9 minute read
Investing in the City’s Future
Tom Hill, Regional Director at the Hill Group and Claire Flowers, Head of Housing Development at Cambridge City Council
The lack of genuinely affordable homes is a major issue for many cities across the UK. Cambridge’s international reputation in the fields of education and research means the city attracts a lot of people and its population is growing rapidly, increasing the need for more affordable homes. Claire Clutten finds out how the Cambridge Investment Partnership (CIP) is tackling the affordability crisis.
The housing sector faces a number of significant challenges. Demand for affordable housing outstrips supply and council waiting lists are bourgeoning. Research report, ‘Building post-pandemic prosperity’, commissioned by the Local Government Association, the Association of Retained Council Housing, and National Federation of ALMOs, reveals that ‘one in 10 households in need of housing are stuck on council waiting lists for over five years as a result of the chronic shortage of affordable homes’. The report goes on to say ‘that as a result of the pandemic, council housing waiting lists could almost double next year to as many as 2.1 million households’. The statistics on statutory homelessness in England for the 2020/21 financial year reflect the success of the Government’s ‘Everyone In’ strategy and the tireless work of councils to get thousands of rough sleepers off the streets during the pandemic, however, industry bodies like the LGA are concerned “that as life returns to normal, there could be an increase in homelessness cases.”
Building safety is another major challenge. The National Housing Federation says that housing associations alone are expecting to spend ‘in excess of £10bn to make all buildings safe over the next decade’. In addition to the need for greater funding to meet the costs of fire safety defects, the LGA’s Councillor Renard says “action is also needed to address the chronic shortage of fire engineers and other competent professionals in the UK today”.
Against this backdrop there’s the added pressure of decarbonisation. Nationwide Building Society’s recent ‘Future Of Home’ report says we need to retrofit two homes a minute by 2050 if we are to achieve our climate goals. Over 300 local authorities have already declared a climate emergency.
Cambridge Investment Partnership’s Timberworks development on Cromwell Road
CIP’s Akeman Street development in Cambridge
Rising to the challenge
Local authorities are under enormous pressure, but not ones to shy away from challenges, are displaying great ambition in the projects they are delivering to meet the needs of their local communities. A
prime example of this is the collaboration between Cambridge City Council and Hill Investment Partnerships. The two organisations came together to establish the Cambridge Investment Partnership (CIP) as a joint venture in 2017. The aim — to tackle the city’s affordable housing crisis by investing in and transforming councilowned land across Cambridge.
The partnership’s original target was to start at least 500 council homes by 2022, as part of the £70m Cambridgeshire and Peterborough devolution grant. A year ahead of schedule, CIP has already met this commitment and has instigated a new 10year building programme which will deliver a minimum of 1,700 mixed-tenure homes. At least 1,000 of these new properties will be council homes. As part of this new target and inline with the Council’s environmental objectives, CIP is exploring low carbon and Passivhaus building methods. Planning has been granted for 12 pilot Passivhaus council homes on Fen Road in the city.
At the end of September I was invited to take a tour of some of CIP’s development sites — Mill Road, Anstey Way, Akeman Street, Crowlands and Campkin Road — with Claire Flowers, Head of Housing Development at Cambridge City Council and Tom Hill, Regional Director at the Hill Group.
The positive impact of the commitment to collaboration and partnership working between the City Council and Hill is already bearing fruit; with project successes achieved so far going beyond housing delivery, to include wider community benefits — demonstrating genuine social value. These include £8m worth of S106 money being committed to local schools, parks, sports centres, NHS and The Chisholm Trail, as well as five new community centres across four different wards in the city, a new nursery in Romsey, the creation of new parks and the planting of over 200 new trees. £700,000 has also been invested in public art commissions and it was great to be able to visit some of the development sites featuring impressive local art installations, deliberately designed to pay homage to different facets of the city’s cultural and pastoral heritage.
Ironworks
First stop on the tour was the Ironworks, Mill Road development, close to the city centre, which will provide 236 homes — 50% council rent and 50% private sale. Like all of CIP’s developments, the Mill Road scheme is tenure-blind. Donning safety boots, high-vis, gloves and hardhat, we climbed up the scaffolding steps to take in the impressive views of Cambridge from the top of one of the buildings. From the rooftop Tom and Claire pointed out several other CIP sites across the city, giving me a much better idea of the scale of development underway.
