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Local councils ‘left in the dark’ over Gove’s 250,000-home plan for Cambridge
Local politicians in Cambridge have accused central government of leaving them “in the dark” over major growth plans for the city, including 250,000 new homes.
The planned expansion is part of a “concept” called Cambridge 2040 being drawn up by housing secretary Michael Gove.
It will see the city turned into Europe’s “Silicon Valley”, according to a report in The Sunday Times.
In addition to thousands of new homes, officials are reportedly looking at new transport infrastructure, and the area will be pumped with investment to boost the “golden triangle” between London, Oxford and Cambridge.
However, both Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council said they had not been consulted on the new housing, which would see the city balloon in size.
Neither had the MP for South Cambridgeshire.
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Currently, Cambridge is only home to an estimated 150,000 people.
“We had no knowledge of this concept Michael Gove and his department are reported to be working up,” said Bridget Smith, leader of South Cambridgeshire District Council.
“We will be contacting him to find out more, as this is simply not appropriate. The scale of this plan is vast when compared to the growth our evidence has shown is needed here.”
Ms Smith also said she had “huge concern” at suggestions that environmental standards could be relaxed to get the homes built.
The Sunday Times’ report said the government was discussing changes to “nutrient neutrality” rules, which oblige developers to show new homes will not lead to more phosphates and nitrates running into rivers and polluting them.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Cambridge City Council said the authority’s views had also not been sought. “As the planning authority, the council would expect to be fully engaged in any proposals and the decision-making regarding the future of our city,” it said.
Local politicians in the region are already looking at ways to meet the region’s demand for more housing. Home to a large number of tech companies, Cambridgeshire is one of England’s fastest growing economies and is expected to produce 66,600 jobs between 2020 and 2041.
Under local plans adopted in 2018 and existing permissions, 37,198 homes are already planned for Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire between now and 2041.
However, due to the expected jobs spike, the two councils are now working to replace these plans with a new joint strategy to increase the volume of new housing in the region.
The latest version of the emerging Greater Cambridge Local Plan suggests the number of new homes to be built in Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire should rise from 44,400 to 51,800, with a 10 per cent ‘buffer’ taking this figure to 57,000.
This increased housebuilding has been opposed by some local politicians, including Conservative MP for South Cambridgeshire Anthony Browne.
Mr Browne said he had also been kept in the dark about the Cambridge 2040 plan. He told the BBC: “I had no knowledge of this and, needless to say, I will be fighting it. It would be enormously destructive of our environment and way of life.”
The MP also said building on that scale was unlikely due to the area’s water shortages, with the region one of the most water-stressed in the UK.
The Greater Cambridge Local Plan explains that its ambitions will only be met if “further work” is done to address current water supply issues. It adds: “If the water industry and central government do not take action, the number of new homes may need to be reduced.”
The Labour MP for Cambridge, Daniel Zeichner, told Inside Housing that he wasn’t sure why this idea was being brought up again.
He said: "Back in 2018, the independent Cambridge and Peterborough Independent Economic review chaired by Kate Barker looked at doubling the size of the economy by 2040, so these ideas aren’t new. Why are they being raised by Michael Gove now?
"I think it is about trying to distract from the Government’s current failures - what Gove should be doing is pressing Sunak to sign the Horizon research deal, without which the research sector won’t be providing anything like the growth suggested. Or tackling the Tory mortgage penalty which is making costs rise so dramatically for many in Cambridge."
Mr Zeichner said the housing secretary appears much more comfortable musing "on ideas for many years away in the future".
A government spokesperson said: ‘‘We are determined to help more young families own a home of their own – and that means working with local communities to build more of the right homes in the right places.
“We know that development is only welcomed when new homes are beautiful and built alongside new GP surgeries, schools and transport links.
“Our reforms have democracy, environmental enhancement and new neighbourhoods at their heart and will help us reach our target of one million new homes this parliament.”
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