Situated along Worts’ Causeway, Netherhall Gardens provides a sustainable extension to the southeast of Cambridge featuring 200 timber frame dwellings in a mix of apartments and larger family homes that range from two- to five-bedrooms. A total of 80 homes will be offered in affordable tenures in a range of house types, with all homes benefiting from vistas onto open space.

The new neighbourhood will promote indoor and outdoor living and provide natural surveillance and active frontages to pedestrian and cycle links meandering through the green buffers and play areas. At the centre of the neighbourhood is a landscaped space providing a green heart to the community. This is further supported by a series of interconnected green spaces to help retain and reinforce the existing trees and hedgerows, enhancing the ecological value and biodiversity of the site. The project will achieve a 17% biodiversity net gain, alongside new wildlife protection and enhancement measures which include bird nesting features and bat boxes which will be incorporated into the fabric of new homes.

Three distinct character areas include the Gardens, the Rural Edge and The Farmstead. The Netherhall Gardens character area accounts for a large portion of the site and centres around the principal street and the central core of the new neighbourhood. Dwellings in the Rural Edge will be orientated towards and sensitively address the Green Belt and surrounding agricultural land, providing a layered landscape of trees, native grassland and SUDs. The Farmstead character area is a key component to the overall vision. The area is comprised of a collection of buildings arranged around a pair of courtyards and have been designed to draw inspiration from the nearby farms with linear barn-like forms, varied window openings and crisp linear roof forms.

To inform the design of the farmstead character area, analysis of Netherhall Farm as well as the nearby Heath Farm and Bishops Farm were undertaken to ensure the new neighbourhood responds to traditional farmstead architecture, blending with the surrounding landscape. As such, the material palette is comprised of predominantly two complimentary bricks of warm earthy tones and brown tiled roofs. Dark weather boarding is used to create a distinct character change along the rural edge whilst acting as a wayfinding device within the site to mark key buildings and corners.

“Having gained the original outline planning consent in 2022, this new neighbourhood at Netherhall Gardens is an important one for the city, providing an opportunity for sensitive growth and defining a new edge of the city – one which is carefully planned and that knits into its setting and neighbouring communities.”

– Rebecca Taylor, Partner at JTP