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New South Cambridgeshire town will include starter homes and affordable homes to rent (19 December 2016)

Date: 19/12/2016
Duncan Lewis, Housing Solicitors, New South Cambridgeshire town will include starter homes and affordable homes to rent

Agreement between South Cambridgeshire Council and the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) will see £73 million invested in community facilities at the new town of Northstowe.

Proposals were backed by council members in principle in July 2015, subject to a Section 106 planning agreement. The Homes and Communities Agency attended a planning committee meeting with the council on 7 December to table proposed changes to better reflect emerging government policy on starter homes.

The HCA’s original proposal for affordable housing would have seen 20% of affordable homes built during the second phase of the town. The new agreement is for 40% starter homes and 10% affordable rented homes.

The government announced the Starter Homes initiative earlier this year, which would give first-time buyers aged between the ages of 23 and 40 a discount of at least 20% on the market price of a home. The maximum cost of the property after discount would also not exceed £250,000.

The HCA’s plans will include a mechanism for review, so it can respond to the details of the final national policy.

The rest of the developer agreement for the second phase of the town remains unchanged, with a £73m investment in community facilities, including the town centre facilities, two primary schools and more than £10m toward the secondary school being built alongside the first homes.

South Cambridgeshire District Council’s Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning, Councillor Tim Wotherspoon, said:

“This agreement presents a huge opportunity for Northstowe, as half of the homes in the 3,500 second phase of the town will be subsidised one way or another.

“Delivering affordable homes is really important to us, as it will help people on lower incomes.

“However, we also know that Northstowe needs to provide housing for a range of people – including a huge number who want to get on the housing ladder, but need a helping hand.

“Starter homes will help meet some of this need – and I am really pleased that the agreement we have negotiated includes a review mechanism, so we can make sure we take account of the final national policy on starter homes. This could include making them available to more people.

“Now that we can issue the planning permission, the Homes and Communities Agency can mobilise their contractors, as there is a huge amount of work to do to prepare the site before facilities and homes can be built.”

Paul Kitson, Head of Northstowe for the HCA said:

“We have been working really hard to get to this point – in particular this year, as well as negotiations with the council on the agreement, we have been bringing forward all the work we can including the design code, remediation work, the town centre strategy and now archaeological work, so that we can satisfy our planning conditions and are ready to hit the ground running with our construction programme.”

When complete, Northstowe will have up to 10,000 new homes and an anticipated population of around 24,400 people.

Duncan Lewis Housing Solicitors

Duncan Lewis housing solicitors can advise on a wide range of housing law, including advising developers and self builders on planning permissions and planning appeals.

There are Duncan Lewis offices across England and Wales and our housing team is also able to advise on:


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For expert legal advice on housing law, call Duncan Lewis housing solicitors on 0333 772 0409.


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