Housing LIN Case Study (No. 174) - More's Meadow Almshouses: A community-led development in Cambridgeshire

Written by Rowan Haysom, Director at Haysom Ward Miller Architects, this Housing LIN Case Study (No. 174) highlights the More’s Meadow Almshouses project, developed by the Great Shelford Village Charity. The project delivers 21 affordable homes in Cambridgeshire, emphasising community-led design, sustainability, and social connectivity.

Situated in the greenbelt, the project includes one- to three-bedroom homes arranged around a central car-free green, encouraging community interaction. Landscape features, such as allotments, a community garden, and woodland enhance biodiversity and local access to nature. Sustainability elements like air source heat pumps, heat recovery ventilation, and triple glazing ensure low energy use.

The development has won awards from the Almshouse Association and Eastern Echo thanks to the innovative build and layout of the almshouses around the central green space. Read on to learn about:

• how the More’s Meadow project successfully involved local residents and addressed community needs, from planning to completion.

• the project’s environmentally conscious features, such as greenbelt preservation, biodiversity support, and energy-efficient housing design.

• the central green space and resident-oriented layout encouraging a strong, connected community, enhancing wellbeing and social interaction.