News

The first resident of an exciting £20m project to build affordable, state-of-the-art accommodation for people working at Addenbrooke’s Hospital and The Rosie Hospital in Cambridge, was settling into her new home this week.

Rachel Clapham, who works at the Medical Research Council based at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, was the first resident to move into one of the 290 new, fully furnished en-suite apartments which were launched by leading UK housing provider Sanctuary Group.

The project, launched in June 2009 with the burial of a time capsule, is now complete and has started receiving nurses, doctors and key workers into the four new buildings, named after local villages Linton, Milton, Kingston and Newton.

There are a range of apartments available with between one and six bedrooms as well as two which have been wheelchair adapted.

Speaking about her new home Rachel said: “Living here on-site is great as I can roll out of bed to get to work - it is lovely to be so close.

“My bedroom is so big and spacious and there is lots of storage space, it’s great that it is en-suite too.

“I love the kitchen as it has lots of elbow room and has lots of light. You can have fresh air when you are cooking. There is a lovely dining area where you can socialise with your flat mates.

“Sanctuary is a good company as they are reliable and prompt to respond to your enquiries.”

As well as providing much-needed affordable on-site accommodation, the buildings have been constructed to the highest specifications and are pioneering in design, incorporating some of the latest green design features for sustainability, including:Solar panels on the roofs to heat the domestic hot water system.
Green and brown roofs. The green is planted for growth and the brown is covered with a 150mm layer of soil from the site, balancing the ecology of the area for insect and bird life. The roofs are designed to effectively hold back the water, which soaks through the soil into the rainwater pipes.
External elevations made from natural cedar wood sourced from sustainable sources.
Large areas of the windows are shielded by brise soleil, a system that shades buildings from the sun.
Cycleways and footpaths on-site.
On-site recycling facilities
The day-to-day management of the accommodation, including room allocation, issuing of tenancies, rent collection, maintenance and cleaning, is being handled by Sanctuary Management Services (SMS), the facilities management services subsidiary of Sanctuary Group. SMS already manages 577 bed spaces on behalf of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, in addition to 214 existing bedrooms on the Addenbrooke’s site at Grantchester House.

Alene Campbell, Head of SMS, said: "We are pleased to be operating these energy efficient and thoroughly modern flats for the benefit of the doctors, nurses and key workers who are now in the process of making these apartments their new home.

“The quality and variety of accommodation available on-site enhances the options available to those staff who are either already working, or looking to work, with the Trust and we are delighted to be part of this exciting project.”

Sanctuary has also launched a new website with an online application facility and photo gallery of the new accommodation at
www.sanctuary-addenbrookes.co.uk.