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Cambridge Growth

Cambridge is growing!

Our largest town, Cambridge is growing, fast! But we've got it covered. We plan our growth in Waipā in stages called 'growth cells and they are underway in two phases, pre-2025 and post-2025.

The residential growth cells in Cambridge are Cambridge North, C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6 and C7, and our industrial growth cells are C8, C9 and C10. They're all at different stages of progress.

What’s underway now?

  • The Summerset Retirement Village and Health Hub in Cambridge North are underway and making good progress.
  • We are still in the planning stages for the C1 growth cell.
  • We have approved a resource consent for 3Ms of Cambridge Limited, within the C2 growth cell. This will bring a new residential area, retail, parks, roads and a primary school to Cambridge, located close to the Grassroots Trust Velodrome.
  • The C3 growth cell is currently in the master-planning stage.
  • We're also working alongside the developer for C4 in Leamington on three waters infrastructure.
Riders cycling on the Te Awa River.

Te Awa River Ride detour

Construction of a stormwater outlet which will service the new developments on Cambridge and Hamilton Roads, will begin on September 11.

This construction, as part of the C2 and C3 growth cells in Cambridge West, will require a section of the Te Awa River Ride to be closed from 15 November 2023. A 400m compacted gravel detour around the work site will be in place for about 12 months, from early October.

The section of track is between the Grassroots Trust Velodrome and Gaslight Theatre, directly below the C3 development site.

Public can still access different parts of the track from the Gaslight Theatre on Alpha Street or at the Grassroots Trust Velodrome, off Hanlin Road.

Te Awa River Ride track detour, which will be in place from early October.

Te Awa River Ride track detour, which will be in place from early October.

The Te Awa River Ride opened in March 2022, and has been a popular track for people from around the district and beyond. Once construction is complete, the section of track will be reinstated to how it was before the work began.

Why is this stormwater work happening?

The Waipā 2050 Growth Strategy identifies Cambridge reaching a population of 30,300 in 2050 – a forecasted increase of 13,000 homes.

The C2 growth cell will cater for 2500 homes, a retirement village, a new primary school, a recreational reserve and playground, neighbourhood shops and supporting underground infrastructure.

With more housing comes an increased need for amenities and the right infrastructure including roading, cycleways, water, wastewater and stormwater and utilities. Council is being proactive and planning for this work with developers.

Having the right infrastructure in place can help reduce any impacts of flooding in heavy rain events so it's important we put this in place at the right size, in the right place and in the right timeframe for our town's future needs.

This new outlet is designed to provide a stormwater outfall into the Waikato River without creating adverse environmental effects.

A 3D rendering of the stormwater outlet structure.

A 3D rendering of the stormwater outlet structure.

As part of the developments in Cambridge, Waipā District Council has developed a network of planted swales to collect, treat, and discharge stormwater.

Water collected in this network of swales, which are designed to manage water runoff, filter pollutants, and increase rainwater infiltration, ultimately discharges via the outlet structure into the Waikato River.

Following a comprehensive consenting process in 2020, consents were obtained from Waikato Regional Council for the subsequent discharge of stormwater and Waipā District Council to enable the construction of the outlet structure in this area.

Impacts of the construction will be carefully managed through compliance with consent conditions and implementation of a series of management plans.

Media release:Te Awa River Ride detour for stormwater development

What will these new areas look like?

Industrial areas

New industrial areas in Hautapu, known as Part of planning for residential development is looking at what type of housing will be provided. The large industrial lots will cater for new industry and large commercial activities, and provide more employment opportunities for the town. Council is in talks with Waikato Regional Council about bus transport options to the new industrial areas.

C8 will be the first new industrial growth area, however part of the existing zoned C10 area has already been developed. We encourage business owners who are interested in locating their businesses in these areas to contact Council to discuss options.

  • C8 will allow for 36 hectares of industrial development.
  • C9 will allow for 55 hectares of industrial development.
  • C10 will provide for 162 hectares of industrial development.

