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St Cuthbert’s Garden Village is an ambitious proposal to deliver a new thriving community just south of Carlisle in the North of England.
Carlisle City Council commissioned Arup to work on the Stage 2 Masterplan Framework, supporting the council with their ambitious and inclusive growth agenda that will be an exemplar for the government’s national garden villages programme.
Our multidisciplinary team of masterplanners, infrastructure designers and landscape architects collaborated with Hive Land & Planning Consultancy and local, regional and national stakeholders to establish the overall concept and vision for three villages as part of a site-wide masterplan.
Our comprehensive masterplan framework and supporting urban design guide will help inform future design and policy, infrastructure requirements and future phasing of the development.
Innovative environmental design principles have been adopted to allow the development to remain in keeping with its rural setting, while providing much needed high quality sustainable living and employment opportunities for Carlisle.
Project Summary
10,325 new homes
c.225 haof open space provision
10%biodiversity net gain
Building a resilient natural landscape
St Cuthbert’s Garden Village is ideally placed between a series of natural landscapes, including areas of outstanding natural beauty such as the Pennines and the Lake District National Park. The masterplan is designed around using multifunctional green and blue infrastructure and existing open space to create a well-connected settlement that promotes the wellbeing of its residents. Our approach utilises natural solutions, encompassing parks, streets, woodlands, fields and waterways, to create a linked ecosystem that supports healthy living and provides opportunities for recreation and culture while building resilience to climate change.
A low carbon community
Taking an eco-centric approach, we are helping develop St Cuthbert's into a low carbon community to attract new revenue streams through investment and tourism. The development will work toward a minimum of 10% biodiversity net gain with the masterplan seeking to preserve species and habitats on the existing site and create new areas that enhance ecological functions. Natural interventions, including hedgerows, trees, and wetlands, will maintain the site's rural character and play a crucial role in mitigating the potential impact of flooding in the area.
“Arup’s work on the St. Cuthbert’s Garden Village Masterplan has shown creativity, strong conceptual thinking, and a sensitive regard to local context. ” Jane Meek Corporate Director of Economic Development, Carlisle City Council
Enabling sustainable mobility
The Garden Village will provide a high-quality active travel network, which adds to the distinctive character of St Cuthbert’s. Our masterplan is designed around creating an inclusive walkable neighbourhood that ensures improved access to schools, shops, services, and open spaces, with walking and cycling as the primary transport mode of choice.
A network of low traffic neighbourhoods has been proposed that connects adjacent communities to and from the Garden Village. This group of streets will use modal filters to limit access for motor vehicles, generating more inviting spaces for social interaction and enhancing residents' safety and wellbeing.
At the heart of St Cuthbert's will run the Greenway, a connective, multiuse area up to 100m wide that connects the three settlements of Durdar, Carleton and Cummersdale and creates links into Carlisle. This car-free space will traverse across water, through woodland and past fields and acts as a critical placemaking feature fundamental to creating a vibrant and resilient community - central to the character of St Cuthbert's.
Supporting locally-led development
Now as the project moves towards a preferred option, we will continue consultation with key public-sector partners to ensure that the final masterplan is developed in an open, transparent and collaborative manner, so opportunities for new and existing residents, public and private sector stakeholders are properly explored and embedded into the final framework.
With more than 10,000 homes planned across a 1,300ha site, St Cuthbert’s is recognised as one of the UK’s largest Garden Villages and will help enhance the city of Carlisle, bringing employment opportunities, community facilities and improved green infrastructure to new and existing residents.
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