Policy S/NST: Northstowe New Town

1.    The new town of Northstowe is under construction, with nearly 2,000 homes delivered as of 2025. The eventual size of the town will be around 10,180 homes, supported by a range of employment, retail, and community uses, served by the busway connecting Northstowe, Huntingdon, St Ives and Cambridge. The whole site has at least outline planning permission, with more detailed reserved matters applications coming forward as the town is developed.

2.    The new town will continue to be developed during the life of the

A plan for the future development of a local area, drawn up by the local planning authority in consultation with the community. In law this is described as the development plan documents adopted under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. A local plan can consist of either strategic or non-strategic policies, or a combination of the two.

and beyond. The

A plan for the future development of a local area, drawn up by the local planning authority in consultation with the community. In law this is described as the development plan documents adopted under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. A local plan can consist of either strategic or non-strategic policies, or a combination of the two.

therefore needs to include policies which will guide the remaining development and consideration of any new planning applications.

3.    The development of the site has been guided by the Northstowe Area Action Plan which was adopted in July 2007, along with policies in more recent local plans. Whilst this provides a useful policy framework, many of its policies are out of date. It has therefore been decided that when this new

A plan for the future development of a local area, drawn up by the local planning authority in consultation with the community. In law this is described as the development plan documents adopted under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. A local plan can consist of either strategic or non-strategic policies, or a combination of the two.

is adopted, it will supersede the Northstowe Area Action Plan, which will no longer form part of the adopted development plan.
 
Vision and identity

4.    Northstowe will be a sustainable and vibrant new community that is inclusive and diverse with its own distinctive local identity which is founded on best practice urban design principles, drawing on the traditions of fen-edge market towns, which encourages the high quality traditions and innovation that are characteristic of

The combined areas of Cambridge District and South Cambridgeshire District Councils.

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5.    Through its ongoing development, the site will continue to embody long-established character and design principles for the new town, including: ensuring it is well integrated into the surrounding landscape; delivering a distinctive town character with well-designed and landscaped neighbourhoods; incorporating exemplar, low carbon design, able to accommodate the impacts of climate change; and securing a balanced, viable and social inclusive community.

6.    In addition to continuing the delivery of homes across the site, a key priority for future phases of development will be the delivery of key community facilities, amenities and services to improve the vibrancy and sustainability of the place, including a town centre and local centres including commercial and retail uses, employment uses and sports hub, sports pitches, mixed use zones, a water park, open space and green corridors, incorporating active travel routes and associated infrastructure works.

Uses

7.    The new town of Northstowe is allocated for mixed-use development, comprising:
  a.    Approximately 10,180 homes in a wide range of dwelling types and tenures including:
    i.    Affordable and self/custom build homes;
    ii.    Approximately 1,050 units of specialist accommodation (Use Class C2 and C3), particularly for older people or those with disabilities; and
    iii.    24 permanent Gypsy and Traveller pitches (within two sites of 12 pitches, each on approximately 1 hectare of land).
  b.    Employment uses amounting to a total capacity of approximately up to 47,000 square metres gross internal area, including:
    i.    Approximately 19,000 square metres (GIA) of Class E(g)/B2/B8 in Phase 1;
    ii.    In the Phase 2 Town Centre, approximately 16,200 square metres (GIA) of Class E(g) workspace including a market hall of approximately 2,270 square metres (GIA) Class E(g)(i) and E(g)(iii);
    iii.    In the Phase 3A Local Centre, a light industrial mews of Class E(g)(iii) of approximately 1,000 square metres (GIA) and 5,000 square metres (GIA) of Class E(g) floorspace and a further 3,300 square metres (GIA) of flexible workspace in secondary mixed use zone; and
    iv.    In the Phase 3B Local Centre, a secondary mixed use zone of approximately 300 square metres (GIA) of Class E(g). Employment uses could include offices, light industrial and research and development, appropriate to the context.
  c.    Retail and other Town Centre and Local Centre uses, to be provided in accordance with an up-to-date Retail Needs Assessment and Town Centre Strategy;
  d.    Indoor and outdoor sports facilities to meet the needs of the development;
  e.    Education facilities to meet the needs of the development including early years, primary schools, secondary schools, sixth form and for special educational needs;
  f.    Cultural facilities, including faith spaces, libraries, burial land of 3.9 hectares, and public art;
  g.    Social and leisure facilities to meet the needs of the development, including a community centre and youth facilities;
  h.    

Areas of land not built on and water bodies such as rivers and lakes, regardless of ownership and access. These areas include parks and gardens, natural and semi natural green spaces, green corridors, outdoor sports facilities, amenity green space, teenagers’ and children’s play areas, allotments and community gardens, cemeteries and churchyards, accessible countryside in urban fringe areas and civic spaces.

including parks and landscaping;
  i.    Allotments and community orchards of 4 hectares.
  j.    Ecological areas, including woodland;
  k.    Engineering for foul and sustainable drainage systems;
  l.    public access to established landscaped water park and footpaths for recreational and leisure purposes; and
  m.    Healthcare facilities to meet the needs of the development.

