Originally built in the late 1960s, Cambridge Road Estate is a well-established community, but the homes and public spaces no longer met residents’ needs. Ongoing issues with damp homes, confusing walkways, and safety and security had led residents to call for change. Working with the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Council, they helped shape a regeneration brief for a new neighbourhood that would address these issues and preserve the mature trees, including a much-loved willow tree.
The Council partnered with Countryside Partnerships PLC (part of the Vistry Group) and formed the joint venture Cambridge Road LLP. They appointed us to help develop a deliverable regeneration plan. Over nearly a decade, we’ve worked with the client team to shape the redevelopment throughout the tender, ballot, and town planning stages. Our interdisciplinary team has also provided an integrated town planning, environmental, health, equalities and townscape and visual impact assessment. Along the way, we navigated challenges that included working remotely during the pandemic and national fire safety rules changing mid-project, forcing design adjustments to some buildings.
Today, 250 homes are complete and occupied, with a further 202 under construction. Approval is secured for phase two, confirming 383 new homes, over 700 cycle spaces, around 100 new trees and more than 2,000 square metres (21,528 square feet) of play space. In total, the redevelopment is set to deliver 2,170 new homes. And those trees and that willow tree residents wanted to protect? They now anchor established green spaces on the estate, serving as a tangible reminder that regeneration can create something new while keeping hold of what a community values.
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