Final phase of major Cambridgeshire new town approved at planning

Homes England’s flagship housing project is set to create 10,000 new homes in total. When complete 25,000 people will live here.

Arcadis and Tibbalds Planning and Urban Design are advising Homes England on the proposals, with an emphasis throughout on health and wellbeing, as well as taking on board lessons learned during recent changes to working patterns. Access to nature and open space, protecting ecology and delivering biodiversity net gains are important drivers for the masterplan.

Phase 3B, the latest planning approval, will provide 1,000 of these homes, a primary school, mixed-use commercial zone and communal areas across a 47 ha (116 acre) area.

The go ahead follows approval for Phase 3A within the last month, including 4,000 new homes, a mixed-use centre, two primary schools, and a range of open spaces for play and recreation, across 210 ha (519 acres). Homes England also secured £123.9m of funding to deliver new infrastructure for the town at the same time.

Ken Glendinning, Regional Development Director South (interim) commented:

Homes England is committed to using its expertise as a master developer to create a well-designed, sustainable new town that promotes a sense of community and pride in place.

Securing the go ahead for Northstowe Phase 3B from the planning committee marks a significant step forward for the town. These proposals, combined with the additional funding will establish a pipeline of new homes at Northstowe for the next 15 years, providing a variety of neighbourhoods and homes of a wide range of tenures.

Janice Hughes, Project Director for Arcadis, said: “We’re excited by this significant milestone in Northstowe’s development as a new town in what has been a tremendous team effort and successful collaboration with local authorities and stakeholders. Northstowe is a development that truly exemplifies our ethos of improving quality of life and we’re really pleased this final phase has been given the green light.”

Katja Stille, Director of Tibbalds Planning and Urban Design, said: “This is a major milestone demonstrating how with a good masterplan and commitment to design quality, major new settlements can flex in response to evolving social needs and changing market conditions without compromising their core principles. We have taken care that each neighbourhood has distinct characteristics drawn from specific site conditions, creating varied new town. This final phase will continue to deliver a vibrant new community centred on health and wellbeing that addresses the pressing need for new homes in a thoughtful and sustainable way.”

The first families moved into Northstowe in May 2017 and the first schools are already open. A stand-out feature of the settlement is Inholm, the result of a partnership between Homes England, Urban Splash and Japanese modular specialist Sekisui House, where MMC are used to deliver new homes in sustainable neighbourhoods. Phase 2 of Northstowe – the first town centre parcels, on which Arcadis and Tibbalds also advised Homes England – is currently being marketed and delivery of Phases 3A and 3B are expected to start in 2023.

More information about Northstowe can be found at www.northstowe.com or on Twitter @NorthstoweTown.