Britain's biggest new town still has no GP surgery, shops or cafes six years on

Emily Cleary
Updated ·6 min read
Northstowe is a new town in Cambridgeshire that will eventually have up to 10,000 homes, with an anticipated population of 24,400.
Northstowe is a new town in Cambridgeshire that will eventually have up to 10,000 homes, with an anticipated population of 24,400.

England's biggest 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 work started in 2017.

Some 10,000 homes are planned, with a total population of 26,000, which will make it the biggest 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 vital facilities that were promised. It is still without basic necessities like shops, pubs, cafes, public toilets and even a GP practice.

Instead it consists of row upon row of newly developed houses occupied by families who have been 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.

New modular houses built by Urban Splash at Inholm Northstowe Cambridgeshire UK a new town.
Some of the new, modular houses built by Urban Splash at Inholm in Northstowe.

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, and 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, have failed to deliver on the latter.

Developers have also been criticised for destroying local wildlife and ecosystems as a result of construction of the new town.

Greef has been renting a three-bedroom home in the town, where he lives with his wife and two young children, for 11 months.

More than 1,200 homes are now occupied in Northstowe, with no shops or community facilities nearby.
More than 1,200 homes are now occupied in Northstowe, with no shops or community facilities nearby.

He moved when plans to build a community centre were firmly in place, and says he believed strong public transport links to Cambridge would suffice while infrastructure development went ahead.

But shortly after he arrived, those plans were delayed, and the guided bus route always proves too busy to use when it passes through his stop.

Greef says there is nothing to show for the last six years apart from more houses.

He said: "If you want to shop you have to drive to Tesco in the next town or into Cambridge.

"There is currently one preschool open, but its at full capacity, and in September it's actually getting smaller. This year I've had nowhere for my youngest to go.

Frustrated residents have hit out at the developers saying Northstowe has been left like a 'ghost town'.
Frustrated residents have hit out at the developers saying Northstowe has been left like a 'ghost town'.

"There are a few schools, but families with younger kids, like myself, are suffering the most.

"People who have been here for six years have been left with nothing."

However, Greef says there is "an amazing sense of community" in the town.

"We've had street parties for Christmas and Halloween which were great, but when it gets cold everyone is forced to go home as there is nowhere to socialise," he said.

"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."

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 the 500th was moved into.

But more than 1,200 homes are now occupied, with no shops or community facilities except three schools.

Greef said portacabins were being made into a makeshift community centre but added: "We've been told the real building work won't be completed for three years now. It's very disappointing.

An artist's impression of how Northstowe would look ahead that was published by planners before building began. (Homes England)
An artist's impression of how Northstowe would look ahead that was published by planners before building began. (Homes England)

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"At night it's like a ghost town as there's no nightlife, pubs or restaurants to eat at. It's very quiet.

"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. We just need developers to crack on.

"We've got the community and the community spirit, along with fantastic faith and secular groups - we just need places to meet and come together."

An aerial view of the Northstowe Pathfinder Primary School and public recreational area.
An aerial view of the Northstowe Pathfinder Primary School and public recreational area.

Adrian Clark, L&Q Estates' managing director, said the company understood "residents' concerns and frustrations regarding delivery" but that Northstowe "has all the necessary ingredients to become a successful community".

He said: "We have been working hard to meet residents' expectations and deliver on our commitment to the community.

"While we recognise that there have been delays to our original timescales, work on this development has unfortunately coincided with the outbreak of the pandemic, followed by unprecedented economic and political challenges worldwide, which have inevitably impacted our work."

Rows and rows of houses have been built, but no community facilities to support their residents.
Rows and rows of houses have been built, but no community facilities to support their residents.

Northstowe: What was said about new Cambridgeshire town before it was built

The building of Northstowe was announced by David Cameron in 2016 as part of a government pledge to provide more housing to enable people to get on the property ladder and ease the housing crisis of the time.

Cameron claimed the move would be the biggest use of such a policy since Margaret Thatcher and Michael Heseltine sparked the regeneration of London's Docklands in the 1980s.

Downing Street said the policy would see homes being built at a faster rate, with smaller building firms that were unable to take on big projects able to begin construction on government sites which already had planning permission.

The plan was to be backed by an extra £1.2bn to prepare brownfield sites for the building of 30,000 starter homes over five years.

Northstowe, along with Dover, Chichester, Gosport, and Old Oak Common in northwest London, was earmarked as a major site for thousands of new starter homes.

Cameron said at the time: "Nothing is more important to achieving that than ensuring hard-working people can buy affordable homes."

Councillor Tim Wotherspoon of South Cambridgeshire District Council called initial planning approval "great news and a major milestone" and said the council's "number one priority" for Northstowe was "quality, as we want it to be a great place to live, work and go to school".

The planning statement issued by Homes England stated Northstowe would include "retail and associated services, food and drink, community, leisure, employment and residential uses, and a range of open spaces for play and recreation".