Property personalities

Linda Clare >>> information adviser at Cambourne Concept Centre

WHEN Linda Clare saw a boy of about 11 looking glumly at the model in the Cambourne Concept Centre showing how the new “super village” was being developed, she asked him what was wrong.

The boy, part of a family planning to move from a town in another part of Britain, said, not surprisingly, that he would miss his friends. Linda told him there was plenty going on and he wouldn’t be lonely for long.

Since moving to his new home, he has helped design a “hangout shelter” for teenagers, joined a youth council, worked on producing a little horror film set in the woods and started on a Cambourne film documentary.

Linda, whose job is “to meet and greet visitors, for whatever reason,” says the community spirit is so strong that occupants of the new houses in Cambourne – most of the 850 built so far are now occupied – mix together readily. “No one would find it hard to fit in.”

So much so that, early on, they started up a baby sitting circle.

The circle has included a couple in their 70s who, when their turn came up to reap the benefits, got their “sitters” to do little jobs such as washing windows or cutting the lawn!

Linda added that, during their first Christmas together, groups of residents had lunch on a “moveable feast” basis.

Early on, church services were held in garages and other activities took place in the doctor’s waiting room.

The Concept Centre itself has become a focal point for socialising, too, with meetings round the model leading to neighbours getting to know each other and the formation of friendships.

“We’ve had young mothers coming in worrying about what to do when their husbands are at work. I tell them there’s plenty going on and that they can always pop in to find out about them. But they rarely need to,” said Linda.

Much of her role, which she shares with fellow information adviser Alyson Jones, is, of course, to tell callers about the homes on offer and to direct them to the various sites.

But a friendly face is vital

“The callers could be new home seekers, people relocating with their jobs or those planning to retire. They all have concerns about moving to a new village where they can’t see exactly what’s going to be around them,” said Linda.

The Concept Centre holds information and documents relating to Cambourne, with much of the information supplied by the developers George Wimpey, Bryant and Bovis.

Another company comes in to update the Cambourne model from time to time and there is also a display board.

”No two days are the same in my job and we certainly don’t just sell houses. Part of the job is to answer questions on surroundings – whether there are green open spaces, schools, transport links, nearby motorways and so on.”

A lot of overseas visitors, notably South Africans, call in. Business people, looking for retail and other units, have come round and been directed to the Cambourne Business Park which has its own marketing suite.

Cambourne has also been a good focal point for school geography trips. “I try to get a planner in to talk to visiting parties if this is appropriate and I like to take people round if possible. The party could consist of 40 nine-year-olds working on a ‘build your own village’ project.”

University students are taken on tours, too, and there have been parties of Japanese businessmen taken round the Business Park.

Property developers and planners from other parts of the country come to see what’s going on at Cambourne, perhaps to study the concept with a view to doing something similar. Bus parties of pensioners come round for a look, too.

“We also keep the door open for existing residents.

“I find the way the community has grown here extremely exciting. It was exciting when the GP arrived, as it was when the school opened and when church services started, for example. And there’s such a mix of people, from the very young to the elderly.”

Linda took up her job at the Concept Centre in July 2000.

Born in Middlesborough, Yorkshire, she has been married for 23 years to Andrew who works for Cambridge Water Company. They live in St Ives.

The couple moved to Cambridgeshire after Andrew was made redundant from his job at a steel foundry in Guisborough, Yorkshire, in the early 1980s. They have two children, Samantha, 23, and Melanie, 16.

Linda has, in the past worked as a BT telephonist. Her duties included interception work with the police – with the Yorkshire Ripper inquiry being among the cases. In all, she dealt with 100 “999” calls.

She has since worked as a part time receptionist with Anglia Polytechnic in East Road, Cambridge, and as a water sampler for Cambridge Water Company. The latter job entailed calling on houses and businesses to test water quality.

“All my jobs have involved talking to people, which is what I love to do,” she said.

“This is largely why I enjoy my time so much in Cambourne. People can come in and have a chat for 20-30 minutes here, and I couldn’t ask for pleasanter surroundings.”

>>> Next week we call on a site sales manager at one of the developments in Cambourne

SOURCE CAMBRIDGE EVENING NEWS 14/2/03