A joint venture between two of Cambridge’s leading businesses – Hill and Marshall Group Properties – have secured funding to unlock a large development site which will provide Cambridge with 1,300 new homes and a variety of other mixed-use schemes. Hill Marshall LLP, as the JV is known, will now move forward with the ‘Wing’ project which will be delivered on 160 acres of brownfield land thanks to funding from Homes England.

Hill, who are set to speak at our Cambridge Development Plans Conference, are said to be ‘delighted’ with the funding provided which will see a 10-year long worth £22.4m being provided by Homes England through their Home Building Fund (HBF), which was set up to accelerate the deliver of residential and mixed-use housing developments.

The loan will be used to enable infrastructure works for the entire Wing development, which will include a drainage network, a pumping station, landscaping and the creation of a main spine road to the site. Infrastructure will also be implemented to aid new public transport networks in the area and will see upgrades across a number of other sites.

The first phase of the development will comprise of 350 private homes and 150 affordable homes, which will be a mix of ownership and affordable rent tenures. Designed by Pollard Thomas Edwards Architects the homes will offer a mix of 1, 2 and 3-bedroom apartments and 2, 3 and 4-bedroom houses.The further houses will be made possible through additional funding from Homes England who’re looking to relocate the grounding running enclosure a the nearby airport.

A spokesperson for the Hill Marshall LLP said: ”Marshall Group and Hill are two like-minded family firms committed to making Cambridge one of the best cities to live in the UK. We’re delighted to have secured new funding from Homes England’s Home Building Fund for this development in the City – it will ensure we are able to deliver an outstanding new community for residents in half the amount of time it would normally take. Cambridge has long been established as one of the best places to live in the UK and this new community seeks to add further to the City’s success.”

Nick Walkley, Chief Executive at Homes England, said: ”We’re using our land, finance and expertise to speed up the delivery of new homes. This loan through our HBF is a significant step towards seeing this 1,300 home new community at this key development site in Cambridge become a reality and I look forward to seeing work start on site.”

The funding also unlocked the development of a wide range of facilities which will support the new community, including sports pitches, a new primary school, allotments and retail and commercial space. The Wing site will be incredibly well connected, with the new Cambridge North Station around a mile away with regular public transport running to the city centre from the nearby park and ride car park and other local services.

Award winning housebuilder Hill will be giving further details of this and many other schemes they’re working on at the Cambridge Development Plans Conference.