Tibbalds appointed for Northstowe Design Code

Tibbalds Planning and Urban Design has been appointed by the HCA to produce a detailed Design Code for the delivery of phase two of Northstowe, the largest planned new town since Milton Keynes.

Located north west of Cambridge, Northstowe is one of the largest developments in the country and, once complete, will have a population of approximately 25,000 people, providing up to 10,000 new homes, with a town centre at its heart, as well as eight new schools, amenities and transport links.

Phase two received a resolution to grant outline planning consent in July 2015 and is the central phase of the development, consisting of 3,500 new homes, three new schools, a new sports hub, a critical new road linking the town to the major road network, and most notably the new town centre.

The Design Code will build on information contained in the outline application and deliver a comprehensive guide that will determine the aesthetic of the second phase of development, including street types, public realm and typologies, and approaches to mixed use town centre development.

Katja Stille, Associate Director at Tibbalds, said: “Northstowe Phase Two will include a variety of homes and buildings by a range of small and large developers. To be really successful in the long term it needs a consistently high quality of delivery and a coherent style. “This Design Codes is the tool for ensuring that this quality is achieved and the new town becomes a great new place to live, with a strong and distinctive character.

“By drawing on our experience of writing codes, as well as masterplanning and implementing major housing-led schemes we will ensure the right balance between the local authorities’ requirements for good design and the need for flexibility to respond to high demand and changing market conditions.”

Consultation will take place in the spring and the design guide is expected to be completed in summer 2016, after which the first reserved matter applications for residential phases can be submitted. Any future applications for phase two will need to adhere to the design principles set out in the code.

Tibbalds was appointed through the HCA Framework and will be working alongside Tyrens UK as transport consultant and Chris Blandford Associates as landscape architect.

Tibbalds has previously produced Design Codes for the Great Western Park urban extension and is experienced in masterplanning on former military sites, including most recently the Shorncliffe Garrison site in Kent. It has also produced a practice manual on design coding for the DCLG.