Northstowe new town will have 400 factory-built homes

Final approval has been granted for more than 400 factory-built homes to become part of the “island in the marshes” phase of Northstowe.

The new town development will see about 10,000 homes built across 409 hectares. Phase two, which was granted outline planning permission in 2017, includes 3,500 of those homes as well as a town centre and other facilities.

At South Cambridgeshire District Council’s planning committee on Wednesday (February 12), developer Urban Splash was granted final approval for its urban village, which will become one of the largest factory-made communities in the country.

Regeneration and planning director for Urban Splash, Mark Latham, said the factory-made modular homes would reduce the impact of construction on residents, allow for a quicker delivery time, and improve quality control.

The homes will be “literally put on the back of a lorry,” he said, and be made customised to order.

Of the 406 homes, planning documents show 40 per cent will be either starter homes or shared equity, which will be capped at £250,000. A further 40 per cent will be for private sale, and 20 per cent will be affordable rent homes owned by South Cambridgeshire District Council. Of the 81 affordable rent homes, 60 will be age restricted and specifically for those aged 55 and over.

However, there were concerns about the height of the three-storey designs

Three councillors – Nick Wright, Deborah Roberts, and Heather Williams – voted against the designs, citing a commitment they said the council made to residents of Rampton Drift over the height of buildings overlooking their properties.

Cllr Wright said: “We sought to mitigate it in as many ways as we could, and one of the agreements was not to put tall buildings overlooking.”

He added: “A commitment was made to Rampton Drift, and we should be true to that.”

Councillor for the area, Cllr Sarah Cheung Johnson, said it was not “in the spirit” of the design code originally agreed to have three-storey buildings where they are.

Longstanton Parish Council also opposed the plans for the same reason.