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Plans submitted for 3,500-home second phase of Cambridgeshire new town


Developer Gallagher Estates and housing and regeneration body the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) have submitted outline plans to South Cambridgeshire Council for the 3,500-home second phase of the largest new planned town since Milton Keynes.

According to a statement from the HCA, proposals for 'the heart' of the planned 10,000-home town of Northstowe to the north west of Cambridge were submitted to the Council last week.

The plans include: the construction of around 3,500 new homes; a town centre and employment area; two primary schools; a secondary school, and an 'eastern' sports hub. Also included are plans for a new road to the south of the scheme, landscaping and recreation space and the completion of the 'western' sports hub commenced as part of the first phase of the masterplan for the town.

As the body responsible for developing government land, the HCA is working in partnership with Gallagher Estates to deliver the new town on 480 hectares of land including the site of the former Royal Air Force Oakington Barracks.

The HCA's senior project manager for the Northstowe development, Paul Kitson, said in a statement: "Things are definitely happening at Northstowe. We want to make sure the foundations are laid for a solid community to develop. As part of this we have adopted a 'phased' approach to development where facilities and road improvements are built hand-in-hand at each stage with new homes. The outline plans submitted today are further proof of that and, if approved, we look forward to working with local communities to develop further details to these outline plans."

"The phase two planning application will now be checked and validated over the next couple of weeks by South Cambridgeshire District Council's planning department before the documents can be made available on their website and a formal consultation carried out by the Council in the autumn," added Kitson.

The Northstowe Joint Development Control Committee, which comprises councillors from Cambridgeshire County Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council, approved the masterplan for the new town in July 2012 and the 1,500-home first phase in October 2012.

The HCA said that preparatory work had commenced at the site and that "the first homes could be sold and occupied as early as spring 2016".

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