A SHARED COMMUNITY AND FAITH SPACE FOR

Who is it for?

Shaped by the community, for the community: for everyone who lives, works, studies, or wants to help put down roots in Northstowe. Years of listening and partnerships mean we are responding to clear gaps in local provision. Christian and Muslim communities will have space to worship with integrity, while the wider building will be open for education, wellbeing, civic, and community life that serves the whole town. Shared use will support collaboration over time, while respecting different needs.

What's the vision?

• Some spaces are designed to support specific faith practices
• Many are shared, bookable, and open to the whole community (including those of other faiths)

Why it matters

As you arrive: the Reflective Gardens 

As you arrive on the site, the first thing you encounter is the landscape.

Paths, sculpture, planting, and natural materials create a gentle transition from the surrounding neighbourhood into a space designed for gathering, reflection, and community life.

The gardens include a series of outdoor spaces with different characters: a civic plaza and processional entrance, the Pilgrim Path with local artwork, the Storytelling Circle, and quieter places to sit, pause, and reflect. The  Storytelling Circle will host small gatherings, shared meals, scout groups, forest-style activities, and seasonal celebrations.

Above the Storytelling Circle, on the side of the building, space has been left to commission a landmark piece of local artwork.

For those simply passing through towards the nature reserve, it also offers a place to pause and enjoy the setting beside the lakes,  while some areas could be booked for community events.

Inside the building:

Café and Exhibition Area

The café will also host community exhibitions, creative projects, and informal gatherings, helping create a welcoming everyday meeting place for the town. It will operate as a social enterprise in its own right,  creating opportunities for training, mentoring, and community participation.

We are exploring this vision in conversation with Turtle Dove Cambridge CIC, drawing on their experience in the hospitality industry, as well as supporting young people through mentoring, creative activity, and alternative education pathways.

Flexible Community Spaces

These include smaller rooms suited to one-to-one conversations and small-group work, alongside medium-sized spaces for community activity and events.

We're already involved in conversation with many other  local groups, including Romsey Mill (charity working in Northstowe and elsewhere in South Cambridgeshire to support young people and families), Northstowe Youth Hive, Northstowe Scouts, RAF Air Cadets (2524 Oakington Squadron), The Pathfinder Primary School, Plastic Free Northstowe and Longstanton, Bug Hunter Waters Park Run and Northstowe Arts, who have all supplied letters of support for this proposal.

The Chapel by the Lake

The chapel acts as the hub of the Network’s worship, while many other activities and gatherings continue to take place across Northstowe in schools, homes, and community venues.

Local residents have shared a need for dignified spaces for midweek prayer and worship, as well as for weddings, baptisms, and funerals, which currently often require travelling to neighbouring towns and villages.

Additional flexible space is provided through the annex and mezzanine, which can open onto the chapel for larger gatherings. These spaces can also be used or hired separately for other Christian activities, music rehearsals, meetings, or non-religious community use.

The setting and acoustics of the space will make it a beautiful venue for Northstowe weddings and music performances, alongside its regular role in worship and quiet prayer.

During the day, outside organised events,  it would be open for those walking through the site who wish to step inside for a moment of stillness.

The Islamic Prayer & Education Room

A longstanding local relationship between Northstowe Church Network and Northstowe Muslims, built through collaboration in schools, community events, and civic life, has helped shape a vision for collaborative working on this site, and for continued joint working in the future should further S106 opportunities enable the Muslim community to explore a dedicated Islamic Centre.

At this stage of the town’s development, local Muslim residents have shared a clear need for a small, qibla-aligned,  prayer space within walking distance of their homes, enabling them to fulfil everyday religious obligations and gather for learning, mentoring, and pastoral support.

The room itself is intentionally modest in scale, designed primarily for daily prayer and small gatherings. When larger community events are needed, Northstowe Muslims would be able to hire other rooms within the centre, just as other local groups do.

While the room provides a practical place for prayer, the co-location within a shared community building is also intentional, creating opportunities for greater cultural and interfaith understanding and for collaboration on joint community and social action projects.

The Architectural Vision

Designed for neighbourhood-scale gatherings

A Floor by Floor Overview

Ground Floor
Café and exhibition space overlooking the lake, with two small bookable meeting pods and a Changing Places toilet.

First Floor
The double-height Chapel by the Lake (seating around 80) with a flexible annex.

Second Floor
1.5 height Chapel mezzanine for small groups, plus the Network office.

Third Floor
Community hall, small meeting room, and the Islamic Prayer & Education Room.

Rooftop Terrace
Outdoor gathering space with views across the lake.

Hiring and Community Use

Many of the spaces within the Centre will be available for hire when they are not in use by the Northstowe Church Network , Northstowe Muslims, or Turtledove. These spaces will be open to local residents, community groups, charities, faith groups, and organisations, supporting activities such as community meetings, classes, youth work, cultural events, workshops, and wellbeing sessions.

The building has been designed primarily to serve the everyday needs of people living within walking or cycling distance of the site. Rooms are therefore modest in scale, suited to neighbourhood activities rather than large regional gatherings. The limited parking provision and strong emphasis on active travel reflect this local focus.

Rooms will generally be available during weekdays and Saturdays from mid-morning through to early evening, with some evening availability depending on the space and safeguarding arrangements. The building has been designed with multiple floors and separate zones, allowing different groups to use the centre at the same time.

Hiring income forms part of the centre’s long-term sustainability plan, alongside café income and events. Pricing has been modelled using a three-tier structure:

• commercial rates

• standard local group or personal hire

• discounted rates for charities delivering local community benefit.

This approach allows the building to remain affordable for local groups while helping meet the ongoing running costs of the centre.

Sustainability, Active Travel and Local Access

Where is the site?

The Professional Team

Who are we?

In practice, this means we are both a faith community and a community development charity. Guided by our ethos of “praying, exploring, and sharing”, we nurture spiritual growth, strengthen relationships, and contribute to Northstowe’s flourishing through worship, education, youth work, wellbeing activities, and civic partnerships.

Key on-site Collaborators:

Other Collaborators

Our bid submission also records numerous other working relationships with local groups, schools, organisations, and faith communities across Northstowe and the surrounding area.

We have also been involved in the Northstowe Faith Strategy Group since its inception, listening carefully to the needs and perspectives of those who have chosen to participate.