Tag: Tim Wotherspoon

Northstowe Two approved with affordable provision halved

08:19 Thursday 30th July 2015
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

CHRIS MANN: Another 3,500 homes have been given the go-ahead at Northstowe. The new town is being built between the villages of Oakington and Longstanton in South Cambridgeshire, the ones that were choked with traffic yesterday when the A14 was blocked of course. After lengthy discussions councillors agreed on the planning application for Phase 2 of the new town, and our political reporter Hannah Olsson was at yesterday’s meeting. Good morning.
HANNAH OLSSON: Good morning Chris.
CHRIS MANN: So tell us what’s in Phase 2.
HANNAH OLSSON: Well as well as the 3,500 homes we’ve got two primary schools, a secondary school, the town centre and sports hub, so a really significant part of Northstowe. We’re now at 5,000 homes, with the 1,500 agreed in Phase 1. This is the phase that the Government took over as the developer for last year, putting in their detailed planning application through the Homes and Communities Agency back in August.
CHRIS MANN: This is a long running story. It’s taken ages to get to this point.
HANNAH OLSSON: Yes, and not just yesterday’s six hours. And that’s because councillors wanted to get it right. The ambition is for this to be an exemplar town. That phrase was mentioned a lot yesterday, And throughout discussions some of the issues that came up with Cambourne and Orchard Park were mentioned, with everyone keen to learn from some mistakes that happened there, particularly the community facilities. And it was this aspect that was being signed off yesterday, the so-called 106 agreement in the planning application, which is the amount of money that the developers must guarantee will be spent on things like schools, health centres and community hubs. One of the councillors who spoke at yesterday’s meeting, the Leader of the LibDems on South Cambridgeshire Council Bridget Smith spoke of wanting to avoid it becoming a rurally isolated ghetto, with nowhere for residents to meet or socialise, particularly in the early stages.
CHRIS MANN: OK.
HANNAH OLSSON: So compromises did have to be made. The Council had originally asked for £86 million in investment, but the figure agreed with the Homes and Communities Agency is now £73 million. There’s also a compromise on affordable housing. The South Cambridgeshire policy is for 40% affordable homes, but the HCA said it’s only viable to have 20% of affordable homes at the moment, but this will be reviewed as more houses are built and sold. Some councillors do still have concerns, particularly about the timing of when the facilities are going to be built, but you could audibly hear the sign of relief when it was eventually voted through by all but one of the committee, not least from the man sat next to me, the Chair of Northstowe Joint Development Committee, Tim Wotherspoon.
CHRIS MANN: So Tim, how significant is this?
TIM WOTHERSPOON: oh it’s hugely significant. Yes. We’ve now cleared the way for the first half of the town, the first 5,000 homes to go forward for detailed planning preparation and delivery. It’s a huge step forward for South Cambridgeshire.
CHRIS MANN: OK. Yesterday we saw these villages absolutely jammed with traffic when the A14 was blocked, and some people saying why build them when you’ve got these road problems still going on. What’s your answer to that?
Continue reading “Northstowe Two approved with affordable provision halved”

Tim Wotherspoon on Northstowe Phase II

07:07 Thursday 26th March 2015
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

