NEIGHBOURS in England’s biggest newbuild town say developers have failed them – and they have to travel for miles to find a pub or shops.
Around 1,200 homes have been built since 2017 in Northstowe near Cambridge – with 10,000 more planned.
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But fuming homeowners said that the newbuild town is a “ghost town” without shops, pubs, cafes, public toilets or a GP practice.
Dad-of-two Dan Greef, 42, said: “We’re now past a thousand homes, and all we’ve got is a post box.
“If you want to shop you have to drive into Tesco in the next town or into Cambridge.
“There is currently one pre-school open, but it’s at full capacity – and in September it’s actually getting smaller.
“This year I’ve had nowhere for my youngest to go.
“Families with younger kids, like myself, are suffering the most.
He added: “People who have been here for six years have been left with nothing.
“When it gets cold everyone is forced to go home as there is no where to socialise.
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“The developers haven’t delivered what they should have done by now,
“The council don’t seem to have been able to enforce what was in the contracts when they were signed.”
Developer L&Q Estates said it would build a community centre before residents moved into the 900th home.
It added that a sports pavilion would be ready before the 500th home was occupied.
But 1,200 houses have been built – and there are no shops or facilities apart from the schools.
Dan said: “There are currently portacabins which are being made into a makeshift community centre.
“But we’ve been told the real building work won’t be completed for three years now. It’s very disappointing.
“At night it’s like a ghost town as there’s no nightlife, pubs or restaurants to eat at. It’s very quiet.
“Food trucks come through town a few times a week, but you’re not going to hang out and sit and eat on the side of the road.
“Everyone here is desperate to get things in place. We just need developers to crack on.”
BRICKING IT
Adrian Clark, L&Q Estates’ managing director, said the company understood “residents’ concerns and frustrations regarding delivery”.
But he added that Northstowe “has all the necessary ingredients to become a successful community”.
He said: “We have been working hard to meet residents’ expectations and deliver on our commitment to the community.
“We recognise that there have been delays to our original timescales
“Work on this development has unfortunately coincided with the outbreak of the pandemic, followed by unprecedented economic and political challenges worldwide, which have inevitably impacted our work.”
It comes after fuming residents said their lives are being made a misery by an abandoned ghost town newbuild estate next door.
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