The final phase of this scheme is due to complete in the third quarter of 2022. Designed by architects Allies and Morrison, the apartment blocks feature a striking brick façade and benefit from thick walls and floors, and high levels of insulation to reduce any potential for heat loss.
Energy-efficient heating will be distributed to all the apartments via a combined heat and power system and to further reduce energy costs for residents, as well as improve indoor air quality, Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery systems (MVHR) are being installed into all the apartments. Solar PV panels will be used generate electricity to light the communal areas.
The site also includes a new BREEAM Excellent community centre, underground parking, EV charging points and open public realm space. As an extra nod to the scheme’s sustainability credentials, the site benefits from sustainable urban drainage — rainwater gardens and attenuation. CIP was keen to design out the risk of any flooding due to climate change and reduce the pressure on surrounding areas.
View from the top of the Mill Road (Ironworks) development Anstey Way, Trumpington, Cambridgeshire. Solar PV panels will generate 10% of the site’s energy needs. Image ©Phil Mynott
Anstey Way
Next stop on the tour was where it all began for CIP — Anstey Way, a 100% affordable housing scheme designed by architect Rock Townsend. The existing 23 council rent and five leasehold properties on the site were in very poor condition. In 2017 they were demolished and the land remediated to make way for 56 new council homes for vulnerable and elderly residents. The homes were completed in 2020 and like the Mill Road scheme, benefit from a fabric first construction, high performance MVHR systems, PV panels to light communal areas, and SUDs. As well as site-specific artwork, the scheme also features sculptured brick art.
Building on brownfield or in-fill sites is a massive regeneration plus, helping to elevate areas that have perhaps become blighted or fallen into decline. CIP’s development scheme on Akeman Street involved demolishing an existing building which housed a community centre on the ground floor with four flats above and replacing it with 14 new high quality council homes (apartments and maisonettes), three commercial units (yet to be filled), a community centre and communal landscaped gardens. The scheme, designed by Mole architects, has dramatically increased the housing density on the site, providing much-needed new homes for those in need on the council’s waiting list.
Solohaus
To celebrate Hill Group’s 20th Anniversary, CEO and Founder, Andy Hill set up the Hill Foundation as a means of giving back to local communities and more specifically, as a mechanism through which to help address the homelessness crisis.
The mission, to build and gift 200 homes for free (40 per year over five years) to UK charities, providing essential ‘meanwhile’ accommodation, a roof over vulnerable people’s heads and a safe space to stay until they get back on their feet. From this the Solohaus modular housing concept was borne.
There are three Solohaus sites in Cambridge on land provided by the City Council, situated in social housing developments close to local amenities. The properties in Abbey, East Chesterton and King’s Hedges — donated by the Hill Foundation — are being managed by charity Jimmy’s. The modular properties are all manufactured to Building Regulations M4(2) (wheelchair adaptable) standards, to ensure they are safe and accessible to residents with mobility issues and come fully equipped with kitchen appliances, bed, sofa, table and chairs, as well as a change of clothes.
Campkin Road
The final visit on my tour was to the Campkin Road site, where 32 ageing poor quality post war flats and garages have been demolished to make way for 75 new affordable homes, currently under construction. Despite the challenges posed by the Covid pandemic, the existing residents were all successfully decanted in 2020. This site will feature four houses and 71 apartments and is another prime example of how CIP is significantly increasing housing density in Cambridge to help meet need. Demolition and remediation works got underway in autumn 2020 and the first homes are expected to complete early 2023. The development will also include a new community facility for the area.
Like all of CIP’s housing schemes, the Campkin Road development is being built to high standards of sustainability. It will be gas-free and benefit from extensive green biodiverse roofs. Children from a local primary school helped create the designs for the hoarding surrounding the site.
Claire and Tom are extremely passionate about what they do and what the partnership can bring to Cambridge, and their enthusiasm is infectious. It’s great to see councils engaging in mutually beneficial partnerships with organisations like Hill Investment Partnerships to deliver long-lasting changes for local communities.
Cambridge Investment Partnership has surpassed its original target a year early and has already achieved many important community and environmental wins for the city, from its commitment to boosting housing supply, promoting sustainability and biodiversity on projects, to the creation of employment opportunities and using local labour on sites, to providing homes for the homeless, new community facilities and public art. Tangible evidence that the City Council and Hill are genuinely invested in the future of the city.