DOTTY MCLEOD: It is one of the largest planned new developments in the country. It could become the biggest new town in the country since Milton Keynes. But there’s still a question mark over the future of Northstowe in Cambridgeshire. Councillors met yesterday, but the meeting at South Cambridgeshire District Council was adjourned after more than five hours. Up to 10,000 homes could be built on land between Oakington and Longstanton, just north of the A14. To give you an idea of the size of this planned development, that would be more homes than there are currently in Ely. In a moment we’ll be talking to the councillor in charge of strategic planning at South Cambridgeshire District Council, but first Emma Howgego has been looking back at the history of Northstowe so far.
EMMA HOWGEGO: It was 17 years ago in 1998 that the town of Northstowe was first proposed on the site of Oakington Barracks, which closed down in the mid-1990s. The Government acquired the land and initially turned it into an immigration reception centre, which closed down in 2010. Since then plans to build 10,000 homes and the associated infrastructure have been discussed, debated and adjusted. So where are we now with Northstowe? Well outline planning permission for the north end of the town known as Phase I which includes 1500 homes has already been approved. Clearing work on the site is already underway, and construction work on the infrastructure is due to start on site in the next few weeks. According to the Northstowe website, the first homes will be ready to move into next year. The first primary school opens in September 2016. But that means there are still 8,500 homes that haven’t been given planning permission. That’s where Phase II comes in. This is the big part of the new town, the shops, the town centre, the secondary school and the guided busway extension, along with 3,500 homes. But there is one issue. This stage is reliant on the A14 upgrade going ahead, as Cllr Tim Wotherspoon explained to BBC Radio Cambridgeshire last week.
(TAPE)
TIM WOTHERSPOON: What we’re specifying in the report and you’ll see is the bit between Swavesey and Girton, which is obviously the bit on which Northstowe depends, particularly the new Bar Hill junction. That has to be finished before there are any occupations in Phase II.
(LIVE)
EMMA HOWGEGO: And that is the key point here. Over the years the A14 has been consulted on, approved, then scrapped by the Government, then re-proposed with a toll, the toll was abolished, and it is now at the stage of being consulted on again. And with a General Election just six weeks away, who knows what will happen if a new government comes into power.
DOTTY MCLEOD: Emma Howgego reporting there. Well with me now is Tim Wotherspoon, South Cambridgeshire District Council’s Cabinet member for Strategic Planning. What happened at this meeting yesterday Tim? Why no decision?
Continue reading “Tim Wotherspoon on Northstowe Phase II”

Council roughly handled in Coalition ‘copter swoop

17:09 Friday 12th December 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

CHRIS MANN: Local councillors have held an urgent meeting with the Government about the future of Northstowe, the new town for Cambridgeshire. Last week the Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander announced plans for the Coalition to build and sell thousands of the new homes, rather than rely on developers. But South Cambs District Council, which is supposed to be responsible for overseeing development, was left in the the dark about the changes and what it means for the county. In a moment we’ll find out how the meeting went, but first our reporter Tom Horn today was in Oakington, next door to the development, to see what residents there think are the priorities.
(TAPE)
Continue reading “Council roughly handled in Coalition ‘copter swoop”

The Northstowe Poker Game And The Missing Millions

17:23 Monday 18th March 2013
Drive BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[C]HRIS MANN: South Cambridgeshire District Council is set to agree the budget for the first phase of the new Northstowe town with the developers, but at many millions less than was first suggested. Developers Gallagher Estates’ latest offer for infrastructure such as transport and schools now stands at £30 million. That’s less than half the original amount. It will be voted on at a Council meeting tomorrow. So where have the missing millions gone? And what will it mean for the new town? Tim Wotherspoon is Cabinet member for Northstowe, and a councillor for Cottenham. Tim joins us now. Hello Tim.
TIM WOTHERSPOON: Good evening. Yes.
CHRIS MANN: So, how did we get from sixty five million to thirty? Continue reading “The Northstowe Poker Game And The Missing Millions”

The Reality Of Northstowe

08:08 Thursday 25th October 2012
Bigger Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

PAUL STAINTON: The first phase of the biggest new town in Britain since Milton Keynes was approved yesterday, but residents are not happy. South Cambridgeshire District Council approved the first 1,500 of 10,000 proposed new homes for the Northstowe development, just north west of Cambridge yesterday. Eight parish councils around that site put forward their objections. Geoff Twiss is from Over Parish Council. He was one of the people unhappy.(TAPE)
GEOFF TWISS: Unhappy, resigned. I think people know which way the wind is blowing. But there was a lot of concern from local residents, and particularly from the local parish councils. So yes, people really were bothered on all sorts of grounds. (LIVE)
PAUL STAINTON: Well we’ve been to the villages around the area who are concerned. Our reporter Dotty McLeod is now in Longstanton for us, which will also be affected. Continue reading “The Reality Of Northstowe”