Agreement reached for next 3,000 homes and town centre at Northstowe

An agreement to deliver a mixed-use town centre and 3,000 new homes at Northstowe – 50 per cent of which will be affordable – has been signed.

Homes England, which is managing the process of building what is Britain’s largest new town under development, signed the collaboration agreement with developers Keepmoat and Capital&Centric.

The town centre will feature 50,000 square metres of commercial floorspace, including shops, workspace and community facilities.

Homes England will act as the master developer for the final two phases of the 30-year Northstowe 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.”

It follows the new Labour government’s message that it wanted to accelerate “stalled” housing schemes, including at Northstowe.

Matthew Pennycook, the minister for housing and planning, added: “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.”

Keepmoat, which is focused on first-time buyers, is already building and selling homes at Northstowe with its 300-home Stirling Fields development, due to complete in autumn 2027. It will now oversee more multi-tenure homes close to the town centre.

Tim Wray, group development director at Keepmoat, said: “It’s an incredibly exciting time to be involved in delivering the UK’s newest town.”

Capital&Centric is a social impact developer that delivers town centre neighbourhoods. It will be responsible for the design and delivery of the town centre and will deliver plans for housing expected to be a mix of contemporary apartments and its ‘Neighbourhood’ brand of low-carbon suburban homes.

John Moffat, joint managing director at Capital&Centric, said: “We’ve honed our craft delivering imaginative regeneration of towns and cities, with an acute focus on both social impact and award-winning design.”

Northstowe, on the site of the former RAF Oakington air base, currently has about 3,000 residents in 1,400 homes. It will eventually feature 10,000 homes.