Urban&Civic announces that it has acquired a one third partnership stake in a 400 acre (162.3 hectares) site at Wintringham Park, St. Neots, Cambridgeshire, from two Nuffield charitable trusts. The total land area is allocated but not yet consented for the development of up to 2,800 residential units, 63,500 m² of employment space, a district centre with ancillary uses and two primary schools. The Trusts comprise the Nuffield Dominions Trust and the Nuffield Oxford Hospitals Fund which are dedicated to supporting medical research and teaching at the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust and Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, and within the Medical Sciences Division of the University.
The purchase consideration is ca. €15.5m (£13.3m), which is phased over the next four years with provision for early payments to fund the Trusts’ share of accelerated infrastructure investment. The transaction values a hundred per cent interest in the project at ca. €46.9m (£40m), or the approximate equivalent of ca. €16.400 (£14,000) per unserviced residential plot. Urban&Civic has been appointed Master Developer and will take forward the delivery of the site as a whole, together with the sale of fully serviced land parcels adopting its now proven model. Current new house prices in the local area are around €334 (£285) per ft². It is anticipated that infrastructure provision will commence from early 2018.
Wintringham Park is a key strategic site within Huntingdonshire District Council as an adopted eastern extension to St. Neots. The land is bordered by the East Coast Main Line to the west and the A428 to Cambridge to the south and east. Alongside Alconbury and Waterbeach, the project represents the third major holding for Urban&Civic with ready access to Cambridge. Express buses to Cambridge run every 30 minutes and there are 104 weekday trains to and from King’s Cross and St. Neots with the fastest journey time now 35 minutes.
The land at St. Neots has been in the ownership of one or both Trusts since the 1940s and forms a major part of their bequest from the late Lord Nuffield. The Trusts are able to draw upon significant expertise in health and innovation which will be incorporated within the broader contribution that a large well-planned development at Wintringham will make towards accelerated housing supply and improved well being.
The investment reflects Urban&Civic’s policy to act as Master Developer and owner/ investor on large projects in affordable areas of high population growth. The sub regional increase in population in and around Cambridge over the past ten years is around 15%. Accommodating such growth requires large sites to be brought forward more quickly but with an emphasis on improved quality. Collectively the three Urban&Civic projects in Cambridgeshire will deliver 15,000 homes, four million ft² of business space, eight primary schools and at least two new secondary schools.
In describing the potential for the future partnership Nigel Hugill, Chief Executive of Urban&Civic, said: "The real thrill for us is in the prospect of taking our Master Developer model and deploying the Nuffield experience of creating healthier lifestyles to show just what well planned new large scale projects can achieve. We are aiming for accelerated housing delivery in which improved well being is made a priority from the outset."
Sir Andrew Dilnot, Warden of Nuffield College, Oxford and Chair of the Nuffield Dominions Trust added: "The trusts are committed to furthering medical research and teaching. We have owned the site for 75 years and high quality development in the context of all that the Nuffield name stands for remains our absolute priority. We are determined that our partnership with Urban&Civic will provide an appropriate financial and environmental legacy."
