The MOD has announced the completion of the sale of Waterbeach Barracks in Cambridgeshire, paving the way for a major redevelopment of the site to provide new homes, schools sports and community facilities, as well as a haven for wildlife.
The site has been sold to Urban & Civic PLC, they have been the MOD’s development partner at Waterbeach since 2014 and together with DIO, achieved outline planning consent and commenced a major redevelopment of the former airfield and barracks of the Royal Engineers.
The development, which will be delivered in stages over the next 20 years, will provide 6,500 new homes, five new schools, extensive on and off-site cycle connections, public transport services and active travel schemes. A town centre with health centre, shops and services and a range of community facilities, including parks, play spaces and sports facilities, will sit at the heart of the development, while 250 acres of green space and 34 acres of ecology habitats will provide a home for wildlife.
David Brewer, DIO’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “We are delighted to announce the sale of the Waterbeach site to Urban&Civic PLC and have enjoyed working together over the last nine years to help navigate the site through the planning system and into early delivery.
“This is not just a disused MOD site, it is a place with a heart, and a rich military and archaeological history, and strong links with the existing community of Waterbeach. We are proud that this will be remembered and commemorated through the innovative and thoughtful development to come and that those links with the existing community will be reinvigorated.”
Materials on site will be recycled, and homes and civic buildings will all have low energy features, including air source heat pumps and electric vehicle points. Repurposing a former barracks and airfield will mean being able to reuse the historic core footprint of green spaces and buildings.
Nigel Hugill, Urban & Civic Chief Executive, said: "The transformation of Waterbeach Barracks was grounded in belief and leadership. A major Government Department actively releasing brownfield land for new homes to maintain local momentum that both anticipates and facilitates world-beating economic growth in North Cambridge. In the process, realising significant funds for new investment.”
The existing military heritage Museum run by volunteers will remain in place at the village entrance, and the Memorial Garden will be maintained and set within a wider Memorial Park to ensure the sacrifices of those who served here will never be forgotten.
