Housing news in Great Shelford | GreatShelfordonline

What does the future hold for Great Shelford and Stapleford?

Since Autumn 2021, a steering group of Stapleford and Great Shelford residents and parish councillors has been working to produce a combined Neighbourhood Plan (NP) on behalf of our parishes. This is a chance for the people who know and love our area to set out a positive, shared vision for how we want it to develop and to ensure that identified local needs are not overlooked in the rapid economic growth which our wider region has been targeted to deliver. Policies in our NP will ultimately have equal weight when assessing all planning decisions in our area to those in the Local Plan and National Planning Policy Framework.

In April/May of this year, we undertook a second public consultation with residents, combining pop-up displays and a survey. We are very grateful to everyone who gave a few minutes of their time to participate.

A report summarising survey outcomes and outlining next steps in the process is now available to read at https://www.greatshelfordparishcouncil.gov.uk/sgsnplan/neighbourhood-plan-consultations/.

Published June 28 2023

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New almshouses for Great Shelford win awards

Great Shelford Village Charity has won not just one but two prestigious awards for its 21 new almshouse homes in the village.

The Almshouse Association picked the charity’s development at More’s Meadow for its annual Inspirational Homes Award recognising innovation in planning, design, quality of build and value for money.

Chair of the charity, Sarah Rann, accompanied by the Clerk, Mary Lester, travelled to Westminster on 15 June to receive the award at the Almshouse Association’s Members Day.

This was followed on 28 June by Eastern Echo picking More’s Meadow for its Best Residential Development award with two of our directors, Jaspaul Hill and Brian Connellan, among the 200 industry professionals and guests attending Homerton College, Cambridge to celebrate the East of England’s winners.

Five years in the planning, Great Shelford’s £4.4M almshouse development is now complete and has welcomed its first residents.

The 21 new homes, a mix of 1, 2 and 3 bedroom units, are grouped in three curved terraces surrounding a central green. Equipped with air source heat pumps, mechanically ventilated heat recovery systems, triple glazing and high levels of insulation, the homes are designed to minimise energy consumption and keep residents’ running costs low.

“Ever since our initial public meeting in July 2018 at which we outlined the need for further affordable housing in Great Shelford, we have been working closely with villagers and both parish and district councillors to bring this project to fruition. And I would particularly like to thank the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority for their generous grant of just over £1M towards the development cost,” said Sarah Rann, Chair of the Parochial Charities trustees.

Alongside the new development the charity has planted some 250 native trees and laid out allotments, a community garden, footpaths and benches, providing enhanced public access to the 8 acres of land it owns on the northern edge of the village.

The new development brings to 53 the total number of almshouse homes managed by Great Shelford Parochial Charities, providing affordable accommodation for villagers on low incomes and in housing need.

The trustees plan to hold a formal opening later in the year.

Further information about the Parochial Charities can be found at gspc.org.uk

Posted Feb 16 2023

Three new streets for Great Shelford

Three new streets are being created in Great Shelford with the arrival of 21 new almshouses

The 21 homes will be ready to be lived in early in 2023.

The homes are ion three new terraces:

Martin Terrace
Pearson Terrace
Oliver Terrace.

Martin Terrace

Great Shelford was one of many villages to benefit from the generosity of Lettice Martin. On her death in 1562, this wealthy landowner from Chrishall, some 8 miles south of Shelford, left money to found charities for the poor across 36 parishes. In 1890, Great Shelford’s Lettice Martin’s Charity merged with two other local charities to form The Parochial Charities.

Pearson Terrace

In addition to housing, the charity in its early years provided other benefits to those in need, most notably the provision of coal but also nursing aid and equipment. Their records show that between 1893 and 1895, the Parochial Charities paid for nursing duties provided by Elizabeth Pearson, a widow living in Abberley Wood.

Oliver Terrace

Before the Great Shelford health centre opened in 1980, the village surgery was located on the corner of Tunwells Lane and Station Road. Here Dr Hugh Oliver MBE practised, firstly as a locum in the late 1950s and latterly – from 1976 to 1988 – as a much-loved village GP. In between, he served as Medical Superintendent at the Mengo Hospital in Kampala, Uganda. Dr Oliver was for many years a trustee of The Parochial Charities, stepping down in 2014. He died in 2017 aged 87.

Read about the 21 new homes at the Great Shelford Parochial Charities website.

Posted September 27 2022

Planning approved for 39 new retirement apartments in Great Shelford

Permission has been given to build 39 brand new independent living retirement apartments in Great Shelford after a successful planning appeal.

