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| Description: Iceni Way: 16-24 |
| Date built: 2006-2007 |
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| Date photograph taken: 04 Aug 2007 | (Alternative map: Google map) |
A typical selection of housing in the first phase of the Arbury Park development (originally called Arbury Camp). Technically this is part of Histon and Impington, but morally, since it is south of the A14, this is part of Cambridge.
This could be a housing development anywhere in England, and it illustrates some of the problems with urban design as it is currently practised up and down the country. Because of the artificially high cost of land, and because the government wants high density housing (allegedly because it is more "sustainable"), most of the houses (and flats) in Arbury Park are three storeys high, which will make maintenance of the upper half of the buildings difficult and expensive. There is also inadequate car parking and not much in the way of back gardens.
Although the development is claimed to be "sustainable", the design along King's Hedges Road is extremely poor. There is no dedicated pavement for either pedestrians or cyclists along most of the road on the Arbury Park side and, although the speed limit has been reduced along this section from 60 mph to 30 mph, the road has been made much more dangerous for cyclists because pinch points have been introduced. And the junction with Histon Road has also been badly designed for cyclists. These transport issues are of course the fault of the local government rather than the developer.
The best feature of Arbury Park so far is the new primary school.
In 2008 the development was renamed Orchard Park, after the school.
Other photographs within 200 m:
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