Last Mile will help bring 6,500 new homes, five schools, and a range of commercial premises to the Waterbeach redevelopment in Cambridgeshire.
UKPS, now Last Mile, was appointed by Urban & Civic Plc to design, build, and manage utility services at Waterbeach. This includes one of the UK’s single largest water network adoptions under the New Appointment and Variations (NAV) programme. The company will replace the incumbent, Staffordshire Water, taking ownership and responsibility for the clean water infrastructure at the development.
In total, the contract encompasses the delivery of:
- Over 5,400 electricity connections
- Over 5,400 clean water connections
- Over 5,400 fibre connections with an ultrafast fibre network
- 26 substations, with a total capacity of 22 megavolt amperes (MVA)
Paul Betts, Senior Project Manager for Urban & Civic said, “Working with flexible, forward‑thinking partners is key to bringing large-scale strategic sites like Waterbeach to life. Last Mile’s joined‑up approach will help us keep things moving, making sure the essential services and infrastructure are ready to support our growing community from day one.”
The new community is an ambitious redevelopment of the former Waterbeach Barracks, a WW2 RAF Bomber Command airfield. It is partially funded by a £61 million investment from Homes England, the government’s housing accelerator and regeneration agency. The transformative site aligns with national sustainability goals, aimed at supporting biodiversity and tackling climate change. It will feature low-energy homes equipped with EV chargers and air-source heat pumps, incorporate recycled materials during construction, deliver significant biodiversity net-gain, and reduce car dependency through over 20km of active travel infrastructure.
“We’re delighted to support this visionary development which will create a sustainable, well-connected community for thousands of families,” said Craig Boath, managing director at Last Mile, Design and Build. “It’s a prime example of how electricity, water and fibre services from a single provider bring significant efficiency and cost benefits to developers. And how independent providers, such as NAVs and independent distribution network operators (IDNOs), can speed up house building to meet our important national and regional targets.”
Following the government’s reform to planning permissions and Plan for Change target of building 1.5 million new homes over five years, the joint housing target for South Cambridgeshire and Cambridge City was increased by one-third to 2,309 homes annually. Last Mile’s project comprises the western portion of the total Waterbeach site, which was identified in the South Cambridgeshire Local Plan as a new town capable of bringing 11,000 homes to the area. Planning permission for the further 4,500 homes was granted in December 2024.
Last Mile Asset Management will manage the infrastructure adoption process for the multi-utility network as it progresses.
