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New ‘South West Cambridge’ – a new town between our villages? 

A West Sussex speculative development company is proposing to create a new town sprawl of 25,000 homes between and encompassing the villages of Shepreth, Melbourn, Meldreth, Whaddon, Bassingbourn, Wimpole, Orwell, Barrington and Foxton. The new town, dubbed ‘South West Cambridge,’ would be half the size of Cambridge and would profoundly change the hinterland of a multitude of villages and eradicate the rural nature of much of South Cambridgeshire.

The developer, ‘Thakeham,’ has missed the deadline for the South Cambridgeshire Local Plan’s ‘Call for Sites,’ in spite of having spent the past two years preparing its scheme, during which time it will have been fully aware of the South Cambridgeshire Planning process. It now proposes a late submission in the Call for Sites.

While it has contacted relevant landowners, Thakeham has made no contact with local residents or their elected representatives.

The South Cambridgeshire development hierarchy is structured around its largest population centres at Cambourne and Northstowe, which are served by the A428, the Guided Busway and the planned new Cambourne Station, as well as its new schools and health services.

County Councillors Sebastian Kindersley, Peter McDonald and Susan van de Ven, and District Councillors Aidan Van de Weyer and Jose Hales have formed the South West Cambridge Action Group (SWCAG) and will be holding a Zoom information meeting for all interested residents on 16 December, 6-7PM.  To sign up for the Zoom meeting, please email info@swcag.org.uk

Information updates will be posted on a dedicated website and Facebook page:

www.swcag.org.uk

https://www.facebook.com/groups/southwestcambridgeactiongroup

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