As part of South Cambridgeshire District Council’s work to bring forward the Northstowe Local Centre and Enterprise Zone, businesses and local business network organisations are being asked to give their thoughts on what should be included. An online survey – for the district’s business communities – is now available to compete by following the links at www.scambs.gov.uk/northstowe
The questionnaire runs until Friday 6 August 2021 and aims to uncover the aspirations and needs of local businesses and networks, identify their priorities and establish how the future development of these parts of Northstowe could benefit them. It also aims to find out what could be put in place to attract firms to move to Northstowe.
A free webinar – again aimed at South Cambridgeshire’s businesses communities – will take place on Friday 23 July 2021 at 8:30am and will feature an online presentation followed by a workshop to enable local companies to feed in their views. To take part in the webinar, sign-up via the link at www.scambs.gov.uk/northstowe
The District Council purchased the Local Centre and Enterprise Zone at Northstowe sites earlier this year. Views gathered during the surveys and online workshops will be used to inform the longer-term plans for the area.
South Cambridgeshire District Council’s Lead Cabinet Member for Business Recovery and Skills, Cllr Peter McDonald, said: “We’ve had an excellent response from residents who want to help us shape these future parts of Northstowe – so now we want to ensure we are hearing from local businesses too. Through the survey and webinar, we want businesses to tell us about what they think they would most benefit from at Northstowe – and how we can work to make that happen. With most of South Cambridgeshire’s businesses being micro and SMEs, we know time is precious to the people behind them. This is why the survey is short and will take just a few minutes to complete – and a webinar at breakfast time hopefully means many local businesses can join us. We have a great opportunity here to create new jobs, green spaces and facilities for pedestrians and cyclists. When it comes to planning for it all, we really want to listen to local businesses as they know their area best.”
The Local Centre is an opportunity for the Council to help shape and bring forward the retail and commercial development. It will create an important meeting place and local facilities such as shops for residents, linking employment and residential areas. The vision is to create an area made up of shops, restaurants, cafes and buildings that are active, vibrant, and safe. A community building will provide a central focus point for this area.
The Council envisages that the Enterprise Zone will become an attractive northern gateway to Northstowe, taking advantage of the Guided Busway’s links to Cambridge, St Ives and surrounding villages. The Zone will contain buildings set within a green landscape providing green links, connections, and places for people to enjoy.
The Council is working with AR-Urbanism, specialists in master-planning and design, on the engagement work at Northstowe.