The first new council homes have been handed over at Cambridge Investment Partnerships' largest development to date, Timberworks on Cromwell Road.

The four, three bedroom houses mark the start of the delivery of 118 new council rented homes, with all of them wheelchair accessible and one two bedroom property specially adapted for wheelchair users. A further 16, one and two bedroom apartments will be handed over in the New Year.

Cllr Mike Todd-Jones, Executive Councillor for Housing at Cambridge City Council and CIP board member said: "We are at a really exciting stage for the partnership as we see local families moving into our largest development to date. Cromwell Road is delivering a mix of new affordable homes and private sale homes which meet or are exceeding local affordable housing policies to address the housing shortage in the city.

"With 2,341 households on the Council’s housing register and a marked increase in the number of rough sleepers and homeless residents in the city over the past few years, it's important that we continue to deliver these new council homes as quickly as possible. I am also delighted that we are also building three 'Housing First' homes as part of our pioneering deal between Cambridge City Council and Cambridgeshire County Council to provide homes for rough sleepers in the city and create a quicker and more effective route out of homelessness."


The former Ridgeons site will also feature 173 private sale homes, a nursery, landscaped central park and open spaces, play equipment, public art, parking for cars and bicycle parking including a basement car park and electric vehicle charging spaces for every house and 10% of the communal area.

Tom Hill, Regional Director of Hill commented: "It's wonderful to see the first council tenants moving into our flagship development, Timberworks. As a partnership we are committed to driving forward new housing in the city through the creation of highly sustainable council and market sale homes which both reduce CO2 emissions and residents heating costs helping address fuel poverty issues.

"As well as high sustainable new homes we are also investing in the local community in the form of community facilities, open spaces and public art."

The new homes are being built in line with the Cambridge Sustainable Housing Design Guide which exceeds national policy guidelines and will incorporate a number of sustainable features including green roofs on apartment blocks, photovoltaic panels on roofs of houses and apartments, sustainable urban drainage system incorporated into the landscape and denser insulation and wall thickness to minimise heat loss and reduce energy bills.