The industrial land provision in Waipā is guided by Future Proof’s anticipated demands. Future proof is a sub-regional growth planning collaboration between the high-growth councils in Waikato region. As a high-growth area, Waipā must to provide sufficient, feasible land for industrial development in the short, medium and long term as a requirement of government’s National Policy Statement on Urban Development. The timing of the development of these areas is therefore subject to change as demand arises.

Please note these figures are estimates – actual figures will be dependent on structure plan and detailed subdivision plans.

Residential housing

Part of planning for residential development is looking at what type of housing will be provided. Quarter-acre and other large sections don’t make much sense in the middle of town, so we’ve looked at a mix of residential and compact residential living in C1, C2 and C3 while those seeking larger lots will find these in C6.

  • Residential sections are typically sized between 500-800m2.
  • Compact residential houses are typically between 300-400m2 and can include stand-alone houses, semi-detached or terraced housing.

The key with compact housing is to make sure you plan fantastic open spaces in the right place - close to walking and cycling links, shops and other local amenities.

An example of what housing might look like for residential and compact residential areas is below:

An example of what residential housing could look like.

An example of what compact residential housing could look like.

How many homes will there be?

Here’s the breakdown of new Cambridge developments identified through Waipā 2050 to be in place by 2035:

  • Cambridge North - 87ha - approximately 1044 dwellings.
  • C1 - 46ha - approximately 528 dwellings.
  • C2 and C3 - 284ha - approximately 3400 dwellings + a neighbourhood centre.
  • C4 - 66ha - approximately 790 dwellings.
  • C6 - 53ha - 160 dwellings.

These total approximately 5,900 dwellings on up 536 hectares of residential land.

After 2035, the breakdown for new developments are:

  • C5 - 61ha - approximately 732 dwellings.
  • C7 - 125ha - 930 dwellings based on a 50% split between residential and large lot residential.
  • C11 - 59ha - approximately 258 large lot residential dwellings.

These total approximately 1920 dwellings across 272 hectares of residential land.

Please note these figures are estimates – actual figures will be dependent on structure plan and detailed subdivision plans.

Keeping a consistent look and feel in the streetscape helps newer areas blend in with established neighbourhoods.

Character - the look and feel

There are many things that make up the character of Cambridge - the views, the green belt, the street grid pattern, the trees, the garden beds and the historic buildings and monuments. We want to ensure these features are continued and enhanced through all new areas of Cambridge.

Here’s what we’re proposing:

  • consistent grid patterns for new streets. This creates lovely long-distance views where you can see tree-lined streets, the green belt and the hills beyond.
  • streets with large green frontages and trees, like the rest of Cambridge. This provides visual amenity for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers passing by and privacy for residents – it also keeps our town visually cohesive.
  • houses along the street will have the same setbacks. This helps to maintain and enhance character, and provides a consistent building line for houses.
  • houses positioned to make the best use of the site - in terms of sun, privacy and access to nearby shops and recreation spaces.
  • limited fence heights to help foster safe, friendly neighbourhoods. Tall fences can easily block others light, views and visibility, shorter fences make for a safe community.

We will make sure our neighbourhoods connect through a series of cycling and walking networks, and will provide open green spaces for our communities to mix, mingle and play in.

Recreation

Open spaces, parks and reserves are an integral part of the Cambridge lifestyle. We’re lucky to be connected by a green town belt, cycleways, walking tracks, lakes and tree lined streets.

It’s not just a want for us, we need to continue this theme because to keep Cambridge the place we all love. We’re used to formal and informal recreation spaces where we can take in the view or kick a ball around with family.

Our plans provide for open spaces and connect the new developments through a network of “green” pedestrian and cycle ways. Our plans also preserve any existing natural areas (river terraces, farm drain channels etc.) and important heritage sites.