Regenerating the vacant former commercial yard site on Station Road, the new development will bring a new community to the heart of Great Shelford, supporting around 78 jobs both during and after construction and contributing over £300k a year to the local economy.

In the appeal decision notice, the Government’s Planning Inspector R Norman dismissed concerns about the design and impact of the development, concluding that the plans “would represent an improvement on the existing site frontage,” and “would improve the character and appearance of the area.”

The new development will provide high quality, secure and self-contained accommodation in landscaped grounds. Owners will enjoy independent living and a sense of community, with a communal owners’ Lounge, a Guest Suite, a Lodge Manager, and a 24 hour emergency call alarm service.

Stuart Goodwill, Managing Director of Churchill’s planning consultancy, said: “This is a very positive result and we will now look forward to starting work as soon as possible on this new development in Great Shelford. Retirement housing is the most effective form of residential development for generating local economic growth, supporting local jobs, and increasing high street spend. The new apartments will also help improve the health and wellbeing of those who live there, and meet the housing needs of many older people in Great Shelford and the surrounding area.”

For more information on the development, please call 0800 458 1857 or visit www.churchillretirement.co.uk

Posted Oct 5 2022

Church

Great Shelford flat is first property in unique rent-return scheme

A winner in The Cambridge Building Society’s unique rent-return housing scheme says he was overwhelmed to get £26,000 back in three years as a deposit to buy his first home in Great Shelford.

Dr Muntasir Hashim, 31, wis one of three winners renting the two-bedroom flats above the building society’s branch in Great Shelford for up to three years, after which they will all receive 70 per cent of their rent back as a deposit, and a mortgage from The Cambridge to buy their own home.

The scheme is the only one of its kind in the UK and gives first time buyers a deposit to buy a property, which renting might otherwise prevent them saving for.

Rent to Home was initially launched in spring 2019, as part of The Cambridge’s ‘Making The Difference’ initiative.

The first two tenants were selected by ballot and each moved into a single occupancy apartment above the building society’s branch in Great Shelford in late 2019.

The first tenant, Lucinda Bass, will move out of the rental property in Great Shelford in July, receiving 70% of her rent back (more than £20,000) as deposit and a Cambridge Building Society mortgage to purchase her first home, in Bedfordshire. Lucinda is pictured below with Society CEO Peter Burrows.

Lucinda said: “I am very grateful to The Cambridge for giving me this opportunity. It would have been a real struggle for me to save for a deposit, so winning this ballot has set me up for life.

“I whole-heartedly recommend that people put their names forward for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It is a unique scheme that is fabulous for those who win through.”

Chief Commercial Officer, Carole Charter, said: “We are delighted to have been able to help Lucinda in this way and know what a difference it has made to her.

“We are very excited to see her move forward with her plans, to help her get on the housing ladder and buy her first home. We take our commitment to the community very seriously and know that without our help many people like Lucinda would struggle to have the home they need.

“Saving for a deposit of thousands of pounds is difficult and we see it as our duty as an independent mutual to make it easier for people to take that first step on the property ladder.”

The ballot to find two new tenants for the Great Shelford properties opens in August when The Cambridge’s other tenant is also due to move out. It will be open for one month.

The ballot winners will live in The Cambridge’s properties for a maximum of three years. After this term and upon securing a mortgage on their first property, The Cambridge will give them back up to 70% of the money they have paid towards their rent to use as a deposit on their new home.

Updated Jan 16 2023

flat

Housing stories in Great Shelford

100 new homes for Shelford and Stapleford?

One hundred new homes off Hinton Way and Mingle Lane have come a step closer.

Around 100 new homes in the area have been included as a list of potential

development sites, for the new draft Greater Cambridge Local Plan published on Aug 31.

The draft plan identifies an area of 10 hectares between Hinton Way and Mingle

Lane for possible future development.

“Maximum capacity limited to 100 homes, relating to Cambridgeshire Fire Service

requirements for no more than 100 homes to be served via a single vehicular

access,” the new report states.

“There may be potential for a higher capacity if an additional access could be

provided.

“(It is) Very well located in relation to existing railway station, with resulting excellent

access to Cambridge, and to Cambridge Biomedical Campus once the new Cambridge

South station is open, providing the exceptional circumstances required for Green Belt release.

