Orchard Park, previously known as Premier Park and before that Arbury Park, is a district and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

South Cambridgeshire South Cambridgeshire is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district of Cambridgeshire, England, with a population of 162,119 at the 2021 census. It was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of Chesterton Rural District and South Cambri ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

contiguous Contiguity or contiguous may refer to: *Contiguous data storage, in computer science *Contiguity (probability theory) *Contiguity (psychology) *Contiguous distribution of species, in biogeography *Geographic contiguity Geographic contiguity is t ...

with the city of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. Previously agricultural land and the site of Premier Park a huge estate for Premier Travel who amongst other things was a main National Express operator with housing for its drivers. the area is currently an extensive housing estate with additional development continuing on adjacent land.

History

The area now called Orchard Park has been settled since at least the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

and remnants of the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

ring fort, Arbury Camp, remain. The area was also occupied during the

Roman occupation of Britain Roman Britain was the territory that became the Roman province of ''Britannia'' after the Roman conquest of Britain, consisting of a large part of the island of Great Britain. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. Julius Caesa ...

. By the beginning of the 21st century the area was mostly used for

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

before it was identified by local government for development. Building started in 2006 and was due to be completed around 2009, but had been suspended from September 2008 till June 2009 when building restarted. The development contains a number of newly built houses and flats — mixed

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives fro ...

and private dwellings. It has been proposed that under current boundary change proposals Orchard Park should fall within

Cambridge City Council Cambridge City Council is the local authority for Cambridge, a non-metropolitan district with city status in the United Kingdom, city status in Cambridgeshire, England. The council has been under Labour Party (UK), Labour majority control since ...

's boundaries in the future.

Education

Orchard Park Community Primary School caters for 5–11 year olds. Nearby Cambridge Regional College offers further education. Image:Cambridge_Orchard_Park_community_centre.jpg, The Orchard Community Centre and houses along Central Avenue. Image:Cambridge_Orchard_Park_primary_school.jpg, Orchard Park Community Primary School. Image:Cambridge_Orchard_Park_Premier_Inn.jpg, Premier Inn in Orchard Park.

Transport

The area has bus and road connections to the centre of Cambridge as well as the A14 trunk road. Services on the

Cambridgeshire Guided Busway The Cambridgeshire Guided Busway is a guided busway and Bus rapid transit that connects Cambridge, Huntingdon and St Ives, Cambridgeshire, St Ives in Cambridgeshire, England. It has the longest guided busway in the world, surpassing the O-Bahn B ...

began in August 2011 after a lengthy delay. The busway passes the edge of the development with two sheltered bus stops at East and West Orchard Park. A path reducing the travelling distance for pedestrians and cyclists to Histon has been proposed, to reduce Orchard Park resident's dependency on motorised transport. The Ring Fort Path proposal would close the gap between the local hotel and school and the pedestrian crossing over the A14 to Histon. The area is 2 miles from Cambridge North Station

Cambridge North railway station Cambridge North railway station is a railway station located in northern Cambridge, immediately adjacent to the suburb of Chesterton, Cambridge, Chesterton, close to Cambridge Science Park. The station is on the Fen Line, which runs from Cambr ...

and 3 miles from Cambridge Central Station.

Nearby communities

King's Hedges King's Hedges is an electoral ward in Cambridge, England. As of the 2021 UK census, the ward had a population of 11,099 people. History Some open land to the north of Cambridge was known as ''Albrach'' from as early as the 13th century. In 155 ...

* Arbury *

Impington Impington is a village and civil parish about 3 miles north of Cambridge city centre, in the South Cambridgeshire district, in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It forms part of the Cambridge built-up area. In 2011 the parish had a populati ...

* Chesterton

References

{{reflist

External links

Orchard Park planning document
at South Cambridgeshire District Council
Orchard Park Community website
Buildings and structures in South Cambridgeshire District Buildings and structures under construction in the United Kingdom Civil parishes in Cambridgeshire Geography of Cambridge