NORTHSTOWE TOWN CENTRE STRATEGY 1 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 3 ‐ The Opportunity 3 ‐ Purpose of the Strategy 4 ‐ What does the Strategy include? 6 1. TOWN CENTRE VISION 8 A place for everyone 8 2. WHY THIS APPROACH? 12 2a: Dynamic strategic context 12 2b: The Evidence 14 2c: An opportunity for local disncveness 18 2d: A different mix of residents 21 2e: Limited ‘core’ retail need but can capture ‘footloose’ spend 23 3. The Core Components 28 3a: Spaces with purpose 28 3b: A focused centre 44 3c: Indicave spaal plan 47 3d: Movement and parking 54 4. MAKING IT HAPPEN 56 4a: Placemaking & pioneer uses 60 4b: A sequenced approach 66 4c: Acve management and curaon 84 APPENDIX A1: Baseline Report A2: Evolving the Strategy for Northstowe A3: Northstowe Delivery Concept Tesng Note A4: Place‐led Approach to Delivery Note A5: Summary of Consultaon Feedback A6: Strategic Trends & Influences 2 INTRODUCTION The Opportunity Northstowe will be a new kind of new town. One with The Northstowe Town Centre Strategy provides a a keen eye on the future, whilst being grounded in its framework for the town centre. It will guide its make‐ context and what has gone before. up and layout, the nature of the development that comes forward, the delivery models used and its long The town will be well connected physically and term stewardship. economically within its Cambridgeshire context. Providing 10,000 new homes, and with the first phase This strategy is both evidence and research based. It already under construcon, Northstowe will play a vital learns from past mistakes in new town centre planning role in addressing the growing gaps in housing and and is informed by future trends to ensure the town business space in the Cambridge sub‐region. centre works in the short, medium and long term. At its heart will be a new town centre to serve the The strategy sets out proposals for the town centre 25,000 people living in Northstowe, residents in that ulises the routes, fixed assets (such as schools) surrounding villages and visitors drawn to the town and a town wide green infrastructure network centre by its dynamic offer. established in the wider masterplan to underpin the vitality and acvity. The town centre will be the focus of life within Northstowe. At each stage of its development it will The strategy has been shaped by some important provide for the needs of its community, embedding quesons: early habits and a strong sense of community. The town centre will have inherent ability to evolve and How do people want to work, shop and spend adapt as the town grows and wider needs and their leisure me today and how will this change lifestyles change. in the future? And how should Northstowe be planned in this The planning behind Northstowe has sought to uncertain context? learn valuable lessons from previous new towns. How can Northstowe help meet the needs of Sustainability objecves have been at the core of Cambridge and diversify the offer? the vision for the town from the very beginning. How should this shape the identy of The town centre will be a vital cog in delivering Northstowe? economic, social and environmental sustainability How do we avoid the mistakes of other new across the town and as such needs to be towns? underpinned by a well‐considered and agile How can we make Northstowe stand out? strategy. This includes a mixed offering where retail, leisure, open space and play interact to serve all users. 3 Purpose of the Strategy Building on the original 2014 strategy Through this analysis it has become clear that the drivers of the town centre’s economy will be disnct The Northstowe Town Centre Strategy updates the from almost anywhere else. Whilst influenced by the Strategy originally prepared to support the Phase 2 context of the wider Cambridge market area, the town Planning Applicaon in August 2014 submied by the centre will be established in a new untested market, Homes and Communies Agency (HCA). evolving over me in response to the phased delivery of Northstowe’s 10,000 new homes. This fully sasfies the requirements of Condion 14 for the Phase 2 planning applicaon to “provide more Defining and shaping a new framework for the town detail on the layout and distribuon of acvies and centre enable the early delivery of the town centre”. In response to these findings, Northstowe should strive It draws together detailed quantave and qualitave for disncveness; taking risks and making bold moves analysis, technical and design work undertaken by the relang to the unique character of the town centre’s Allies and Morrison Urban Praconers and Avison offer. It’s offer should be fit for purpose; meeng the Young team, on behalf of Homes England. This evolves diverse needs of all residents as the town centre the vision for the town centre and establishes a unique evolves and addressing any idenfied gaps in provision and future looking strategy. It promotes a dynamic within the wider market area. Resilience must also be approach that can secure early delivery and support achieved; striking a balance in the mix of town centre the evoluon