Cambridgeshire’s newest community is welcoming visitors to an open day on Saturday.

During a variety of talks, walks and cycling tours, people will be able to explore the award-winning Eddington.

Eddington, in north west Cambridgeshire, is one of the most modern and eco-friendly places in the UK. It already has a primary school and a community centre, which has been shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling prize, supermarket and sporting facilities with more to come.

The first phase of Eddington is focussed on creating the foundations for a long-lasting and sustainable community, with some 700 homes and facilities to support new residents, neighbours and the wider Cambridge community.

Key highlights of the day, part of the Open Cambridge weekend which starts on Friday, include an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour to see how the engineering works inside Cambridge’s first energy centre and district heating network. Visitors can discover how a house receives heating without a boiler. The homes in Eddington do not have individual boilers but instead have a link to the energy centre via a district heating network that provides heating and hot water across the entire site.

Another unique feature of Eddington is the underground waste system – a novel approach to waste and recycling. There is a communal underground waste and recycling system to eliminate the need for residents to put out individual bins. This is a chance for visitors to see the system in action, the underground bunkers and bespoke lorry, and to ask recycling experts about what can be recycled and how.

Speaking ahead of this year’s Open Cambridge and the Open Eddington events, Heather Topel, project director of the development, said: “We are thrilled to offer a whole day of public activities and events at Eddington that illustrate the depth and breadth of what Eddington has to offer. More than 4,000 people visited Eddington at our opening event last year and we hope many of our friends, neighbours and supporters – existing and new – will take the time to join us for this occasion.”

In addition to the Open Eddington events, Open Cambridge, which begins next weekend, features a further 60 events from walks, talks, tours and exhibitions showcasing the rich historical and cultural diversity of Cambridge; its buildings, landscape, art, history and people.

Most events are free to the public.

INFO: For more information and a full programme of events for the open weekend got to: www.opencambridge.cam.ac.uk.