Development corporations and the rural economy: What landowners Need to Know

New proposals to establish development corporations have been launched in the Greater Cambridgeshire area, as government seeks delivery models capable of accelerating housing, infrastructure and economic growth. For rural landowners and businesses, particularly those operating in areas of planned expansion such as Greater Cambridge, these bodies could shape land use, infrastructure provision and long-term rural viability for decades to come. This article will seek to understand what Development Corporations are and how they bring both opportunities and challenges for landowners across the country.

For CLA members, understanding how development corporations operate and how they may exercise powers over land, is essential. So too is early engagement, both with the current consultation and with the development corporation as it is being formulated. It is often better to try and steer proposals, rather than wait to see what will be imposed.

What is a development corporation?

Development corporations are statutory bodies created by government to deliver large-scale growth. Historically they have been used to deliver new towns, urban extensions and regenerate industrial areas and coordinate complex infrastructure programs.

Their purpose is to coordinate strategic planning and delivery, assemble land, fund infrastructure, attract private investment and accelerate housing and employment growth while ensuring long-term stewardship of development areas.

Unlike conventional planning authorities, development corporations combine planning, land assembly and delivery powers in a single organisation. This integrated approach allows them to overcome fragmented landownership and infrastructure funding barriers that often stall major projects. It also allows them to increase the speed in which development is delivered by removing the financial and bureaucratic risks associated with development.

Why government is turning to this model

Large-scale growth areas frequently face an “infrastructure first” challenge. Roads, utilities, drainage and community facilities must be delivered early, yet funding typically follows development rather than preceding it.

Development corporations are intended to bridge this gap by enabling borrowing against future land value uplift, capturing increases in land value to fund infrastructure, coordinating utilities and transport provision, and partnering with private investors and institutional capital. The aim is to ensure infrastructure keeps pace with growth rather than lagging behind it.

The Greater Cambridge proposal

The Government is currently consulting on the establishment of a Development Corporation for Greater Cambridge, an area facing intense housing pressure driven by economic growth and global research investment. The proposed boundary includes areas where significant expansion is anticipated, some of which is currently in agricultural use. Members can view the consultation map in Annex B of the consultation.

For rural businesses and landowners, the consultation is particularly significant because it will help determine governance structures, powers, and safeguards affecting land management and property rights. Members can review the consultation and respond via the government’s online survey here >

Please note that the consultation deadline is the 1st of April 2026.

The CLA will also be submitting it’s own response to the consultation.

Powers that matter to rural landowners

Development corporations possess a range of statutory powers that extend beyond those of local planning authorities. They may prepare area specific planning policies for land, infrastructure corridors, and environmental mitigation requirements.

They can acquire, manage and dispose of land to deliver development objectives, including assembling fragmented ownerships into deliverable sites. They may also commission and fund major infrastructure such as transport improvements, flood mitigation and drainage, utilities and energy networks, and green infrastructure.

Perhaps the most significant power is the ability to use compulsory purchase to acquire land required for development or infrastructure. While compulsory purchase is subject to legal safeguards and compensation principles, its potential use raises important considerations for landowners, including the timing and certainty of land acquisition, valuation and compensation frameworks, severance impacts, and disruption to farm businesses and tenancies. Early engagement is essential to ensure rural businesses are not adversely affected or left with fragmented holdings.

Implications for rural businesses

Development corporations may create opportunities but also introduce risks if rural interests are not properly integrated into planning and delivery.

Infrastructure improvements such as new roads, digital connectivity and utilities may enhance productivity and diversification potential. Strategic land may increase in value where development is planned, and growth areas can generate demand for rural services, leisure, tourism, local food supply and environmental services. Requirements for biodiversity net gain, landscape mitigation and green infrastructure may also create new income streams for land managers.

At the same time, high-quality agricultural land may be prioritised for development, transport corridors may sever farm units, and construction works can affect access, drainage and biosecurity. Centralised policy direction may overlook local knowledge, and uncertainty around compulsory acquisition can hinder long-term investment decisions. The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), already established the Cambridge Growth Company (a subsidiary of Homes England) to accelerate existing developments and help address infrastructure constraints in collaboration with local councils. However, the government is now proposing to establish the Development Corporation for more comprehensive statutory powers and the “capability, capacity and stability to coordinate large-scale infrastructure delivery over a long-time period”.

Stewardship, landscape and food production

Growth areas must balance development pressures with the protection of productive farmland, landscape character, heritage and natural capital. It is also worth mentioning that the Greater Cambridge Development Corporation is being marketed as “a centrally led urban development corporation”, despite much of the area involved being rural.

CLA members are uniquely positioned to contribute to solutions that deliver landscape-led growth, multifunctional green infrastructure, flood resilience, biodiversity recovery and sustainable local food systems. Ensuring these priorities are embedded from the outset is far more effective than attempting mitigation after decisions are made.

Why CLA members should engage now

The Greater Cambridge consultation provides a critical opportunity for rural landowners and businesses to shape how the development corporation will operate.

Members may wish to consider how productive farmland and viable farm units will be protected, what safeguards will govern compulsory purchase and compensation, how infrastructure routing can minimise farm disruption, whether governance structures will include rural representation, and how environmental delivery can be integrated with farm businesses.

Early engagement helps ensure rural perspectives are embedded in governance and delivery frameworks rather than retrofitted later.

A pivotal moment for rural areas

Development corporations represent a powerful delivery mechanism capable of unlocking growth and infrastructure investment. Their success, however, depends on balancing economic expansion with rural sustainability.

For CLA members, the stakes are significant. These bodies may influence land ownership, infrastructure routing, environmental delivery and the viability of rural enterprises for generations.

Engaging constructively with the consultation process will help ensure development is landscape-led, infrastructure is sensitively delivered and rural businesses remain at the heart of thriving local economies.

Members are strongly encouraged to review the proposals and submit their views via the government consultation.