“Development should accommodate the following constraints:

Design of development should preserve key views from Stapleford Conservation Area including from Mingle Lane past St Andrew’s Church and the adjacent vicarage.
Open space to be provided to the east of the built development to help provide compensatory improvements to the environmental quality and accessibility of remaining Green Belt.

Out of over 690 sites put forward by developers and landowners, and another 200 considered by planners, only 19 new sites are proposed to be taken forward into the new Plan

The new Local Plan is the most important document you've (probably) never heard of. It will affect how we live, work and play in Greater Cambridge over the next 20 years and beyond.

The sites are published as part of the draft First Proposals for the new Plan, made public ahead of decision-making by Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire District councillors through their respective committee processes. Once Councillors have reviewed and commented on the proposed sites, the list will be finalised for public consultation. This consultation is due to start at the beginning of November.

Posted Aug 31 2021

Mingle

New Great Shelford alms houses

Building work has started on a £4 million scheme to construct more than 20 alms houses for people in Great Shelford.

The 21 new units in More’s Meadow will be a mixture of one, two and three-bedroom homes with gardens.

The scheme by the Great Shelford Parochial Charities will provide affordable housing for people in the village in need.

The proposed East West Railway will be close to the new development if it goes ahead. Trustees have decided to include triple glazed windows throughout the development to mitigate any noise issues.

The 21 home development brings the total number of alms houses owned by the charity to 53 providing affordable living for Great Shelford people in housing need.

Sarah Rann, the Parochial Charities chair of trustees, said: “After three years in planning, we are delighted to see our contractors breaking ground at More’s Meadow. I would particularly like to thank the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority for their grant of £1 million to help build these homes.

“We are also very grateful for the generosity of local benefactors who have contributed to the landscape improvements.”

The scheme is expected to be completed by the end of 2022.

The charity also owns several acres of land adjacent to the development site - and freely accessible to Great Shelford villagers - where it has laid out new allotments, planted trees and established a community garden. Special efforts have been made to accommodate all levels of mobility with the provision of wheelchair accessible paths and raised planting beds. Further trees have been ordered for a community orchard, ahead of November planting.

Posted Aug 22 21

Great Shelford Parochial Charities

Established in 1890 and registered with The Charities Commission, The Parochial Charities exist to provide accommodation for “persons resident in the area of the Parish of Great Shelford . . . at low rents according to their means.”

They have 32 homes available for rent at More’s Meadow in the village.

Website: www.gspc.org.uk

Phone: 01223 842411

Email enquiries@gspc.org.uk

Redmayne Arnold & Harris continues expansion with new office in Great Shelford

The opening of a new branch this June marks continued growth for independent estate agent Redmayne Arnold & Harris. The new office is located on Woollards Lane in the heart of Great Shelford and it strengthens and expands on their very strong presence in Cambridge and the surrounding villages.

Chris Arnold, one of the founders of the firm, said: "Were delighted to be opening this new office in Shelford, which will complement our existing Cambridge office, establishing a strong presence in the villages south of the City. We have always been active in the area but with the development of the bio-medical campus the relocation of Papworth hospital and major new development across the south Cambridge fringe, having a full-service office in Great Shelford will increase our coverage and allow us to serve our clients better.”

Two directors of Redmayne Arnold & Harris will be based in the new office. Alex Gray has been selling homes in the Shelfords for years, while Chris Arnold is one of the most experienced agents in the area and lives close by in Thriplow. Expert negotiation has a massive impact on the final sale price of any property and Alex and Chris have negotiated hundreds of home sales. They know all the tactics, when it is the right time to push and the right time to hold back. On the residential sales side, they will be joined by Jack Bunning, an experienced negotiator who knows the area like the back of his hand. The firm also specialises in the sales and marketing of new developments with a dedicated New Homes team, led by Oliver Hughes. Hannah Khan will manage the lettings team at Shelford, providing both managed and let-only options for landlords as well as a convenient local office for tenants renting in the area.

Commenting on the opening, Alex Gray, Director, said “We believe we can offer something really different in the area. Many agents think it’s enough to simply upload details onto Rightmove and sit back. Of course, online marketing is important but if you are moving you should expect more. You deserve the very best advice, you want people who really know that they are doing. And our service doesn’t stop when we agree a sale or a letting. We work just as hard for our clients right up to the point our clients move out. Nick Redmayne and Jane Bailey (who has lived in Stapleford for over 20 years) manage sales progression and their experience means they can spot any warning signs making sure any problems are dealt with quickly and efficiently.”

Anchor 1 triple glaze