The agreement for the next phase of the new town development will pave the way to build 3,000 homes, 50% of which will be affordable.

The project will also include up to 50,000 sq m of commercial floorspace including shops, workspace and community facilities.

The town centre will include a 30m-wide high street, green spaces and a market hall alongside 1,000 apartments.

Minister for Housing and Planning, Matthew Pennycook said: “For far too long we have seen large-scale housing projects stuck in the planning system and that is why we will create a new taskforce to accelerate these stalled sites.

“We will get Britain building again and work is already under way to unlock thousands of new homes in Northstowe.

“This includes giving Homes England the tools they need to deliver the next phase in Northstowe town centre so we can build the quality homes that this local community desperately needs.”

The development of the town centre is made possible by existing infrastructure already delivered by Homes England. Moving forward, the Agency will act as the master developer for the final two phases of this 30-year project.

Peter Freeman, Chair at Homes England said: “This agreement marks a significant step towards the creation of a vibrant town centre in Northstowe, just across the road to the multi-school Education Campus which already has 700 pupils and is currently being extended to house over 2,000 people.”

Keepmoat is already actively building and selling homes at Northstowe with its 300-home Stirling Fields development – which is expected to complete in the autumn of 2027.

Its current success on site establishes a strong foundation for its future phases. The organisation will oversee the development of additional multi-tenure homes close to the town centre.

Tim Wray, Group Development Director at Keepmoat said: “It’s an incredibly exciting time to be involved in delivering the UK’s newest town. Bringing forward the new town centre, to be delivered by Capital&Centric, is the catalyst for this change and will be instrumental in place making at Northstowe.”

Northstowe is being developed on and around the site of the former RAF Oakington air base and through its early-stage developments, is home to around 3,000 people in 1,400 homes.