East Cambridgeshire District Council continues to lead the way when it comes to supporting community led development and our work has been officially recognised and commended as ‘trailblazing’ in a new independent report presented to government.
The report focuses on the Kennett Garden Village development, which is a 500 home, high-quality, low density, near net zero scheme based on garden village principles.
Once completed this infrastructure first scheme will deliver 350 open market homes, 150 affordable homes which includes 60 affordable homes that will be owned and managed by Kennett Community Land Trust (KCLT), and 9 £100k Homes. It also includes a primary school, a perimeter road, village green, village centre, land for healthcare and improvements to the junction, known locally as The Bell Inn Junction.
KCLT led the scheme from the very first day and were involved in every step of the process and worked tirelessly to build a vision for this flagship development that has the community at the heart of it.
The 60 affordable homes that are being acquired by KCLT will be available for those who have a local connection, enabling eligible people to live and/or work in the areas that they have a strong connection to.
From the outset the Dane Hill Estate, the former owners of the land now being developed by Bellway, recognising an opportunity to be part of something special, were committed to working with the community to provide a development that everyone involved could be proud of and very quickly supported and championed the needs of the community being properly reflected in the scheme.
The council, through its wholly owned company, East Cambs Trading Company (ECTC), worked closely with KCLT and the Dane Hill Estate to develop a vision and together they have worked to ensure that the vision became a reality and that promises that were made to the community come to fruition.
Bellway Homes bought the site in 2021 and started construction in 2023. The primary school has been built and opened in November 2024 and the perimeter road will complete in October 2025. Some of the houses, both open market and affordable homes are occupied.
ECTC, KCLT and the Dane Hill Estate continue to work with Bellway day to day to ensure that the vision is achieved. This development is proof of what can be achieved when willing parties come together and put the community at the centre of decision making.
The report went before government ministers in February as a shining example of how community-led housing can best be incorporated into new developments.
Currently 87 per cent of large new housing developments in the UK rely on private management companies. The report says this often results in poor value for money for residents and lack of accountability, with just 2 per cent of people nationally saying they trusted large developers. In contrast the parties involved in this community led development have been able to work together to enable an annual management charge of only £90 per dwelling – an extremely low amount by comparison to most new build developments.
East Cambridgeshire District Council has been at the forefront of addressing this situation. In 2013 it welcomed its first CLT specifically designed to help local communities build and manage their own affordable housing.
Since then, 11 CLTs have been established – resulting in 142 affordable homes being secured to date and 88 of these have been built.
The council’s innovative model works by providing support to help establish CLTs which are set up and managed by the community, for the community. It’s specialist planning policy, Growth 6, also helps the CLT find appropriate land close to villages or towns.
The council’s own company ECTC has delivered two community led development sites, one in Soham and one in Haddenham.
Cllr Anna Bailey, Leader of East Cambridgeshire District Council, said: “We truly believe the best people who know what the housing needs are in local communities are the people who live there. This approach is entirely about listening to what people want and helping them deliver the right homes and the right infrastructure to help re-invigorate our local communities. Receiving this national recognition is a true reflection of the hard work the council, and the local communities have put in place to help deliver affordable homes.”
Robin Swanson MBE, Chairman and founder member of Kennett CLT, said: “I passionately believe that Kennett Garden Village is the best option for the village.
“It has been a long journey, but working closely with the council has enabled us to ensure a supply of EPC A-rated local housing, for local people supported by important infrastructure which includes a perimeter road, highway improvements, a primary school, public open spaces and allotments.”
Paul Remington, Chair of East Cambs Trading Company, said: “It has been a real honour to work on the development at Kennett Garden Village. Our close collaboration with the council, KCLT and the former landowners enabled us to design and promote a scheme that reflects the needs of the community. We are proud to be on the cusp of facilitating the delivery of high quality, homes for all, that is served by much needed infrastructure early in the development cycle.”
A spokesperson for the Dane Hill Estate commented: “In deciding to develop this land in a community led manner we were committed to creating a legacy rather than maximising financial returns. We are delighted with the progress to date which has seen Kennett developed in a way that the residents themselves requested, with an impressive amount of infrastructure being brought forward ahead of any open market sales, including a new primary school site, highway improvements and beautifully designed open spaces with inclusive play areas. We are very proud that the 150 affordable homes the scheme will deliver will ensure local people can continue to afford to live here for future generations.”