It has been seven years since the first residents made the pioneering move to the Northstowe community. However, the model town, which is home to more than 3,000 residents to date, still lacks basic services – sparking outrage among the Cambridgeshire locals.

This month, South Cambridgeshire Tory MP Anthony Browne acknowledged the growing anger and launched a petition in response to mounting concerns from the community. The petition demands the establishment of an NHS GP surgery in the new town. Mr Browne told the Cambridge Independent that more than 1,200 residents have since signed the petition

Days after the petition, Homes England announced an extra £120,000 in funding for Northstowe to help build “community cohesion”. Under the scheme, Northstowe will be provided up to £20,000 of grant funding per year between 2024 and 2029.

However, despite the significant investment and years of promises, Northstowe still lacks many basic amenities.

While a temporary community centre was put in place last year and a sports pavilion has recently opened, there is still no permanent shop, cafe, pub, or GP surgery in the town. A nursery is set to open in September 2024, and a permanent community centre will not be completed until early 2026.

All of the local residents have been forced to register with GPs outside of town. Mr Browne acknowledged the anger, saying: “The lack of a GP surgery in Northstowe is not just a planning failure but a threat to the health and wellbeing of the community.”

He added: “It is time that the relevant parties put their heads together and came up with a deliverable solution. Northstowe was promoted as a ‘healthy town, prioritising wellbeing as a core aspect of its ethos and design’. The absence of a dedicated GP surgery has remained a significant concern.”

Current construction plans for a ‘Civic Hub’ which would include a ‘healthcare space’ will not be completed until 2028.

Northstowe, which sits just eight miles from the city of Cambridge, is expected to have a population of more than 25,000 people over the next 20 years.

South Cambridgeshire District Council’s Lead Cabinet Member for Communities, Cllr Bill Handle, has defended the community’s amenities. He pointed out that the community has an orchard and allotments as well as a weekly market. There are also schools and plenty of walking and cycling trails for families to enjoy.

Northstowe, which was first proposed in 2007, was launched as the UK’s biggest new town since the development of Milton Keynes in the 1960s. It was sold as an eco-community, built to help ease the housing crisis in one of the least affordable parts of the country.

Back in the summer of 2023, residents complained about the lack of services to the BBC. Pamela Nally, who bought her home here in February 2021, said: “To me, there’s no heart to Northstowe. It’s like building a home without a kitchen. A kitchen is a heart of a house. A shop and a café and that local area is the heart of a town.”