Northstowe's first shop confirmed as Morrisons Daily

Northstowe is finally getting its first shop. South Cambridgeshire District Council confirmed on 6 August that Morrisons Daily will open the new town’s first convenience store, in a 190 square metre retail unit the council has bought and fitted out on Harebell Road. (South Cambridgeshire District Council, 6 August 2026)

An opening date has not been set: the council says Morrisons Daily will announce it to the Northstowe community soon, once the fit-out of the shop is finished.

It is a milestone that residents have waited a long time for. Northstowe, the new town rising on the former airfield between Longstanton and Oakington, is planned to grow to around 10,000 homes and a population of roughly 25,000, which would make it one of the largest new towns in England since Milton Keynes. Until now it has had no permanent shop at all. (Greater Cambridge Shared Planning, Northstowe)

How the shop came about

The council bought the retail unit from Keepmoat Homes as part of the Stirling Fields development on phase two of Northstowe, where around 230 homes have been sold and completed. Homes England, the government housing agency acting as master developer for phases two and three, required commercial space to be built into the scheme from the outset, and the council then completed the commercial arrangements to secure a tenant. (South Cambridgeshire District Council, 6 August 2026)

The new building looks out onto the Greenway, the green corridor linking Northstowe’s community areas, with a children’s play area close by. The store takes the ground floor, and above it are six flats for affordable council rent. Those six flats complete the council’s programme of 60 new council homes at Northstowe, delivered in partnership with Keepmoat Homes.

Cllr Dr Lisa Redrup, the council’s lead cabinet member for healthy communities, called the shop “an exciting milestone for Northstowe” and said one of the council’s main priorities has been “to ensure people can get hold of everyday essentials close to where they live”. The council, she said, had “worked hard for a long time to make this happen”.

Matthew Brown, head of large sites at Homes England, said the requirement for commercial development was built into the Stirling Fields partnership from the start, and that “seeing the first shop completed is a real milestone”.

Northstowe’s district councillors welcomed the news too. Cllr Natalie Warren-Green said residents “have helped shape Northstowe from the very beginning” and looked forward to “supporting the development of a vibrant town centre”, while Cllr Sunita Hansraj said the shop “will help create the lively, welcoming heart that communities need”.

What it means for you

If you live in Northstowe, the everyday essentials run will no longer mean driving to Longstanton, Bar Hill or Willingham. The store is on Harebell Road in the Stirling Fields part of town, and the opening date will come from Morrisons Daily directly, so watch its announcements and the council’s Northstowe updates rather than a fixed date from us.

The shop joins a growing list of facilities the council has already delivered at Northstowe: the Unity Centre, the Western Park sports pavilion and a BMX pump track, with a Town Hub and a second sports pavilion near the education campus still in the works with Homes England.

The bigger picture for the town’s growth is being settled right now: the final consultation on the Greater Cambridge Local Plan, which shapes where homes, jobs and facilities go across the district to 2045, closes on 25 September. For how development is already moving across the district’s villages, see our South Cambs planning news page, and for what the growth means for property values, our guide to South Cambs house prices.