Ground-breaking ceremony held as work begins on eight low-carbon houses

A ground-breaking ceremony has been held to mark the official start of work on eight low-carbon, gas-free homes in Cambridge.

Councillors and members of Cambridge Investment Partnership (CIP) – an equal partnership between Cambridge City Council and The Hill Group – attended the site in Queen Edith Way, where a former building yard is being converted into a development of new private-sale homes.

Cllr Gerri Bird, executive councillor for housing at Cambridge City Council and a CIP board member, said: “We are delighted to be able to mark the start on site at Queen Edith’s Way, which will see us create a selection of high-quality sustainable new homes.

“As part of our development programme, the proceeds generated from the sale of these private sale homes will help us to continue to deliver affordable homes for local residents elsewhere in the city.”

The development at Queen Edith’s Way is made of a mixture of three, four, and five-bedroom houses.

Tom Hill, managing director at The Hill Group, said: “We are pleased to reach this milestone and start construction work on another development in Cambridge through our partnership with the city council.

“We are focused on creating sustainable, low-carbon living for our residents by delivering high-quality homes that are not reliant on gas. At Queen Edith’s Way, this is being achieved through air-source heat pumps and photovoltaic panels to generate renewable energy, along with a highly-insulated building fabric to reduce heat loss and energy usage.”

The development will deliver a 20 per cent biodiversity net gain through a landscaping scheme that includes preserving the majority of existing trees. Additionally, new trees, hedges, and native shrubs will be planted.