Homes England has signed a collaboration agreement with developers Keepmoat and Capital&Centric, to accelerate the delivery of new homes and build a mixed-use town centre in Northstowe.
Northstowe, near Cambridge, is Britain’s largest new town under development. This agreement will enable the creation of 3,000 new homes, 50% of which will be affordable, ensuring that local people have access to quality housing to rent or buy, and a new town centre that will provide local people and businesses with up to 50,000 square metres of commercial floorspace including shops, workspace and community facilities.
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Minister for Housing and Planning, Matthew Pennycook said: “For far too long we have seen large-scale housing projects stuck in the planning system and that is why we will create a new taskforce to accelerate these stalled sites.
“We will get Britain building again and work is already under way to unlock thousands of new homes in Northstowe.
“This includes giving Homes England the tools they need to deliver the next phase in Northstowe town centre so we can build the quality homes that this local community desperately needs.”
The development of the town centre is made possible by existing infrastructure already delivered by Homes England (including roads, public transport routes, cycleways, green spaces and schools). Moving forward, the Agency will act as the master developer for the final two phases of this 30-year project.
Peter Freeman, Chair at Homes England said: “This agreement marks a significant step towards the creation of a vibrant town centre in Northstowe, just across the road to the multi-school Education Campus which already has 700 pupils and is currently being extended to house over 2,000 people.
“This collaboration with Keepmoat and Capital&Centric will allow us to further our investment in supporting the local community, helping create new, quality, affordable housing and ensuring this emerging town is a vibrant place to live.”
Keepmoat, which focusses on first-time buyers by providing high quality homes with accessible price points, is already actively building and selling homes at Northstowe with its 300-home Stirling Fields development – which is expected to complete in the autumn of 2027. Its current success on site establishes a strong foundation for its future phases. The organisation will oversee the development of additional multi-tenure homes close to the town centre.
Working across the UK, Capital&Centric is a social impact developer that has gained a reputation for delivering imaginative town centre neighbourhoods, with a focus on standout architecture. The company will be responsible for the design and delivery of a lively town centre, that will become the beating heart of Northstowe. It will also set out plans to include new high-quality homes that are expected to be a mix of contemporary apartments and its ‘Neighbourhood’ brand of low carbon suburban homes.
Northstowe is being developed on and around the site of the former RAF Oakington air base and through its early-stage developments, is home to around 3,000 people in 1,400 homes.
The town also includes existing primary, special educational needs and secondary schools, a park & ride facility linking the town to the city of Cambridge, a sports centre, water parks, miles of bridleways and cycle lanes, and other facilities such as a community centre, playgrounds and allotments. Currently under construction is a further primary school, a sixth form college and a second sports facility.
