A planning application has been submitted for a distinctive new neighbourhood at Northstowe that brings together two cohousing communities with market and affordable homes in a landscaped setting designed by Mole Architects. This unique development will deliver 145 homes across four compact urban buildings and represents a national first: two cohousing communities delivered side-by-side as part of a planned new town. Across the neighbourhood, 40% of homes will be affordable, including Affordable Rent and Discount Market Sale.

The proposals are the first major project from the new joint venture between TOWN and community-focused housebuilder The Hill Group, announced earlier this year. The partnership brings together Hill's industry-leading delivery capability with TOWN's expertise in resident-led and community-focused development. The joint venture aims to scale the delivery of cohousing and other community-oriented neighbourhoods across the south of England, with Northstowe marking the start of that ambition.

Located nine miles from Cambridge, the development builds on the success of Marmalade Lane, the multi-award-winning cohousing neighbourhood delivered by TOWN and Mole Architects in Orchard Park. Marmalade Lane continues to attract strong interest, with a waiting list of over 400 households keen to live in the community — a clear sign of unmet demand for more community-led forms of housing. Northstowe offers the opportunity to meet that demand at a larger scale, within one of the UK's most ambitious new towns.

Situated adjacent to Northstowe's emerging town centre, the new neighbourhood will include Suvana Cohousing, a community grounded in Buddhist values, and Northstowe Cohousing, a multi-generational community modelled on Marmalade Lane. Both groups have been closely involved in shaping the plans through a year- long codesign process, influencing everything from house types to shared spaces and landscaping. House types include terrace houses, maisonettes and apartments from one to four-bedrooms.

By bringing established communities into the early phases of Northstowe, the project gives the project an immediate social centre of gravity. The cohousing groups will provide community activity from the outset helping to benefit both residents and the wider town.

At the heart of the design is a car-free play street that links directly to the Greenway park. It is framed by shared gardens, play spaces and two 'common houses' – shared spaces where residents can cook, eat and spend time together.

All houses are timber-framed and highly energy-efficient, with air source heat pumps and materials favouring low embodied carbon. The landscape, designed by Guarda Landscape, integrates sustainable drainage, edible planting and natural play. Streets prioritise walking, cycling and play, to align with Building for a Healthy Life principles.

The Cambridge Quality Panel described the development as “a high-quality, innovative proposal that brings diversity and social richness to Northstowe.”

Subject to consent, construction is expected to begin in summer 2026.

To learn more or explore joining one of the cohousing communities visit www.wearetown.co.uk/cohousing

Quotes

Jonny Anstead, Founding Director, TOWN

“Cohousing brings an incredible social energy to a new place. When residents know each other, share space and take collective responsibility for their environment, it creates a stronger, more resilient community. We're excited to see this approach becoming part of Northstowe's story.”

Andy Hill OBE, founder and Group Chief Executive of The Hill Group

“This is an exciting milestone in our partnership with TOWN. By combining TOWN's community-first approach with Hill's mixed-use delivery expertise, we can create neighbourhoods that are sociable, sustainable and built to last. Northstowe is a great example of what this joint venture is designed to achieve.”

Matthew Brown, Head of Large Sites at Homes England

“Northstowe is already home to a pioneering, independent community and is a place where new ways of living can take shape. The proposal from TOWN and The Hill Group shows how resident-led cohousing, high-quality, low-carbon homes and a significant proportion of affordable housing can come together to create a neighbourhood with community at its heart. Diversification of the housing offer at Northstowe is key for us to accelerate delivery. We are pleased to support plans that set a strong benchmark for the next phases of Northstowe.”

TOWN: Lily Holbrook, Communications Manager

lily@wearetown.co.uk

Homes England: Stephen Sanders, Emily McGowan-Phoenix, Adam Gooseman or Bria Smith at PR Agency One

northstowe@pragencyone.co.uk

The Hill Group: The Oracle PR Agency

hill@oraclepr.co.uk

TOWN is a profit-with-purpose developer on a mission to make development a force for good—creating homes and neighbourhoods that improve lives, support more sustainable ways of living and enhance the wider places they are part of.

Founded in 2014, TOWN has earned national and international recognition for its design-led, community-focused approach to development. It works with local authorities, landowners, investors and future residents to deliver social, environmental and commercial value through projects at a range of scales.

TOWN is best known for Marmalade Lane, a 42-home cohousing community in Cambridge, completed in 2019. It has won more than ten major awards for design, placemaking and social value, and is widely featured in national policy and best practice guidance. TOWN's current portfolio includes urban regeneration, strategic masterplanning and resident-led housing schemes ranging from 14 to 5,500 homes.

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Northstowe is a major residential-led development eight miles northwest of Cambridge City. Phases 2 and 3, the final phases of development, are by Homes England. Over the next 20 years, the former RAF airfield site and surrounding land will be transformed into a thriving new town community of around 25,000 people, featuring 10,000 new homes, multiple high-quality community facilities, all carefully knitted together with natural assets and a new town centre.

L&Q has delivered phase one, which features 1,500 homes, new primary school sports facilities, connections to the emerging town via road, cycle and walking and an amenity lake. It is almost complete – thousands of people already call Northstowe home, with schools in use, a thriving level of grassroots community activity, and a new Town Council.

Homes England is responsible for Phases 2 and 3 and has secured planning permission for the town centre phase (Phase Two), which includes 3,500 homes and permission to provide shops, cafes, and various facilities. Additionally, Homes England has prepared the former brownfield MoD land, involving extensive clearing and remediation efforts to ready it for development, and provided essential infrastructure to support homes and facilities in Phases Two and Three. This includes access roads, drainage provision (including amenity waterparks), cycleways and walkways, plus land and funding for the Education Campus, catering to students for nursery through to sixth form, along with adjoining sports facilities like cricket, rugby, and football pitches.

Homes England is the government's homes and regeneration agency. We drive the creation of more high-quality homes and thriving places so that everyone – no matter their background – has a place to live and thrive. We work in partnership with thousands of public and private bodies including local authorities, home builders, developers, affordable housing providers, commercial real estate companies and financial institutions to make this happen.

The Hill Group is a top 10 housebuilder* and one of the leading developers in London, the home counties, and the South. The company is renowned for its partnership ethos, specialising in the building of distinctive new places and communities where people want to live, work, and socialise.

In its 26th year, this family-owned and operated company has grown to establish itself as the UK's second-largest privately-owned housebuilder, with an impressive and diverse portfolio of projects ranging from landmark, mixed-use regenerations, and inner-city apartment developments to homes in rural communities.

Employing over 950 staff, the company operates from six strategically located regional offices including Bristol and Abingdon to help facilitate growth in the South West and the Midlands, with its head office based in Waltham Abbey, Essex.