Plans for the next phase of Northstowe, a proposed new town of up to 10,000 new homes in Cambridgeshire, have been published, and local people have the chance to input into how it could take shape.
Consultation with the public started on 21 March, and explores an outline plan including the town centre, secondary school, two primary schools and approximately 3,500 new homes as well as two new access roads, employment possibilities and recreational areas.
It follows on from the the first 1500 homes and related facilities being developed by Gallagher Estates gaining (resolution to grant) planning consent in October 2012.
The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), landowner of the airfield part of the development, is proposing to submit three planning applications following the public consultation and are inviting views on each of them. The outline planning application for this next phase of plans covers an area of approximately 159 hectares and in total includes:
- approximately 3,500 new homes
- two primary schools, and a secondary school
- the town centre including employment potential
- recreation space and landscaped areas
- a new ‘eastern’ sports hub
- part of the ‘western’ sports being built along with the first new homes (phase one)
- up to three primary roads linking to the southern access road and the busway running to the south of the site, engineering and infrastructure works.
The consultation period runs until 4 April 2014 and people are invited to give their views about the proposals online at www.northstowe.com or at a number of locations locally.
Northstowe is a planned new town of 10,000 homes, situated approximately 10km north-west of Cambridge on the former RAF Oakington site and surrounding farmland. It will be a vibrant 21st century town with a strong local identity.
Northstowe will have an anticipated population of around 24,400 people. It will feature high quality transport infrastructure offering quick connections to the major towns of Cambridgeshire, a secondary school operated by one of the top performing state schools in the country and a vibrant town centre, all offering plenty of employment opportunities for local people.
It will be designed to offer all the facilities that one would expect from a medium sized market town, including a town centre which will serve not just new residents, but also residents from nearby villages. The town centre will provide a mix of retail, employment, residential and civic uses. It will evolve over a considerable period of time as the population of Northstowe grows.
It is the first planned new town for over 50 years and one of the UK’s largest developments. It will be a sustainable new development that is richly steeped in local history, giving it an identity that is entirely unique.