A planning application for phase 3B of Northstowe was discussed at Planning Committee on Monday 28 February 2022. 400 of the homes – which is 40% of the total homes planned for phase 3B – will be affordable homes. There will be a mixture of tenure types, such as affordable rent, shared ownership, discounted market sale and rent to buy.
The phase 3B application includes 1,000 homes, along with a primary school, an area with space for retail, community, leisure and employment uses, along with open space and landscaped areas. The site is approximately 47 hectares of land that is currently a large agricultural field with a central woodland area that surrounds a small pond. Both the woodland and pond will remain. The development includes around 16 hectares of open space, which will also contain children’s play space, allotments and community orchards.
Councillors on the Committee spent over four hours exploring the planning issues, including a range of concerns about drainage and groundwater on the site, transport arrangements and the effects of construction traffic. Members also examined the relationship of the site to Longstanton and the other phases of Northstowe, including considering the need for health facilities and local amenities. After agreeing to reduce the height of new homes facing onto the B1050, the majority of the Committee voted to grant the planning application by Homes England. This will be subject to a range of conditions and planning agreement to secure the new school, affordable homes and contributions towards health and sports facilities, amongst a range of specific controls to mitigate the impact of the development.
A series of detailed planning applications will follow, to agree the details on what the homes and facilities will look like. This will happen after a legal agreement securing the new affordable homes and facilities has been completed and the formal planning decision notice issued.
Yesterday’s meeting followed a Planning Committee meeting last month when Councillors agreed proposals for phase 3A of Northstowe. Plans for phase 3A include 4,000 new homes, two primary schools, green spaces, sports pitches, shops and employment areas.
South Cambridgeshire District Council’s Lead Cabinet Member for Planning Policy and Delivery, Cllr Dr.Tumi Hawkins, said: “As was the case with the previous planning proposal for Northstowe, our Planning Committee spent a long time hearing from a range of local interests, including the Parish and Town Councils, before carefully considering this application. The premise of a new town at Northstowe has been established for many years. This latest planning application is the natural next stage in its development and will lead to a raft of new facilities such as shops, places to eat, another primary school and open space.
“This will also of course lead to hundreds more affordable homes, of a mixture of tenures. The Committee recognised the ongoing concerns locally about drainage matters but having agreed adjustments to the planning conditions, were satisfied that the development should proceed. This is good news for our children and grandchildren as, in the years ahead, plans like this make it easier for them to find a place to call home. Once again it is clear that input from the local community has helped to mould these plans. There will be the chance for further input into how Northstowe phase 3B progresses in the years ahead via the detailed planning applications that will be submitted in due course.”