8.    Temporary community and healthcare facilities will be required from early occupation until sufficient capacity has been reached for permanent provision. The size and nature of these facilities will need to be considered throughout the build period of the development, ensuing the buildings have sufficient flexibility to be able to expand or be repurposed as each phase of the development comes forward.

9.    The above uses are required to ensure the principles, parameters, mitigation and assessment contained within the outline planning permissions are met.

The development of Northstowe must do the following:

Context

10.    Ensure the built area of the settlement is contained within the Site Allocation boundary identified on the policies map and as shown on the Spatial Framework diagram.

11.    Ensure separation with surrounding villages is maintained to avoid the merging of Northstowe with surrounding communities and maintain key views to surrounding landmarks, including:
  d.    Retaining areas of countryside within the Longstanton

Areas of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance. You can find more information on the Councils’ websites:

Cambridge: https://www.cambridge.gov.uk/conservation-areas 

South Cambridgeshire: https://www.scambs.gov.uk/planning/natural-historic-and-built-environment/historic-environment/conservation-areas/

, forming an effetive green separation between Longstanton and Northstowe. These areas must only contain open land uses such as playing fields, allotments and cemeteries;
  e.    Providing a green separation on the northern side of Oakington, including additional tree planting of individual trees, groups and copses to reinforce the pastoral parkland nature of this local landscape area. Tree groups must be located so as to shield views through the green separation but at the same time retain a more open character;
  f.    Maintaining the open aspect of the fields affording views of All Saints Church.

54.    Maintain and enhance key landscape features, including:
  a.    The adjoining Local Nature Reserve of St Michael’s Mount, Longstanton;
  b.    The Rampton Drift into Northstowe, which must be sensitively integrated through a variety of appropriate landscape treatments, including additional planting to supplement the existing nearby mature trees;
  c.    Existing on site trees, making the best use of these as a setting for the development;

55.    Incorporate strategic landscaping within the Site Allocation boundary, around the boundary of the settlement.

56.    Mitigate current flood risks affecting Oakington village and Longstanton village.

Built form

57.    Deliver a new Town Centre, to be located at the heart of Northstowe in accordance with the agreed

This refers to development in its widest sense, including buildings, and streets, spaces and places. It also refers to both redevelopment, including refurbishment, as well as new development.

Framework Document and an agreed Town Centre Strategy. This must:
  a.    Make provision for a mix of uses, including shops, services, cultural, leisure and community facilities, as well as employment and residential uses at first floor level or above, to serve the needs of Northstowe and the immediate surrounding area, which will not undermine the vitality and viability of other nearby towns or compete with Cambridge;
  b.    Incorporate well-considered public art.

58.    Incorporate local centres within a 400 metres walk of most residents and not more than 600 metres walk of any residents, grouped with other uses and facilities, such as a primary school and/or bus service, and include a focal point for legibility;

59.    Providing a mix of densities as appropriate to the area of the site, including:
  a.    higher densities and heights in the Town Centre and around local centres;
  b.    the lowest heights and densities towards the edges of the settlement;
  c.    a density of at least 40 dwellings per hectare across the site.

60.    Accord with the approved strategy for existing buildings and structure of historic interest.

61.    Where there is public access to land adjoining Longstanton and Oakington, mitigation measures must be provided protect the privacy and amenity of potentially affected properties.
 
Public space

62.    Incorporate landscape areas and green corridors to contribute to the informal recreation needs of those living, working and visiting the town, including for informal children’s play.

63.    Deliver a town park adjoining the Town Centre, which must include outdoor sports provision such as tennis courts and bowling greens, and appropriate ancillary facilities.

Nature

64.    Create a network of green spaces within the settlement, which integrate well with the development and contribute to the legibility and attractiveness of the place. This must:
  a.    Ensure a high degree of connectivity between green areas, within the town for wildlife and people;
  b.    Include the creation of a parkland landscape between Northstowe and Oakington to provide a substantial resource of trees, grassland and other areas of semi- natural vegetation, designed and managed for its wildlife value;
  c.    Retain and enhance the tree belt along the airfield road between Longstanton and Oakington, with additional planting to provide a strategic landscape boundary to the new town;
  d.    Retain, as biodiversity features, existing tree plantations and the lake in the southern section of the airfield and the existing ponds in the golf course;
  e.    Include appropriate planting and landscaping alongside all new access roads and the parallel distributor roads alongside the A14 as well as substantial planted areas in association with balancing ponds;
  f.    Establish awareness within the local population of the biodiversity within and beyond the town and thus encourage its protection and enhancement; and
  g.    Be developed in accordance with an approved Landscape Strategy for the settlement;

65.    Wherever practical, incorporate water features in the form of lakes and watercourses as one of the defining characteristics of Northstowe, including a surface water drainage network which will continue to offer recreational opportunities.

