On 1 April 2021 Northstowe became a civil parish formed from Longstanton and Oakington and Westwick, with the first town council elected on 6 May of that year.

[4] South Cambridgeshire District Council (SCDC) produced an Area Action Plan in the mid-2000s to guide the development.

In October 2012, SCDC approved the first phase including 1500 homes, a primary school, road improvements and a local centre,[6] with completion of the whole town envisaged after about 25 years.

[7] In 2015 outline consent was also agreed in principle to build a further 3,500 homes, a town centre, 3 more schools including a secondary school education campus and a link road to the A14, plus a road linking the town to the Guided Busway.

In 2007 minister Yvette Cooper announced that Northstowe would be designed with energy and water efficiency standards up to 50% above conventional buildings.

In February 2020 a planning application was submitted to build a new heritage centre[14] adjacent to the Homes England offices to showcase the historical artefacts found on site and more importantly during the construction of the nearby upgraded A14.

[15] House by Urban Splash fell into administration in May 2022,[16] leaving a handful of homes in the scheme incomplete.

[17] In the phase one Local Management Study, published in February 2006 it was suggested that a community-based energy company might be formed, owning assets such as wind turbines or combined heat and power plants for the benefit of the town, perhaps based on the models of the Vauban district of Freiburg, Germany, and the cooperative energy companies of Denmark and Sweden.

The Strategy proposes a shift away from a reliance on retail on its high street, and instead focuses on the potential of creative industries, leisure, education, high-quality food and small-scale manufacturing.