Pupils from Isle of Ely Primary School picked up shovels for a ceremony to mark the start of construction on a new 300-home development.
The children attended the groundbreaking ceremony at the Cathedral Rise development site, where housebuilder Bellway is delivering the properties as part of the Orchards Green neighbourhood on the outskirts of Ely.
House captains from each year group at the school, which is near the new development, were invited to the site along with Bellway staff and representatives from groundworks company MIDA.
Headteacher at the school Bryony Surtees said: “Our pupils enjoyed attending the groundbreaking ceremony at Cathedral Rise. It was a unique and memorable opportunity for them so thank you to Bellway for inviting us to be part of the occasion.
“As new homes are built and people move in, our pupils who attended the groundbreaking will be able to say they were there right at the start of construction and I’m sure they will take a keen interest in seeing how it progresses in the years ahead.
“Cathedral Rise will be an important addition to the area and we look forward to welcoming children who come to live there as pupils here at our school.”
Bellway Eastern Counties Construction Manager Jessica Garton said: “Inviting children from the Isle of Ely Primary School to attend the groundbreaking ceremony at Cathedral Rise was an inspiring way to launch construction of these sustainable new homes.
“We are keen to nurture good relationships with the surrounding community throughout the construction process and thought it would be nice for the school to be part of this ceremonial occasion. We hope the children will always remember that they were here on the very first day of work.
“I would also like to thank our staff from Bellway and representatives of groundworkers MIDA for taking part on the day and turning over the earth to mark the start of this important project.”
Bellway is building one and two-bedroom apartments and two to five-bedroom houses at Cathedral Rise, with sales launching in the coming months. There will be 180 properties for private sale and 120 affordable homes for local people through low-cost rent or shared ownership. The affordable homes will include 14 bungalows.
All the homes will be heated with low-carbon air source heat pumps and each property will have an electric vehicle charging point.
Cathedral Rise will be the fifth phase of the wider Orchards Green project which is set to provide 1,200 homes for the area.
To find out more about Cathedral Rise, visit https://www.bellway.co.uk/new-homes/eastern-counties/cathedral-rise or call the sales team on 01353 260177.
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