Developer First Base and RPMI Railpen (“Railpen”), the investment manager for the £35 billion railways pension scheme, have submitted plans for Devonshire Gardens, a sustainable new neighbourhood in the heart of Cambridge.
The proposals, designed by award winning architect, Buckley Gray Yeoman, will transform the 3-acre site, currently utilised as a Travis Perkins depot, into a new public park within a collection of characterful buildings, which comprise 120,000 sq ft of modern, wellbeing-focused workspace, 100 Build-to-Rent homes and various community use facilities, including a creche, pavilion and artists’ studios.
Local residents will also enjoy the new public park with over 120 trees, hundreds of new plant species and a community food garden. The scheme will also create new walkways and cycle paths, improving connectivity to Cambridge rail station, and supporting the ambition for Devonshire Gardens to be an ultra-sustainable car-free neighbourhood.
The workspace will be delivered across two new buildings designed to meet the needs of corporates and fast-growing businesses, providing a range of flexible floorplates and adaptable collaboration spaces. The buildings are designed to exceed existing environmental standards with roof-top solar panels, rainwater harvesting, greywater recycling and the optimisation of natural light.
The new homes will comprise a mix of apartments, all available to rent at market or discounted rates. The homes are designed to meet the city’s net-zero carbon ambitions and will be powered by electricity from renewable sources, with no reliance on fossil fuels.
Devonshire Gardens will be delivered in accordance with the renowned One Planet Living principles, aligning with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, which will see almost a 400% increase in biodiversity, by using Natural Cambridgeshire’s Developing with Nature toolkit and supporting Cambridge City Council’s Climate Change Strategy.
Plans for the site have been developed following extensive public consultation that saw approximately 3,000 local people have their say. To date, a significant number of responses have expressed their support for the plans with positive responses towards the approach to sustainability, quality of design and proposed amenities.
Doug Higgins, Project Director, First Base, said:
“We are pleased to have submitted our proposals for Devonshire Gardens, which will be so much more than just homes and offices. It will be a destination formed around a new, public green park, that will include community food growing areas, hedgehog habitats, outdoor furniture, bird boxes, bat boxes, insect hotels, rain gardens and 64 new trees in addition to 57 retained, existing trees, which will see almost a 400% increase in biodiversity.
Furthermore, over half of the total site area is being opened up as new public open space and at the heart of this will be a community pavilion, for everyone to enjoy, which we are asking local people to design.
I would like to extend my thanks to local residents, businesses, councillors, officers and stakeholders who have taken the time time to meet with us and comment on our proposals. This valuable feedback has truly helped to shape our plans.”
Richard van Lente, Senior Development Manger at Railpen said:
“We are delighted to partner with First Base to create a development which not only enhances the Cambridge community, but supports our sustainability, environmental and wellbeing targets, while at the same time also offering the potential for significant returns through capital growth or income.”
Railpen already holds significant investments in Cambridge and will continue to look for further opportunities to invest in economically, socially and physically relevant opportunities in places where people want to live, work and play.
We consistently seek to enhance our assets through expert hands-on management and targeted value-add initiatives. Our approach delivers attractive risk-adjusted returns for our members that will help secure their futures, and strong economic and social improvements for the communities in which we invest.”