The Secretary of State has granted permission for a development of over 400 new homes and new life science buildings on the edge of Cambridge. They said the development planned for land north of Cambridge North Station would support the government’s vision for the city.

The development is proposed to include 425 homes and five commercial buildings including research and development space. The plans were submitted by Brookgate Land Limited on behalf of The Chesterton Partnership. The developers said the proposals offered “high quality architecture” and would be an “excellent place to live, work, and visit”.

An appeal was lodged by the developers after South Cambridgeshire District Council failed to make a decision on the plans within the required time period. The proposals were considered by councillors from the district council and Cambridge City Council at a joint development control committee last year.

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Councillors said they believed the application for the development should be refused, raising concerns that it would create a “giant wall of development” on the edge of the city. However, following an inquiry the planning inspector recommended that the appeal should be allowed and planning permission granted.

The Secretary of State announced this week (April 23) that they agreed with this recommendation and that the development should go ahead. In a report published by the government it said the Secretary of State had given “significant weight to economic growth and productivity benefits and driving innovation” of the proposals.

It said: “The Secretary of State agrees with the Inspector’s conclusions that the proposals would assist with meeting the shortfall in laboratory and office floorspace in the short and medium term. He also agrees it would contribute to the continued growth of the research and development cluster in the North East Cambridge area and that it would be consistent with the government’s Cambridge Vision.”

The report also said the Secretary of State agreed with the inspector that the development would offer “high quality design and a distinctive sense of place”. It said they also agreed that the proposal would “respect and retain the character and distinctiveness of the local landscape including the River Cam corridor”.

The report said: “The Secretary of State agrees with the inspector’s overall conclusions that the proposal would harm the character and appearance of the surrounding landscape, but such harm would be limited and generally localised and is mainly due to the change in the character of the site from a largely brownfield site to a new Urban Quarter. The Secretary of State agrees that, considered in the context of the allocation of the site within the development plan, the proposal as a whole would respect and retain the character and distinctiveness of the local landscape, including the River Cam corridor.”

The concerns about water supply in the Greater Cambridge area were recognised in the report. The Secretary of State highlighted the joint statement addressing water scarcity in Cambridge, which was published in March by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Environment Agency, and the Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Services.

This statement set out plans to develop a water credits market to “supplement and potentially accelerate delivery of water management measures”. The report said that “in the context” of this statement, the Secretary of State did not think the development would have an “unacceptable consequence on water supply and quality”.

A spokesperson for the district council said: "During the public inquiry regarding this appeal, the council outlined how we have been successful in planning for growth within a vibrant and thriving area that supports the important life sciences sector. We acknowledged the development could bring some benefits.

"However, we stated how, in our view, these benefits don’t outweigh the social and environmental harms the development would cause – including impacts on the nearby landscape and historic environment. We said at the public inquiry that, fundamentally, the scale and height of the development is not appropriate for the site and surrounding area - which means a high-quality design is not achieved."

Dr Nik Johnson, Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, visited a number of sites in central Cambridge earmarked to benefit from just over £4.5 million arts and culture funding from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority.

Joined by Cllr Mike Davey, Leader of Cambridge City Council, and Cllr Anna Smith, Deputy Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and Cambridge City councillor, the visit was an opportunity for Dr Johnson to see first-hand some of the sites and businesses that will benefit from the additional funding.

The visit began at the Cambridge Leisure site, before relocating to the Guildhall in central Cambridge, and talking to market traders and visitors on the Market Square.

Funding earmarked for projects in Cambridge includes:

Dr Nik Johnson, Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, said: “The Combined Authority is working with the City Council on some very exciting projects to improve Cambridge as a place to visit, shop and enjoy varied heritage and culture. It was great to see first-hand how our funding is planned to make a real difference to local residents and the visitor experience, providing a truly unique opportunity to invest back into the health and vitality of the city centre for the long-term.”

Cllr Mike Davey, Leader of Cambridge City Council, said: “It’s been great to have Dr Nik visit today. We’ve been able to introduce him to many of the fantastic arts and cultural offerings that are already alive and well, and to market traders who bring such vibrancy to our city centre. But we’ve also been able to talk about some of our older buildings and public spaces that are showing signs of age and will benefit from this investment.

“We have our own major £20 million investment coming forward for the Civic Quarter project over the coming years, but it’s really important to us that in the meantime we’re able to continue ongoing work to refurbish and improve our public spaces. What’s more we need to support and equip the people who bring the city to life, so these funding and support programmes are warmly welcomed, to help safeguard the future of the market and give people creative spaces to thrive.”

