Housing minister told: Cambridge growth will put ‘significant pressure’ on services

The leaders of Cambridgeshire’s local authorities have warned a government minister that Cambridgeshire’s economic success will create “significant pressures” on local services and infrastructure.

And they said they “want to ensure ambitions for much-needed growth also benefit and involve local people”.

Housing and Planning Minister Matthew Pennycook spoke with the leaders of local councils to discuss the government's plans for growth in Greater Cambridge at a meeting yesterday (Thursday, 13 September).

Before the General Election in May, former Conservative housing secretary Michael Gove spelled out his ambition to build 150,000 new homes in the Greater Cambridge area in a bid to “supercharge” the Cambridge economy.

And councils are now keen to discover whether this spectre of unprecedented development still hangs over the area.

In a joint statement, Dr Nik Johnson, mayor of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, Cllr Mike Davey, leader of Cambridge City Council, Cllr Lucy Nethsingha, leader of Cambridgeshire County Council, Cllr Elisa Meschini, chair of the Greater Cambridge Partnership and Cllr Bridget Smith, leader of South Cambridgeshire District Council, said: “We’re grateful to Housing and Planning Minister, Matthew Pennycook MP, for yesterday’s discussion on our partnership efforts to ensure sustainable growth around Greater Cambridge.

“We know how important Cambridge is for the wider UK economy and want to ensure ambitions for much-needed growth also benefit and involve local people. We emphasised how our area’s substantial economic success also creates significant pressures on local services and infrastructure and were encouraged by the Minister’s understanding and appreciation.

“As he stressed, this is only the start of a process where we work with central government to deliver for local residents, communities and businesses, now and the years ahead.”

But they did not offer any information about whether the housing minister had revealed how many homes the government now expected to be delivered in Greater Cambridge.

So far, Cambridge has been told it must build 1,068 homes a year to meet housing needs. This is up 55 per cent on the 687 currently required by the government.

And South Cambridgeshire has been told to build 1,156 new homes a year, up 11 per cent on the current demand of 1,039.

If these figures were met for the period 2020-2041, it would mean 46,704 new homes in Greater Cambridge.

But, working together as Greater Cambridge Shared Planning, the city council and South Cambridgeshire District Council are already planning for 51,700 homes under their emerging Local Plan for the period, including major developments at the likes of Northstowe, Waterbeach, West Cambourne and North East Cambridge. Their plans have always exceeded government minimum targets, as they based them on forecasts of job growth in the region.

Former Conservative housing secretary Mr Gove caused shockwaves in December 2023 when he unveiled proposals to turbocharge Cambridge growth with up to 150,000 homes by 2050, leaving local authorities feeling like they were being sidelined.

New housing minster Matthew Pennycook wrote to Cambridgeshire’s leaders to ask for an “early in-person discussion” to “reset” the relationship following the announcement. That meeting took place yesterday (Thursday).

Before the meeting, mayor Dr Nik Johnson told the Cambridge Independent “we still haven’t got clarity” about the number of new homes that would be required. He added that they had not yet been given “any clear indication” about how Peter Freeman’s Cambridge delivery Group, set up by Michael Gove, would fit in with local plans.

Mr Pennycook said in his letter to local leaders: “Greater Cambridge has a vital role to play in this government’s mission to kickstart economic growth and we are determined to maximise the potential contribution it could make to the UK economy by helping to remove barriers to the delivery of vital housing, infrastructure, and laboratory space.

“Many crucial decisions remain to be made about the precise form that ambitious and high-quality sustainable growth in the area takes. I am determined that we take a collaborative approach to them, ensuring that the insight and invaluable knowledge of local leaders fully informs the government’s thinking.

“That is why today I am making clear that the government intends to reset the crucial relationship with local partners to ensure we are delivering new housing and infrastructure in a way that benefits the city and its surrounding areas and seeking to address the concerns of communities who may be anxious about what the future might hold.”