Neighbours of 'ghost town' estate say they are being overwhelms

EXCLUSIVE: Neighbours of new ‘ghost town’ with 10,000 homes but no GP or shops say their own surgery is already overwhelmed – even before the new estate is finished

• Retired civil servant Richard Hart said Northstowe is overwhelming the area 
• He said the amount of traffic in the area is getting worse because of Northstowe

Villagers living near Britain’s newest ‘ghost town’ have told of their anger that developers have caused their prized local services to become overwhelmed by building the sprawling development ‘back to front’.

Residents of Northstowe – a 10,000-home development near Cambridge which has no medical facility, no shops, no library, no pub, no library and just one bus an hour – must rely on the services of the surrounding rural communities.

But patients at the nearby doctors’ surgeries have told how they are forced to wait up to four weeks for an appointment and fear the situation will become dramatically worse as the town reaches its 26,000 capacity population.

The nearby village of Willingham has a population of 4,500.

But the medical practice now caters for some 11,000 patients – with more than half coming from Northstowe – causing weeks of delay in appointments.

Retired civil servant Richard Hart told MailOnline, pictured with his wife Alyson: ‘Northstowe is putting a huge pressure on our GPs surgery’

Retired district nurse Margaret Blackburn told how she needs regular check-ups to monitor her diabetes. But she has been forced to wait a week after changing her appointment

Patient representative Chris Thornhill told MailOnline: ‘The Willingham Medical Practice is completely overwhelmed. It is a well-run practice with about eight doctors, but they can hardly cope with demand.

READ MORE: Why we love living in Cambridge’s ‘ghost town’  

Northstowe near Cambridge has been ridiculed over its lack of facilities more than six years after households first started moving in

‘Some 4,500 people live in the village but now the practice has about 11,000 patients. And many of them live in Northstowe.

‘This is causing huge delays in appointments. It now takes about four weeks to get an appointment.’

Student Mia Parker added: ‘I had to wait four weeks for an appointment. It’s pretty obvious it’s because of all the new houses down the road in Northstowe.’

Mr Thornhill, a retired civil engineer, blames the developers for man of the problems blighting surrounding communities.

He told MailOnline: ‘The whole development has been done back to front.

‘The doctors surgery and the shops should have opened in Northstowe when the people started moving in.

‘But for some reason the developers have not done so.

‘They have opened up the schools but nothing else.

‘And because there are hardly any transport links everyone has to drive, which is causing problems with the traffic.’

Meanwhile some three miles away at another GPs practice in the village of Swavesey patients are experiencing similar delays with appointments and a growing problem with traffic.

Retired civil servant Richard Hart told MailOnline: ‘Northstowe is putting a huge pressure on our GPs surgery.

‘It already takes four weeks to get an appointment and that’s before all of the houses at Northstowe have been built and the residents moved in.

‘So it’s going to get even more difficult. And some people can’t even get on the doctor’s list. Our facilities are simply being overwhelmed.’

Mr Hart, 66, added: ‘We’ve lived in Swavesey for 35 years and it has changed dramatically over the past two years since Northstowe has been built.

‘Traffic has become terrible. In the morning there are tail-backs to the A14!

‘Everyone cuts through the village to get to Northstowe. It’s down-right dangerous.’

Retired district nurse Margaret Blackburn told how she needs regular check-ups to monitor her diabetes.

But she has been forced to wait a week after changing her appointment.

Margaret, 93, told MailOnline: ‘All the new people moving to the area are putting a huge strain on the facilities.

‘I have diabetes and I need regular check-ups. And when I had to change my appointment I couldn’t get another booking for a week!

‘I don’t know why they have built that new town without providing any facilities.’

Local businessman Mark Squires claimed that local service – including a doctor’s surgery, shops and other facilities – were supposed to have been put in place in Northstowe before residents moved in.

Mr Squires, who restores arcade games, told MailOnline: ‘I’ve seen the building plans and the contractor was supposed to put in all the facilities before the residents moved into Northstowe.

‘But they claim everything got delayed because of Covid. They got the schools open and there is a community centre. But there are no shops and no doctors’ surgery.

‘So it is putting pressure on our GPs here in Swavesey. They are very good doctors but they are overwhelmed!’

Other residents of this quiet part of Cambridgeshire have told how Northstowe has ruined their country idyl.

Mr Hart, 66, added: ‘We’ve lived in Swavesey for 35 years and it has changed dramatically over the past two years since Northstowe has been built

Local businessman Mark Squires claimed that local service – including a doctor’s surgery, shops and other facilities – were supposed to have been put in place in Northstowe before residents moved in

One elderly resident who gave her name as Elizabeth, 68, said: ‘They’ve already completed the first development at Northstowe and they are starting on the second plot. Once they finish that me and my husband are leaving.

‘These 10,000 new homes have ruined the area. Longstanton was once a really peaceful area. But now it’s getting far to busy and no longer has the same atmosphere.

‘The GPs is already overrun. The current infrastructure just can’t cope.’

A young mum from Swavesey added: ‘The traffic passing through Swavesey has completely ruined the village.

‘I can’t let my two-year-old walk down the road because there are cars thundering down the road all day long. It’s not on!’

The closest dentist to Northstowe is in nearby Longstanton but it is not accepting any new NHS patients.

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