The three £30,000 funds were bid for jointly by Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council to the Shared Prosperity Fund, which is administered by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority.

South Cambridgeshire District Council’s Lead Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Cllr Peter McDonald, said: “We’re extremely pleased to be working with the City Council on these projects to support our micro businesses. Businesses of this size can quite often be left out of the bigger picture in an economy that is as vibrant as Greater Cambridge – but many go on to achieve real success after starting off small, so this initial funding can be vital. We’re particularly excited to be using the funds to expand the opportunities available to younger residents who are just be starting out in the world of business.”

By Nadia Gyane

BBC News, Cambridgeshire

A local authority has said it needs to make an extra £6m in cuts over the next three years and £11.1m in new cuts by 2029.

Cambridge City Council revealed that the cost was in addition to £13m it had already saved over the last five years.

The Labour-run council said some of the financial challenges was due to rising housing costs.

The council said it was looking at ways to reduce costs and still deliver quality core services.

The authority's budget for the current financial year 2023-24 was £22.017m, also known as its net general fund spending requirement.

In the council's Medium Term Financial Strategy it acknowledged the city had been ranked "the most intensive science and technological cluster in the world".

But the "attendant growth in investment and jobs locally" led to challenges that included rising housing costs, traffic congestion and harm to the environment, as well as government funding cuts to the public sector.

'Extremely challenging'

The financial report also highlighted ways in which the council could adopt more technology to modernise its services.

It said it would help it make a £4m saving each year contributing towards the £11.1m saving requirement - which they have called Our Cambridge.

Simon Smith, executive councillor for finance and resources, said: "The financial picture facing the council continues to be extremely challenging due to lack of government funding to councils and a range of external pressures.

"The council's priorities are to provide safety nets for those in greatest need, deliver more affordable housing, secure good growth that benefits all residents and address the climate change and biodiversity crises."

The council has invited residents, voluntary groups and businesses to attend a public consultation on 21 November.

It hoped the meeting would provide a better picture on "what services are valued and the approaches we should take to find savings".

A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesperson said: "We have made £5.1bn of extra funding available to local authorities through the Local Government Finance Settlement.

"For Cambridge City Council, this represents an increase in core spending power of up to £0.8m or 4.5% - making available a total of up to £19.0m in 2023-24.

"Councils are ultimately responsible for the management of their own finances, but we continue to monitor pressures on all councils and we stand ready to talk to any council that is concerned about its financial position."

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Opposition to a Cambridge congestion charge remains a priority issue for some voters in Cambridge ahead of the elections next month. While the proposals for a Sustainable Travel Zone, which included the potential road charge, were dropped last year, some people in the city are still concerned.

Cambridge City Council is due to hold elections for 14 of its 42 sets on Thursday, May 2. The King’s Hedges ward saw the only Conservative councillor elected to the city council last year following a by-election where the candidate campaigned against a congestion charge.

The by-election was called after the former Labour councillor resigned, shortly after they had been re-elected in the May election. For some voters in the ward the candidate's views on a congestion charge in Cambridge is a leading concern in this year’s election. One woman said she still believed a congestion charge was being considered, despite the plans being officially dropped.

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She said her opposition to a road charge was the main consideration for her in her decision making on who to vote for. One man, who did not wish to be named, shared these concerns. He said: “I will definitely vote locally for the one that doesn't want a congestion charge, it is ridiculous.”

The man also said he wanted to see more of a focus on providing affordable housing in the city for people who come from the area. He said: “When my kids moved they could not afford to live in Cambridge, one now lives in Carlisle and one now lives in St Ives. The one in Carlisle says he can afford a mortgage out there but he couldn't get a mortgage in Cambridge and he was working full time from day one. We only see them once or twice a year, I find that quite sad.”

While having these other concerns, he stressed that he would only vote for a candidate who was against a congestion charge. However, other people in the ward did not raise the congestion charge as being something that was impacting their decision on who to vote for.

Gretta Doggett said she “definitely” planned to vote in the city council elections, but did not have any major concerns. She said she would like to see more grass cutting, but said she was “quite happy really”. John Connattey said he was also planning to vote and that his decision would be based on the philosophical viewpoints of the candidate.

He said: “I think philosophically I align myself with Labour, so I would vote Labour. I am not that aware of local issues really, I just basically like to back someone with the same philosophical life I live and leave the rest to trust. Anyone with right wing or centre right views, I do not want them anywhere near running council.” Mr Connattey said he also wanted to see support for new homes to be built in the city as he said it was a “desperate situation” and the young people had “no chance of finding a home”.