Cambridge’s first cohousing development comprises 42 homes– a mix of two to five bedroom terraced houses and one and two bedroom apartments. The shared spaces and communal facilities, designed to foster community spirit and sustainable living, are integral to the development. These include extensive shared gardens as the focal space
of the community, with areas for growing food, play, socialising, quiet contemplation, and a flexible ‘common house’ with a play room, guest bedrooms, laundry facilities, meeting rooms, and a large hall and kitchen for shared meals and parties. A separate workshop is located elsewhere on site. All residents are members of Cambridge Cohousing Ltd; have a stake in the common parts and contribute to the management of the community. Fulfilling the group’s aspiration for mixed, intergenerational living, the multi- national group includes families with young children, retired and young professional couples and single-person households of different ages.

The project is located in Orchard Park, an urban extension to north Cambridge built from the early 2000s. Orchard Park takes its name from the historic use of the site: the 19th century orchards in the area, and the proximity to the railway attracted the Chivers fruit distribution and marmalade-making business. The name ‘Marmalade Lane’ was chosen for the new car- free street running through the development to celebrate this history, and in admiration of the company’s ethos and practices, which included a profit-sharing scheme first implemented in 1891, co-operative values echoed by those of the cohousing communities.