Up to 350 homes look set to be built on council run farmland in Burwell.

The development - which will be fully owned and led by the council - will take place on 67 acres of Cambridgeshire County Council owned agricultural land at Slade Farm in Newmarket Road.

The council will set up a separate company (special purpose vehicle) to build the homes. There will be affordable and social housing, with a 100 per cent rented scheme.

In order for the development to go ahead, the council will need to secure planning agreements, establish a company, secure funding with the Public Works Loan Board and enlist specialist technical advice for the project.

The homes will be “lifetime homes”, built to a standard to encourage residents to stay there for the long haul.

The council will fund the capital construction costs, which will be repaid in rents once the development is finished.

In a report to the council’s General Purposes Committee, the economic benefits of the development were highlighted.

It said: “The development at Burwell will provide jobs in the local area during construction phase, management of the completed homes, and will provide homes for workers throughout the area.

“Retaining ownership of the completed housing units provides the potential for the county council to discuss the proposed use of parts of the development as key worker housing for county council employees.

“Retaining ownership of the completed housing units provides the potential for the county council to discuss the proposed use of parts of the development to provide specialist housing to meet established care needs.

“The council does not currently have the skills or capacity to manage this project in addition to its Business as Usual workload. Additional resources will be required to provide an in-house client function for the project, and to resource the SPV.

“The council will forward fund the capital construction costs, which will be repaid from rental income from the completed development.”