A Cambridgeshire town is celebrating its 25th birthday this month - a quarter of a century on from the first people moving to the town. Plans were first drawn up for Cambourne in 1994 - and the first residents arrived five years later in 1999. Cambourne was originally part of a plan to build thousands of new homes on agricultural land in the south east of England in the 1980s.
The construction of the town began in 1998 after the planning permission for the development at Monkfield Park was granted in 1996, two years after the original plan was put forward by County Council. While Cambourne was incredibly small when it first was inhabited in 1999, the town now has a population of just over 12,000. The town was going to be called Monkfield after the farm Cambourne was built on but instead, the town's name comes from mixing together Cambridge and Bourne, the nearest city and nearby village.
In spite of missing out on naming the town, Monkfield farm has been honoured in its own way. Monkfield lane and the town pub, the Monkfield Arms, were named after the farm to continue its legacy. Some other facilities were built during the town's original development including a Morrisons, medical practice, the pub and a hotel.
The High Street has been continuously expanding since 1998 and now has a range of shops and services, from takeaways and estate agents to independent stores selling local produce and homemade goods. Cambourne also has four primary schools and a secondary school, the fi.
