New town gets £1.5million jump-start
Illustration of Northstowe
Northstowe tops the bill in a national list of exemplar projects announced on 9 March 2010 by housing and planning minister John Healey. The extra funding rewards many years’ hard work and provides the platform for taking Northstowe to the next level.
The money will help South Cambridgeshire District Council (SCDC), Cambridgeshire County Council and Cambridgeshire Horizons to develop proposals to showcase low carbon living and eco-friendly life-styles at Northstowe.
The £1.5million was received after the partners bid for over £1.8million to fund a package of measures to improve energy efficiency including an education centre to develop learning and awareness of sustainable living. This will highlight Northstowe’s quality of life ambitions for residents, demonstrating the practical application of high environmental specifications and modern construction methods.
Supporting sustainable energy projects
The money will also support SCDC’s existing sustainable parish energy project, which helps local groups who want to improve energy efficiency in their homes. Demonstration homes in Rampton Drift will be fitted out with energy-saving and generating features, as well as water saving devices. People will be able to try them out to discover how they can change everyday life for the better and the effectiveness of these measures in a real-life setting will be monitored.
The money will also fund work on how delivering zero-carbon living, climate change adaptation, sustainable homes and transport, waste management, and healthy lifestyles can be delivered while making sure the scheme remains viable.
SCDC’s recently appointed Northstowe portfolio holder Councillor Tim Wotherspoon said, “This is our chance to show that we can make Northstowe somewhere really special. It will demonstrate that new development and enhancing the environment can go hand in hand. I am passionately committed to genuine and continuing community engagement as we take Northstowe forward. Together we are going to make this place our new town.”
Owned by joint promoters the Homes and Community Agency and Gallaghers, Northstowe is set to provide around 9,500 homes and associated community infrastructure as well as supporting around 9,000 new jobs.
Ensuring high sustainability standards are present in the design, mix and construction and occupation of new developments including energy efficiency and more sustainable waste management is a key priority of Cambridgeshire's Vision, the Countywide Sustainable Community Strategy