66.    To assist the creation of a mature landscape at an early stage in the development, existing landscape features must be retained where they are capable of making a significant contribution to the urban environment and strategic landscaping, carried out at any early stage in accordance with the approved Landscape Strategy.

Movement

67.    Deliver a comprehensive movement and connectivity network within and through the whole settlement, prioritising sustainable travel, including walking, cycling and public transport, and connecting key locations within the site and in the surrounding area. This must ensure the town centre will be accessible to all the town’s population by walking, cycling and public transport including a dedicated bus route.

68.    Measures to promote walking and cycling must include:
  a.    Developing an improved rights of way network to support sustainable transport, recreation and health, and to connect the town to neighbouring villages and the open countryside, including for walking, cycling and horse riding;
  b.    Providing attractive, direct, safe and convenient walking routes within the town linking homes to public transport and the main areas of activity such as the town centre, schools and employment areas;
  c.    Providing a highly accessible network of safe and convenient cycleways, segregated from other modes where appropriate, and to ensure covered, secure cycle parking facilities for homes, workplaces, the town centre, local centres and other places.

69.    Public transport measure must include:
  a.    Providing a dedicated local busway, linked to the guided bus route on the disused St Ives railway line, to be aligned and have a number of stops to maximise accessibility within Northstowe whilst not compromising the level of service;
  d.    Creating an effective and dedicated local busway through the town to maximise the opportunities offered by the guided bus route and to ensure that all dwellings are within easy walking distance of a bus stop;
  e.    Identifying the appropriate stages in the development when public transport services and transport infrastructure will need to be provided;
  f.    Including an initial subsidy for new residents to encourage bus usage. The subsidy will fund free or discounted travel by public transport;
  g.    Setting up a car sharing scheme including the associated parking provisions, which shall be in accordance with an approved scheme.

70.    Throughout the development of Northstowe, applications for development must demonstrate that there is sufficient highway capacity available in the A14 corridor between Bar Hill and Cambridge for the traffic forecast to be generated by each phase of development, and ultimately for the total dwellings proposed and approved in outline planning permissions.

71.    Each phase must include a

A comprehensive and systematic process that sets out transport issues relating to a proposed development. It identifies measures required to improve accessibility and safety for all modes of travel, particularly for alternatives to the car such as walking, cycling and public transport, and measures that will be needed deal with the anticipated transport impacts of the development.

to manage and monitor transport impacts to ensure that transport impacts are mitigated as each stage of development is built.

Resources

27.    Ensure that landforms and engineering works as part of any drainage scheme do not compromise the Fen-edge character of the surrounding area, by considering the landscape options available for the site.
 
28.    Provide, manage and ensure the ongoing maintenance of sustainable surface water drainage measures to control the risk of flooding on site and off site, in perpetuity.

29.    Make appropriate arrangements for foul drainage and sewage disposal, to be explored and identified through a Foul Drainage Strategy.

30.        Make provision for recycling existing building materials by the granting of planning permission for a plant to process such materials into hardcore and aggregates, which would be located towards the eastern edge of the Oakington Airfield.

31.    

This refers to development in its widest sense, including buildings, and streets, spaces and places. It also refers to both redevelopment, including refurbishment, as well as new development.

must:
  a.    be in accordance with approved strategies for the management and maintenance of all water bodies and watercourses; and
  b.    be in accordance with a construction strategy, to be agreed, to avoid construction vehicles travelling through nearby villages or having an adverse effect on biodiversity.

Lifespan

32.    Throughout its development, Northstowe must be comprehensively masterplanned and delivered to ensure that development proposals do not prejudice the creation of a fully functioning and successful new town.
  h.    The delivery of Northstowe must be in accordance with:
  a.    Approved phasing plans;
  b.    Design codes, prepared and submitted with reserved matters applications for all phases;
  c.    A Management Strategy, to ensure high quality, robust and effective implementation, adoption and maintenance of the biodiversity areas.

33.    The applicant must identify a proposed approach to the long-term management, maintenance and stewardship of any infrastructure, services and facilities not provided by statutory undertakers.

34.    In addition to the specific studies required elsewhere in this policy, the applicant also will be required to prepare and submit, through future planning applications, management and maintenance plans for:
  a.    Landscaping and open spaces;
  b.    Community buildings;
  c.    Indoor and outdoor sports facilities; and
  d.    Unadopted roads and parking enforcement.

35.    At all phases of development, applicants must consider and propose appropriate measures to assist the development of a new community, for example the funding and recruitment of community development workers.

