Half of the properties built in the 3,500 home second phase of the new town of Northstowe, Cambridgeshire,  will be rented or sold at below market rates. The revised agreement was confirmed to better-reflect emerging Government policy in Starter Homes. 

The new scheme is set to deliver 10 % affordable homes and 40 % discounted Starter Homes. The agreement replaces the previous plan for only 20 % of the homes to be affordable. The second phase of development at the site is part of an overall plan to deliver 10,000 new homes at Northstowe.

The rest of the developer agreement for the second phase of the town remains unchanged.  Overall, the agreement between South Cambridgeshire District Council and The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) will see £73 million invested in community facilities at the new town.  These will include two primary schools and more than £10 million toward the secondary school being built alongside the first homes.

The combined proposals from phase one, being developed by Gallagher Estates, and phase two by the HCA, enable approximately half of Northstowe’s overall projected housing to be built alongside significant elements of the necessary infrastructure required by the town.

The government’s Starter Homes initiative, announced in 2016, aims to provide first time buyers aged between 23 and 40 at least 20 per cent discount on the market price of a home. The maximum cost of the property after discount would also not exceed £250,000.

Commenting on the agreement 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.”