Oakington, Cambridgeshire, UK   sold out

Site Information

Our latest strategic land investment site is located on the south western edge of Oakington, Cambridgeshire close to the historical city of Cambridge. On successful allocation of the site for residential use, it is projected that investors will enjoy a close to 300% return over a 4 – 6 year period. This equates to an approximately 31% annualised return.

The site is located on the south side of Dry Drayton Road on the southern boundary of to the town of Oakington. Currently it consists of permanent pasture land that is used for making hay and is surrounded by a mixture of existing light commercial and residential development. It is strategically located directly on the town's main access road, less than 1 mile from the A14 providing direct links to Cambridge and London. It is well placed to existing supermarkets, schools, health care facilities and employment areas to make the site a sustainable urban extension site.

Our Planning Department Comments

• South Cambridgeshire District's area surrounds the major city of Cambridge. Due to the national importance of the Cambridge region, successive administrations have allocated the housing growth requirements for the city in South Cambridgeshire due to the historic medieval layout of the city where it is impossible to allocate new housing within its confines. In the past this has required releases of land from the green belt and the planned allocation of development in new settlements in South Cambridgeshire. The Council have produced a new local plan for the period 2011-2031. The councils needs to provide sites for 19,000 new homes over this period.
• Oakington is adjacent to the eastern boundary of Northstowe, one of the new development settlements. Northstowe is expected to deliver 9,500 homes for the city throughout the plan period. Further planned growth cannot be achieved to the north or west due to physical constraints and this site will provide an opportunity to address the shortfall and for expansion.
• Previous policies for Northstowe have been planned to allow flexibility for future expansion and it is therefore our intention to promote this site as an opportunity for future growth. Whilst the site is currently in the greenbelt it is on the edge of Northstowe and the council's policy states that when reviewing Green Belt boundaries, they will take account of the need to channel development towards urban areas within Green Belts and to villages inset within the Green Belt. Northstowe is seen as a highly sustainable location and there will be the inevitable need to plan for its incremental growth. Once the plan is reviewed we will be promoting the site as an opportunity.

Latest Planning Update

The Greater Cambridge Authority is continuing its work on a joint development plan that encompasses both South Cambridge District Council and Cambridge City. Work on this plan commenced in 2020 with consultations being held in November/December 2021 and further consultations during the course of 2022. Submissions were made on behalf of both sites as well as at the Call for Sites process.

The council are currently working through all the issues that were raised from the above consultations and these will be formally discussed internally during January and February 2023 before work on the draft plan can commence in mid to Q3 2023.