Around 50,000 Greater Cambridge homes are planned by 2045, and the final Local Plan consultation closes 25 September 2026. Northstowe and Waterbeach latest.

South Cambridgeshire is one of the fastest-growing places in England, and the document that decides where the next twenty years of that growth lands is open for comment right now. The final draft of the joint Greater Cambridge Local Plan went out on 3 August 2026, and residents have until 5pm on Friday 25 September 2026 to respond before it goes to the Government. Beyond the plan, the district is already home to three of the country’s biggest building sites, at Northstowe, Waterbeach and Bourn Airfield. Here is where each one stands, from the councils’ own documents.

The Local Plan: around 50,000 homes by 2045

Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council plan jointly as the Greater Cambridge Shared Planning service, and their cabinets agreed the Proposed Submission version of the new Greater Cambridge Local Plan on 21 July 2026. The councils’ forecast is that around 50,000 new homes will be needed across Greater Cambridge between 2024 and 2045, and that around 37,000 of those are already planned through existing permissions and allocations, which is why the established big sites below carry so much of the total.

This is the Regulation 19 stage, the last public consultation before the plan is submitted to the Government, which must happen by the end of December 2026, with an independent examination expected to start in early 2027. Representations at this stage have to address whether the plan is legally compliant and “sound”, and late comments are not accepted. You can respond through the Local Plan pages or at in-person exhibitions running through late summer, including Linton on 17 August, Waterbeach on 8 September and Great Cambourne on 9 September 2026.

Until the new plan is adopted, the statutory plan remains the South Cambridgeshire Local Plan adopted in September 2018, which provides for 19,500 homes over 2011 to 2031, an average of 975 a year in the district.

The big four sites

No other English district has a set of strategic sites quite like this: two whole new towns, a new village and a major town extension, all running at once.

The district's strategic sites: homes each is permitted for Waterbeach New Town (two outline permissions) 11,000 Northstowe (three phases) 10,000 Bourn Airfield new village 3,500 Cambourne West 2,350 Maximum dwellings under each site's outline planning permissions, Greater Cambridge Shared Planning, August 2026
Homes permitted at each strategic site. Together they account for a large share of the 37,000 homes already in the pipeline.

Northstowe: up to 10,000 homes, and building fast

Northstowe, between Longstanton and Oakington on the guided busway, is planned for up to 10,000 homes over roughly 25 years. The first residents arrived in early 2017 and Phase 1’s roughly 1,500 homes are built. Homes England is master developer for the rest: Phase 2 (up to 3,500 homes) is being delivered, and in its summer 2026 newsletter Homes England confirmed Vistry as master developer for Phase 3b’s roughly 1,000 homes. The 228-home Stirling Fields development sold out and completed by mid-June 2026, the Unity Centre community building opened in May 2026, and a town-centre NHBC training hub is due to finish in autumn 2026.

Waterbeach New Town: up to 11,000 homes, first residents in

Waterbeach New Town is really two permissions: Urban&Civic holds outline consent for up to 6,500 homes on the former barracks (granted 2019), and RLW Estates won consent for up to 4,500 more on the eastern land in December 2024. The first residents moved onto the barracks side in autumn 2024. One condition matters more than any other: the eastern homes cannot be occupied until Waterbeach’s railway station is relocated about 2.4km north, a move now in delivery, with construction due to start in autumn 2026.

Bourn Airfield: a 3,500-home village, waiting on detail

The wartime airfield beside Cambourne has outline permission, granted July 2024, for a new village of up to 3,500 homes, with schools, shops and 40% affordable housing, and the proposed Cambourne to Cambridge busway running through it. Detailed applications have not yet been submitted, so no homes are under construction there yet.

Cambourne West, and a Cambourne station

Cambourne, first approved in 1996, keeps growing: West Cambourne has outline permission for up to 2,350 homes (granted December 2017), and reserved matters for parcels of 120, 203, 122 and 111 homes were approved through 2025. The longer game is East West Rail, whose proposed new Cambourne station would put the town 16 minutes from Cambridge by train against about 50 by road at peak. The route-wide consultation closed in June 2026 and the Development Consent Order is due to be submitted in 2027, so it remains a proposal rather than a consented scheme.

Recent decisions worth knowing

The councils do still say no. At the July 2026 planning committee, members refused up to 100 houses off Horseheath Road in Linton and refused up to 110 houses between Histon Way and Mingle Lane at Great Shelford and Stapleford, both on land outside the villages’ development frameworks.

Hanging over all of it is Whitehall. In March 2026 the Government consulted on creating a Greater Cambridge Urban Development Corporation, a largely government-appointed body that would take key planning powers from both councils for 25 years. South Cambridgeshire District Council held an extraordinary meeting to object; as of March 2026 the outcome was undecided.

What it means for you

If you want a say on where the next decade of building goes, the window is now: the Regulation 19 consultation closes on 25 September 2026 and there is no later round. If you live near one of the big sites, the practical signals are the detailed applications: Bourn Airfield has none yet, while Northstowe and Waterbeach approvals land steadily. New supply on this scale is also part of why house price growth in the district is slower than the national average. And to track any application near you, the shared Greater Cambridge planning portal covers the whole district; searches work by parish, street or reference.

Frequently asked questions

How many homes are planned for South Cambridgeshire?

The councils forecast around 50,000 new homes across Greater Cambridge (Cambridge plus South Cambridgeshire) between 2024 and 2045, of which about 37,000 are already permitted or allocated, including up to 11,000 at Waterbeach, 10,000 at Northstowe, 3,500 at Bourn Airfield and 2,350 at West Cambourne.

When does the Local Plan consultation close?

At 5pm on Friday 25 September 2026. This Regulation 19 stage is the final public consultation before the plan is submitted to the Government by the end of 2026, and late representations are not accepted.

Is Northstowe still being built?

Yes. Roughly 1,500 Phase 1 homes are complete, Phase 2’s up to 3,500 are being delivered, and Vistry was confirmed in summer 2026 as master developer for Phase 3b’s roughly 1,000 homes.

Will Cambourne get a railway station?

East West Rail proposes one, with a 16-minute journey to Cambridge, but it is not yet consented: the Development Consent Order is due to be submitted in 2027.

Where can I see planning applications near me?

On the shared Greater Cambridge planning portal, which covers every application in Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire.

Sources

Checked August 2026 against the pages linked above. Planning statuses change; the portal and the councils’ news pages carry the current position.