The proposed Forest City development — a plan to build a new city of up to 400,000 homes on farmland east of Cambridge — has not yet met key criteria in the government’s draft New Towns programme assessment.
In newly published consultation material, the proposal is listed among longlisted locations that do not currently meet the required objectives for progression.
However, this does not rule the proposal out.
At this stage, government assessments are intended to test viability rather than make final decisions — and proposals can evolve, be revised, and return with stronger backing.
The reason given for the current position is clear:
the scheme does not demonstrate a credible route to delivery, with no robust funding, leadership, or governance structure, and no clear evidence of local political or landowner support.
This is the first time the proposal has been formally assessed in a government context — and it raises significant questions about how it would move forward in its current form.
A proposal without a clear delivery plan
One of the most notable aspects of the assessment is how the proposal is described.
Rather than being backed by established delivery bodies or public authorities, it is characterised as:
a large-scale proposal submitted by a campaign group.
That distinction is important.
Major infrastructure and settlement projects in the UK typically rely on:
- coordinated backing from local authorities
- defined governance structures
- confirmed funding pathways
- alignment with national planning frameworks
At present, the Forest City proposal does not appear to demonstrate these elements in a clear or evidenced way.
No evidence of local support
The assessment also highlights the absence of:
- local political backing
- landowner participation
Both are essential for any development of this scale.
Without them, even early-stage planning would face significant challenges, particularly given the proposed footprint across a large area of countryside between Cambridge and Suffolk.
What this means — and what it doesn’t
This assessment does not represent a formal rejection of the proposal.
It is not a planning decision, and no application has been approved or refused.
Instead, it indicates that:
- the proposal is not currently considered deliverable in its present form
- it does not meet the criteria for progression at this stage
- key elements required for delivery have not yet been demonstrated
In other words, the concept exists — but the pathway to delivery remains unclear.
Could the proposal return?
At this stage, the proposal has not been taken forward — but that does not mean it cannot re-emerge.
Large-scale developments often go through multiple iterations before gaining traction, particularly where they involve new delivery models or require legislative backing.
If the promoters were able to address the concerns raised — particularly around funding, governance, and local support — the proposal could return in a revised form.
In many cases, proposals at this stage either fall away quietly or reappear later with a more formal structure and backing.
Which path this one takes remains to be seen.
Why this matters
The scale of the proposed development — both in terms of land and population — has already generated attention among residents, policymakers, and environmental groups.
Questions around:
- infrastructure
- water supply
- environmental impact
- housing delivery
have all been raised, but many remain unresolved.
The government’s assessment now reinforces a central issue:
the challenge is not just whether the proposal is desirable, but whether it is deliverable at all.
What happens next
There is currently no confirmed timeline for the proposal to progress.
However, its inclusion in national discussions — and the scale of ambition behind it — suggest it is unlikely to disappear entirely without further scrutiny.
Whether it evolves, returns in a revised form, or fades will depend on how these unresolved issues are addressed.
For now, it remains a proposal with significant open questions — but not a closed case.
Stop Forest City