England’s most significant new town still has no shops, cafes or even a GP surgery six years after the first families moved there.
About 1,200 homes have been built at Northstowe, 10 miles north of Cambridge, since construction started in 2017.
Some 10,000 homes are planned, with a total population of 26,000, making it the most significant new town in England since Milton Keynes was built in Buckinghamshire in 1967.
But frustrated residents have hit out at the town’s developers, saying Northstowe has been left like a “ghost town” without the promised vital facilities. It still needs necessities like shops, pubs, cafes, public toilets, and a GP practice.
Instead, it consists of row upon row of newly developed houses occupied by families left in the dark about the prospect of any basic infrastructure.
Dan Greef, 42, moved to Northstowe in August 2022, believing that much-needed local community facilities were under construction.
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Greef, who owns Deliciously Guilt Free, a low-carb and keto cake and chocolate company, said: “A friend gave me a tour of the area in 2017, and back then, the site only had a handful of houses.
“We’re now past a thousand homes; all we’ve got is a post box.”
Northstowe was envisaged to be an eco-community built to help ease the housing crisis in one of the least affordable parts of the country. Many people moved to the new town to escape the poor air quality of London or live a less urban life.
On the outskirts of the town, a broken billboard looms into view, promising “New Homes, New Community”.
But residents say the developers, L&Q Estates, still need to deliver on the latter.
Developers have also been criticised for destroying local wildlife and ecosystems due to the construction of the new town.
Residents in England’s most significant new town have been furious after developers failed to live up to their promises, forcing them to live without necessities six years later.
Northstowe, located 10 miles from Cambridge, has been left like a ‘ghost town’ with rows of newly-built houses but not a single shop, café, pub or GP practice.
Around 10,000 homes are planned, with a total population of 26,000, making it the most significant new town in Britain since Milton Keynes was built in Buckinghamshire in 1967.
The construction started in 2017, and around 1,200 properties have been built, but families still need basic facilities and have to drive to buy a pint of milk or coffee.
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Dan Greef, 42, moved to Northstowe last August with his wife and two young children – seven and four – and has been disappointed by the lack of necessities. He said: “A friend gave me a tour of the area in 2017, and the site only had a handful of houses back then. We’re now past a thousand homes; all we’ve got is a post box.”
Northstowe was supposed to be an eco-community built to help ease the housing crisis in one of the least affordable parts of the country. On the outskirts of the town, a broken billboard looms into view, promising ‘New Homes, New Community’. But residents say developers, L&Q Estates, must deliver on the latter, leaving them concerned and fed-up.
Dan owns the Deliciously Guilt Free baking company and has been renting a three-bedroom house for almost a year. He moved in when plans to build a community centre were firmly in place, and he believed strong public transport links to Cambridge would suffice while infrastructure development went ahead.
“If you want to shop, you have to drive into Tesco in the next town or into Cambridge,” he said. “There is currently one preschool open, but it’s at total capacity, and in September, it’s getting smaller.
“This year, I’ve had nowhere for my youngest to go. There are a few schools, but families with younger kids like myself suffer the most.”
The locals have “made their fun” and organised street parties for Christmas and Halloween, but without a community hall, there is nowhere to socialise after dark. “The developers haven’t delivered what they should have done by now, but the council don’t seem to have been able to enforce what was in the contracts when they were signed,” Dan said.
Paperwork lodged by the developer with South Cambridgeshire District Council said a “community centre building will be provided” before the 900th home was occupied. A sports pavilion, it added, “will be completed” before someone moved into the 500th home. But over 1,200 homes are occupied, with no shops or community facilities, beyond three schools.
“Food trucks come through town a few times a week, but you’re not going to hang out and sit and eat on the side of the road. Everyone here is desperate to get things in place – and I’m aware that living here is an investment for the future.” Dan is optimistic that Northstowe will be an “amazing place to live” once they have places to meet and socialise, but nobody knows when that will be.