Here’s what we’re proposing:

  • Strong walking and cycling links with existing great pathways, like Te Awa Cycleway and the green belt.
  • A network of interconnected green spaces which allow for a range of uses and provide opportunities for people to improve their health and wellbeing.
  • Local playgrounds and informal play areas within 5 to 10 minutes’ walk from all residents.
  • A destination playground – larger than a normal neighbourhood playground to provide more play equipment that is fun and challenging for a range of ages. It could also include a other features like seating, shade, barbecues or similar, to create spaces for families to spend all day together.
  • Opportunity for formal sportsfields to support the growing population – this could be used for a range of Saturday sports and provide for year-round enjoyment.
  • We want to have provision for at least 15 percent ‘green’ space within each growth area.

Small neighbourhood shopping centres, such as these, will be strategically located within our new neighbourhoods to provide for the quick morning dash for milk or bread.

Neighbourhood shopping areas

We all like convenience and with more people calling Cambridge home, we will need additional convenient retail and services to the North. The centre of Cambridge will remain the CBD area, so these smaller shopping areas will provide for the morning dash for milk, small takeaways such as fish ‘n’ chips, or a trip to the doctor. It’s about providing for the quick-stop shopping that we do frequently within easy walking and cycling distance.

For the population size, Cambridge has shortage in food and convenience retail and services. With this in mind, there’s room for a commercial retail development in C1 and another in C2 to cater for both C2 and C3.

Remember, this will take time to happen - we’re working with the developers and the community to determine when the time is right for this to happen.

Here’s what we’re proposing:

  • C1 - a neighbourhood centre of around 15,000m2, including convenience retail and services, a potential supermarket and supporting local amenities.
  • C2/3 – a neighbourhood centre of around 20,000m2 located in C2, near Hamilton Road, including convenience retail and services, a potential supermarket and supporting local amenities. Developers need to fit parking, internal roads, open spaces and community facilities within this size.

Design guidelines will be prepared to help plan what layout, form and scale these neighbourhood centres will look like, so they remain walkable and vibrant.

Stormwater swales, such as the example above, could be used to collect water in heavy rain events, along with promoting good biodiversity while treating water.

Infrastructure

To make it all work, there’s a whole lot of services that go underground. A whole team of people consider the technical aspects - how will water get to the houses, how will wastewater be taken away, where will the roads go, how will intersections work and where will the main entrance and exits be, plus so much more!

A huge consideration for the C1, C2 and C3 growth cells is stormwater – where does all the rain water go once it’s landed in our streets? The soil in these growth cells has poor absorption so we need our stormwater solutions to be ecologically friendly, fit in with the local character, meet Waikato Regional Council requirements and consider growth beyond the current needs.

Here’s what we’re proposing:

  • A stormwater solution that promotes green infrastructure, has natural planting and cycleways and walkways around it.
  • Attractive swales and 'naturalised' collection ponds - in time, these will have lots of planting and add to the character of an area.
  • A central stormwater corridor running through C2 and large pipes draining to the Waikato River in C3.

To achieve this we install stormwater infrastructure as required to balance growth demand and the high cost to put infrastructure in place. This includes

Having the right infrastructure in place can help reduce any impacts of flooding in heavy rain events so it's important we put this in place at the right size and in the right timeframe for our town's future needs.

Roads are another big investment, especially as the structure plans cover such a large area. These aren’t just for cars, but also for people to use that reflects Cambridge’s character. We want people to feel comfortable with options to walk, cycle or use a mobility scooter on our pathways too.

For C3, we are considering the main access way to be via a roundabout on Cambridge Road by Te Awa Lifecare. A roundabout could also provide the main access to C2, with secondary access roads connecting across the greenbelt to Abergeldie Way/Taylor Street and Peake Road.

The roads have been designed to allow great connectivity both within the growth cells and to the rest of Cambridge. The roads are pedestrian and cycle-friendly, with roads designed to keep the speeds down.

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