Since the initial allocation of the site as a new town, six outline planning permissions have been granted that together cover the allocated site and reserved land. In addition to this, several detailed permissions have been approved, and some construction of the development has been carried out. The site is anticipated to be developed beyond the Plan period of the South Cambridgeshire

A plan for the future development of a local area, drawn up by the local planning authority in consultation with the community. In law this is described as the development plan documents adopted under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. A local plan can consist of either strategic or non-strategic policies, or a combination of the two.

and therefore is carried forward into this

The combined areas of Cambridge District and South Cambridgeshire District Councils.

A plan for the future development of a local area, drawn up by the local planning authority in consultation with the community. In law this is described as the development plan documents adopted under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. A local plan can consist of either strategic or non-strategic policies, or a combination of the two.

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A

This refers to development in its widest sense, including buildings, and streets, spaces and places. It also refers to both redevelopment, including refurbishment, as well as new development.

Framework Document was agreed in 2012 which forms a site wide masterplan and is a material consideration in determining planning applications.

The Council maintains high aspirations for the new town, ensuring that it delivers exceptional standards of sustainability, high quality design and a strong sense of community.

The new town is located very close to Longstanton and Oakington and strong landscape buffers, or Strategic Enhancement Areas, are needed to retain separation between the settlements. This is also required to protect the historic landscape character of the

Areas of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance. You can find more information on the Councils’ websites:

Cambridge: https://www.cambridge.gov.uk/conservation-areas 

South Cambridgeshire: https://www.scambs.gov.uk/planning/natural-historic-and-built-environment/historic-environment/conservation-areas/

at St Michael’s including the Local Nature Reserve and the important early ridge and furrow field system. Important views across the fields to All Saints Church should also be retained to protect the setting of the listed building and in the interests of preserving existing context to the development site.

The existing settlement of Rampton Drift will be incorporated within Northstowe and this needs to be carried out sensitively to protect the amenities of existing residents.

A range of facilities will be necessary to serve residents and provide a comprehensively planned new town. The proposed town centre in Phase 2 has yet to receive detailed approval. This is expected to be a vibrant and diverse town centre in the heart of Northstowe where it will be accessible by walking, cycling and public transport. It should include shops, services, cultural, leisure and community facilities and residential units at first floor level and above. A community centre in Phase 1 has now been built, and the continued phasing of facilities is required to serve residents as the town grows.

Local centres will have only modest shopping facilities and services and may include play areas and small-scale office/employment uses appropriate to a residential area. They should be phased to provide day to day facilities for residents as the town is developed and located in accordance with the agreed

This refers to development in its widest sense, including buildings, and streets, spaces and places. It also refers to both redevelopment, including refurbishment, as well as new development.

Framework Document.

A secondary school and primary school have now been built but further education facilities will be required to meet the needs of the new town, including additional primary schools, for special needs and lifelong learning.

Employment areas should be located close to the town centre and local centres where they are easily accessible by walking, cycling and public transport.

Building heights Parameter Plans have been approved under the outline planning permissions. The aim of these is to provide lower heights at the settlement edge to reduce the impact on the surrounding area. Higher densities towards the centre will enable the quantity of development to be achieved in a more accessible way.
 
There should be a high degree of connectivity between green areas within the town for wildlife and people, for play on the way, and to provide connection with the wider countryside. Water, in the form of lakes and watercourses will be part of the defining characteristics of Northstowe. This reflects the Fen land location of the site and mitigates existing flooding. A parkland landscape between the new town and Oakington will provide wildlife value, public amenity as well as separation between settlements.

Northstowe is close to the Bar Hill junction with A14 and traffic forecasting at each phase is needed to monitor and manage the impact of the development on that road and junction. Access to the busway providing rapid public transport between St Ives and Cambridge has been provided in Northstowe, in the interests of sustainable development and to mitigate traffic impacts on the existing road network. A dedicated busway is intended to run through Northstowe providing a public transport service for residents to key areas within the town, including the town centre, to reduce trips by private car.

A water park has been provided as a strategic engineering element associated with flood attenuation of the wider site, as well as for nature and amenity. Flood risk and surface water flooding will need to be considered with future development in accordance with a site wide strategy.

For the new town to be successful long term, provisions for the management and maintenance of infrastructure, services and facilities are necessary and are to be agreed with the Local Planning Authority.

The combined areas of Cambridge District and South Cambridgeshire District Councils.

A plan for the future development of a local area, drawn up by the local planning authority in consultation with the community. In law this is described as the development plan documents adopted under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. A local plan can consist of either strategic or non-strategic policies, or a combination of the two.

Sites Topic Paper

We will consider all comments while developing the next version of the

A plan for the future development of a local area, drawn up by the local planning authority in consultation with the community. In law this is described as the development plan documents adopted under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. A local plan can consist of either strategic or non-strategic policies, or a combination of the two.

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All comments must be received by 30 January 2026 at 5pm.