplan and landscape have been developed as an integrated whole incorporating SUDS drainage, rainwater recycling, a district heating network and associated infrastructure. The road network has been developed in order to create a clear hierarchy of connectivity across the site including designated routes for pedestrians and cyclists with easy connections to local facilities and public transport networks. The block design has been developed to create a dynamic and exciting place to live and work with distinct character areas whilst maintaining visual and spatial permeability throughout the site. Lots M1 and M2 is part of the Ridgeway Village, a residential neighbourhood to the north of the Local Centre and south of Girton. The Ridgeway Village will primarily be made up of terraces, semidetached and detached houses, with denser, more urban flat blocks in key locations. Lots M1 and M2 will play an important role in defining the character of the Village, as it is accessed directly from Primary Street. Lots M1 & M2 Phase 1 private sale housing development 12 NORTH WEST Cambridge Lots M1 & M2 Design and Access Statement

Links to primary entrance routes and district centre Links within the masterplan Adjacent open spaces (with administrative boundary) NORTH WEST Cambridge Lots M1 & M2 Design and Access Statement 13

3D view looking south along Green Street at junction with Secondary Street 14 NORTH WEST Cambridge Lots M1 & M2 Design and Access Statement

Chapter Content 2.1 Site Photographs 2.2 Understanding the Site 2.3 Constraints and Opportunities 2.4 Environmental Impact Assessment North West Cambridge Lots M1 & M2 Site Context and Assessment 2 NORTH WEST Cambridge Lots M1 & M2 Design and Access Statement 15

2.1 Site Photographs The site is empty at present, with on-going infrastructure ground works. The veteran oak lies to the south of the site. There are extensive mature trees adjacent to the north boundary. The Veteran Oak Trees on the north boundary 16 NORTH WEST Cambridge Lots M1 & M2 Design and Access Statement