Water scarcity will be barrier to Cambridge growth despite measures to increase supply, says study

Water scarcity will be a barrier to growth in Greater Cambridge despite measures to increase the long-term supply, an in-depth report says.

It warns that supply to cover demand beyond the emerging Local Plan is “not yet identified or funded” and the government’s proposed water credits system to tackle constraints in the short term needs to be “developed and refined” as a “matter of urgency”.

The report also raises questions about how the “critical” Fens Reservoir and Grafham Transfer schemes are going to be paid for, with the latter “not funded”.

“Beyond 2040, even with the strategic solutions proposed, there will be water supply issues and so given the lead in times for major infrastructure, forward-looking plans for the period beyond 2040 need to be commenced now,” it warns.

The report adds: “There are, however, short-term issues around capacity until the strategic solutions are in place, as the strategic solutions are of a significant scale, requiring investment and planning before being constructed and in full operation. Therefore, until these solutions are provided the lack of water supply will continue to form a barrier to development.”

The 152-page Infrastructure Delivery Framework was produced by Stantec, an engineering, architecture, and environmental consultancy, for the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority. It provides analysis of infrastructure barriers, including energy, water and connectivity – and sets out the magnitude of financial investment required to address barriers.

Labour mayor Dr Nik Johnson said: “The framework is a key tool to support our overall growth objective informing our emerging local growth plan. It shows our commitment to building resilient and sustainable communities to shape a bright future for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

“The report’s findings have been accepted by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority board. Along with its partners, the Combined Authority will now consider how to take forward the evidence and recommendations from the report to support development of strategic plans.”

The former Conservative government published its ‘Addressing water scarcity in Greater Cambridge’ statement in March, alongside its ‘Case for Cambridge’ which outlined plans to build an extra 150,000 homes in the Greater Cambridge region.

Before this, the Environment Agency had blocked the construction of more than 9,000 homes and 300,000 square feet of lab space due to water issues, including schemes at Bourn Airfield, Darwin Green and the Beehive Centre. It advised that some water bodies in the Cambridge area are at risk of deterioration, and that any new development that takes place must not increase abstraction and risk deterioration to water bodies in Greater Cambridge.

However, the government statement unveiled plans to test a new water trading market in the area, which would enable developers to offset their water usage through the purchase and sale of water credits to ensure they did not affect water resources negatively.

The £9million scheme would require the establishment of a new market framework and operator, which would match buyers and sellers of water credits. This led to the EA removing its objections.

Yet the Stantec report says although these proposals “have the potential to address these constraints” in the short-term, further work is needed.

“The exact nature and details regarding the water credit scheme are not yet available, so the benefits to the CPCA region afforded from this scheme is not yet known,” it says.

And it warns: “Competing demands for a limited water supply is prevalent within Greater Cambridge and the wider CPCA area. The constraints on water supply are not spatially specific and if this is not addressed it will affect the delivery of planned growth across the entire Combined Authority area.”

In August, Cambridge Past, Present and Future, the city’s largest civic society, said it had “no confidence that a water credit system will solve Greater Cambridge’s water scarcity and planning problem”.

There are schemes to build a new reservoir in the Fens, due be operational by the mid 2030s, and to provide a transfer of water from the reservoir at Grafham. The Stantec report says these are “critical to secure water supply in the medium term for the whole area and unlock development”.

But it warns: “Even with the Fens Reservoir and Grafham Transfer schemes, beyond the emerging Local

Plans water scarcity is likely to return as a barrier to development in the region. Water supply infrastructure to cover demand beyond the emerging Local Plan period is not yet identified and funded. Therefore, significant investment in strategic water supply schemes over and above that already allocated is needed now given their long lead in times.”

A Cambridge Water spokesperson said: “Our Water Resource Management Plan (WRMP) outlines how we propose to meet the need for water for both our customers and the environment over the next 25 years.

“The Grafham Transfer scheme was included in our business plan submitted to Ofwat in October 2023. In our draft determination from Ofwat, received in July 2024, full funding for the delivery of this scheme was

confirmed. As part of the scheme, we will connect to a new pipe proposed by Anglian Water. Both the previous and current governments have been supportive of focusing on Cambridge for development opportunities. The emerging Local Plan demonstrates this and forms the core remit of the Water Scarcity Group, which we are a part of.

The group is working on identifying additional opportunities to go above our Water Resource Management Plan to reduce the demand for water in the region to enable sustainable growth.”

An Anglian Water spokesperson said: “In future, to support growth and environmental protection of groundwater-dependent ecosystems, Cambridge will also be supplied by the proposed Fens Reservoir. We are building this in partnership with Cambridge Water, at a cost of around £2bn, which will ultimately come from customer bills spread over the many years of the reservoir’s lifetime.

“In the interim, some of this demand will be met via a proposed transfer scheme from Grafham Water, owned by Anglian Water. The decision on this specific scheme is subject to Ofwat’s final approval.”

A government spokesperson said: “We’re committed to working with local partners to support the sustainable growth of Greater Cambridge and at the Budget we announced £10m new funding for the

Cambridge Growth Company. This funding will be used to develop an ambitious plan for housing, transport and wider infrastructure and for the water needed to support sustainable growth in and around Cambridge.”