Visiting Marmalade Lane, Cambridge’s first cohousing community

Visiting Marmalade Lane, Cambridge’s first cohousing community

  • November 25, 2021

Yesterday we had the opportunity to visit the cohousing community at Marmalade Lane, Cambridge. 14 housing enablers and technical advisers from Eastern Community Homes visited the community to learn more about the design and build of the homes and how the community had evolved around the space they share.

Being a cohousing development, Marmalade Lane is a real community – a place to know and be friends with your neighbours. This was evidenced by the warm welcome we received from the residents who showed us around.

There are 42 homes built around a large, shared garden and a car-free lane with extensive shared facilities and a real sense of community.

You can learn more about Marmalade Lane by visiting their website and if you are interested in cohousing more generally then the UK Cohousing Network’s website is a great place to begin.

Eastern Community Homes, facilitated by Cambridgeshire ACRE, is the advice and support hub for community-led housing in the East of England. Cohousing is just one type of community-led housing but there are other ways of bringing your community’s housing aspirations to life. Please do visit the Eastern Community Homes website to learn more or to get in touch.

The visiting housing enablers from Eastern Community Homes; the Common House at Marmalade Lane; and the homes at Marmalade Lane.

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Prior to joining the organisation, Linda spent over 20 years working within the charity and the commercial sector gaining wide-ranging financial administration experience.

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Kirsten joined Cambridgeshire ACRE in 2000 and then quickly assumed the role of Chief Executive from 2001. She oversees the work of the charity and puts in place our plans and strategies for the future. Day-to-day, Kirsten develops our relationships with new partners, explores new opportunities and oversees all aspects of the charity’s work.

Before working at Cambridgeshire ACRE, Kirsten attended Writtle Agricultural College gaining a BSc in Agriculture and then completed a Masters in Countryside Recreation Management at Sheffield Hallam University.

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Jenna joined the Cambridgeshire ACRE team in 2020. Her role involves leading our rural housing partnership, developing affordable schemes on rural exception sites and delivering housing enabling and co-ordination support for community-led housing through Eastern Community Homes.

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Rachael became part of the Cambridgeshire ACRE team in 2006, initially running a gardening project and then moving to her current role as our Community Development Manager where she leads a number of our environmental projects and use her skills in volunteer management.

Rachael has a BSc in Horticulture from Bath University and, upon leaving there, put her skills to work in the private sector before becoming a primary school teacher for several years.

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Prior to joining Cambridgeshire ACRE, Lisa was the County Councillor and Cabinet Member for Education and Skills at Suffolk County Council. 

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Professionally, she had a career in the financial and insurance sectors before changing vocation and training in the educational sector as an arts educator / practitioner working for both Anglian Ruskin University and Peterborough Regional College.

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Hazel was awarded the MBE in 2010 for services to charities in Cambridgeshire.

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Bishop Stephen chairs our Annual General Meeting and shows a keen interest in the work we do supporting and strengthening rural communities to take action for themselves.

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Professionally, Julie trained as a teacher before joining the Police in 1978 and being appointed Chief Constable of Cambridgeshire in 2005. In the Queen’s 80th Birthday Honours, Julie was awarded an OBE for her management of complex and contentious organisational issues and leadership contribution. In 2008 she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws by Anglia Ruskin University: then in the 2010 New Year’s Honours list she received the Queens Police Medal (QPM). In September 2010, after a 32 year career, she retired from policing.

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Prior to working at Cambridgeshire ACRE, Laura completed a Masters in Heritage Management at Bath Spa University and completed her first degree in Geography at Keele University.