of the town centre offer as it grows. uses that generates and supports fooall from a wide audience, whilst being versale with the ability to The 2014 Town Centre Strategy to support the Phase 2 adapt to changing requirements and audience planning applicaon by the HCA established the dynamics over me. following vision statement for Northstowe Town Centre: With this in mind, the Town Centre Strategy establishes a framework for the town centre that is “Northstowe town centre will be disncve, inspiring, aracve, disnct, but most importantly dynamic and convenient. It will be the place to deliverable over the long term. It determines the learn, do business and have fun.” nature and mix of uses that should be promoted within the town centre, which respond to the opportunies and challenges facing this new town centre in the Building on this vision as a starng point, a research‐ context of the wider Cambridge market dynamics, and led approach has been undertaken drawing together ensures it can show resilience alongside extensive quantave and qualitave analysis and disncveness. technical retail needs analysis to explore this vision in more detail and develop the Town Centre Strategy. This is supported by spaal design work and The aspiraon for Northstowe town centre is to masterplanning. provide a dynamic and innovave centre that meets 4 the needs of residents throughout its phased delivery and long into the future, as well as serving residents in surrounding villages and aracng a diverse range of workers and visitors. This means it must establish itself as a desnaon and a hub of acvity right from the inial development phase, and must grow and evolve as development progresses to connue to meet the wide ranging needs of new residents, workers and visitors. In order to establish a new framework for the town centre within the Town Centre Strategy, the key priories for Northstowe have been idenfied as: Flexibility – ensuring every piece of the town centre and commercial space can have alternave futures Desnaon – establishing Northstowe town centre as a desnaon for residents, workers and visitors, beyond convenience Enterprise – supporng and creang local business acvity and providing opportunies for small and growing businesses as a core element of town centre acvity. The idenficaon of these priories is underpinned by a range of detailed evidence and technical analysis, with a detailed evidence based process leading to the approach and soluons that form this Strategy. Relevant elements of this evidence are incorporated within the main body of the document, supported by the full documents which are provided in the Appendix. This relates parcularly to the retail modelling work underpinning Secon 2d of the Strategy. 5 What does the Strategy include? The Strategy encapsulates the following key elements 3: A flexible mix and environment across its four secons: Seng out the proposed mix, scale and nature of the 1: Town Centre Vision town centre area which focuses on the following key elements: Establishing the key principles and unique selling points of Northstowe and how these shape the town Scale of non‐residenal uses, which establishes centre: the proporonal mix of uses, efficiency of the layout and creang the right commercial An ethos as much as a place environment Meeng a full range of needs Indicave spaal plan, presenng the key A desnaon and departure point masterplan diagrams for the town centre and A place of enterprise and experience, as well as the flexibility this accommodates for the evolving providing places to shop nature of uses over me The high street, providing an appropriate sense 2: Why this approach? of scale and promong the acvity and vibrancy of spaces Exploring the range of factors shaping the approach to Highlighng the proposed green spaces and their developing the strategy for Northstowe Town Centre: purpose, as part of the wider green network, taking the form of town gardens and a town park Rapidly changing strategic commercial market The scale, nature and ming of parking provision context (retail, food & beverage and leisure in the town centre trends) An opportunity for local disncveness (in the 4: Making it happen context of the wider offer and hierarchy), reflecng the strength of exisng places, gaps in Seng out the approach to delivering the strategy the exisng offer in the wider area, and over me as housing is delivered and the weight of displacement resulng from the increasing Northstowe residents increases: pressure on Cambridge A different mix of residents, accommodang a The fixed elements of the town centre where we disncve populaon base from the wider area, know when and where they are coming forward which drives needs across the income and Driving forward demand related to the evoluon generaonal spectrums of the town centre audience and the relaonship An opportunity to capture a more diverse range of different uses of spending, rather than relying the core retail Unlocking the potenal of the town centre by offer which is already well catered fro in the tapping into the spirit and nature of the local wider area.