Cambridge City Council has granted approval for the construction of 292 homes on the outskirts of Cambridge, as part of an ongoing development project.

The Cherry Hinton North development, known as Springfield Village, lies on the eastern edge of Cambridge, next to Cambridge City Airport. Initial planning approval to build up to 1,200 homes was granted in 2020, and over 100 houses have been built to date.

This is the third phase of the development of the proposal to receive approval, with the first two being focused solely on residential buildings. In contrast, the current phase will also include a local centre, encompassing shops, a market square, a community hub and allotments.

Cambridge City Councillor Katie Thornburrow described the new development as the “heart” of the community, saying that the success of the area “will be the success of the whole development”.

According to the developer, Bellway Latimer LLP, 117 of the homes, or a little over 40%, would be offered as affordable housing, and the rest sold at market price.

Of the affordable housing, 85 will be offered at social rent and 32 as shared ownership.

The development comes as part of a broader slate of construction across Cambridge, coordinated by a mixture of central government, local bodies, private finance and the University of Cambridge.

East-West Rail, the government’s initiative to reconstruct the Varsity line between Oxford and Cambridge which ceased existing in the 1960s, was approved in 2011 and is expected to be completed in the early 2030s. Construction is ongoing on Cambridge South railway station, including space for 1,000 bikes.

When completed, the rail line will form the backbone of the “Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor,” a treasury-led initiative to boost the UK economy by over £78bn.

However, the plan has not been without opposition, including from the University, which has warned that the route may impact research at the University’s radio astronomy observatory.