Mayor Dr Nik Johnson visited the 54-home development in Haddenham that includes homes provided by the local community land trust.

Dr Nik was shown round the site by Mark Hugo, chair of Haddenham Community Land Trust and viewed the newly landscaped children's play area,

He was also invited inside a 2 bedroomed terraced house and round the site show home.

The trust told him they had gone from a start-up in 2016 to 11 properties under affordable rents/shared ownership by the end of summer 2021.

Eight further homes will follow over the next 12 months.

Dr Nik asked about community involvement and trustees Mark Hugo, Chris Ray and Gareth Wilson explained that there are 130 members, all local people with an interest in the scale and nature of local housing.

They explained the plans were changed after input from residents adjoining the site.

They said the parish council had provided input advice and support and that local conservation groups have had an input to the landscaping plans.

“I sometimes think we have lost our tradition of caring for and looking out for people in our community, but we are at our best when we look after each other,” said Dr Nik.

“But this development is a great example of what I call the three “C’s”, Compassion, Co-operation and Community.”

HCLT was founded with the intention of providing affordable housing for local people priced out of the expensive Cambridgeshire housing market.

The trustees are all volunteers with a mixture of skills and backgrounds and they have worked hard together to deliver this project.

Mr Hugo explained they worked alongside and in collaboration with, many different groups.

"The result is 11 local families have so far been welcomed to affordable new homes,” he said.

He said the trust would be open to further discussion with the Combined Authority to deliver more affordable houses to be managed in perpetuity by the CLT for local families.

And they would work with the mayor “under whatever policies and schemes for housing the Authority embraces”.

Mr Hugo said: “We are open for business and have shown we can deliver what local people need.”